And another one!
 

In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
Retirement doesn't suit you, Dave. Your comprehension
skills are deteriorating fast. Get out of that rocking
chair...

If irony killed we'd all be dead right now! ;-)

Since Iain must be a similar age to me - if his reminiscences are indeed
his own - he's probably dreading retirement, reading between the lines.
Otherwise why mention it twice? Perhaps he'll have to sell one or two of
those gold watches he seems so proud of.

Luckily I have a quite reasonable pension from that awfully nice TV
company, Thames. Or rather Pearson group who took them over. So although
the freelance world is OK, you can't beat a good staff post in some ways.

But I'd describe myself as semi-retired. Still do a day here and there.
When I've got time. ;-)

--
*A woman drove me to drink and I didn't have the decency to thank her

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

And another one!
 

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in
message

In article ,
Keith G wrote:

I gave up building valve amps some 40 years ago, Iain.
Some do learn there is no point trying to develop
things beyond their natural end.

'Natural end'?? Open your eyes - valve amps are selling
like hot cakes all round the world!!

As a percentage of all amps sold? 0.005%?


High end audio sales in the US were 200 million dollars according to the
CEA.

Total electronics sales were more like 200 billion dollars.

Tubed amp sales are going to be a tiny fraction of the $200 million high end
audio sales.

All audio amplifiers are probably a similar percentage of all electronics
sales.

So, we're talking at most 0.1 % of amplifier sales being tubed.

And another one!
 

"Huge" wrote in message

On 2011-03-08, Keith G wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in
message ...
In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:
Sounds like you are calling Iain a *liar* with
almost every response you
make to his posts without actually using the
word...??

You feel that too?

Not surprising given how much he contradicts himself.

Retirement doesn't suit you, Dave. Your comprehension
skills are deteriorating fast. Get out of that
rocking chair, and build yourself a valve amp, there
is no better therapy.

I gave up building valve amps some 40 years ago, Iain.
Some do learn there is no point trying to develop
things beyond their natural end.


'Natural end'?? Open your eyes - valve amps are selling
like hot cakes all round the world!!

Ahh, the "60,000,000 flies" argument that assures us all
that **** is a tasty and nutritious meal.


What Iain and Keith don't know is that high end audio sales are dropping
like your 60 million flies.

In Y2K high end audio sales in the US were about $500 million dollars.

Only 10 years later they had dropped to about $200 million.

And another one!
 

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in
message
In article
, Arny
Krueger wrote:

Retirement doesn't suit you, Dave. Your comprehension
skills are deteriorating fast. Get out of that rocking
chair...

If irony killed we'd all be dead right now! ;-)

Since Iain must be a similar age to me - if his
reminiscences are indeed his own - he's probably dreading
retirement, reading between the lines.

I think he's been retired for a while. Probably not long enough for his past
co-workers...

But I'd describe myself as semi-retired. Still do a day
here and there. When I've got time. ;-)

I'm still regularly pulling paying gigs in both audio and computers.

And another one!
 

In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
I have a beautiful little drill press made by Fortex of
Leicester. Same sort of age as the Ferrographs you so
love. Spindle speed is some 22,000 rpm, and with a
tungsten carbide drill goes through PCBs like butter. Of
course it required skill to use, unlike a CNC controlled
device. But adds to the satisfaction of making things.
But of course you'd get your white gloves dirty.

I accomplish the same general outcome with a $70 Dremyl Tool in a $29
Dremyl plastic drill press stand.

The drill I have was probably made for factory use - it's built like a
brick outhouse and weighs about 20 lbs. Bought it secondhand from a
machinery auction many years ago. It's a pleasure to use like any well
made tool.

The sharp carbide drill is a non-negotiable, but fortunately they can be
had for a reasonable price, especially if you get resharpened drills
that are too short for high production use.

Yes - I keep an eye on Ebay. But have probably got enough to see me out.
;-)

--
*Why are they called apartments, when they're all stuck together? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

And another one!
 

In article , Huge
scribeth thus
On 2011-03-08, tony sayer wrote:
In article , Huge
scribeth thus


SIDE!

Switch off
Isolate
Dump
Earth


Thats still on U tube somewhere, used to be on the TV trade set-up
films;!..

Yeah, that's why it's still stuck in my head some 40 years later.

Proved useful in my radio amateur days when working on high power
linear amplifiers.


Those olde habits .. one hand still instinctively goes into the pocket
even now!. Not to scratch owt you'll understand, but the once having a
hand to hand belt almost saw my demise .. Never again!....
--
Tony Sayer

And another one!
 

In article , Keith G
scribeth thus

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Keith G
scribeth thus

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
But building with valves is a lot more fun:-) I've done
plenty of both over the years. And as someone pointed
out, valves are far more forgiving. You can set the bias slowly, and
watch the anodes glow cherry red:-)

Tubes are better for people who don't know what they are doing, are
careless, and/or have slow reaction times.

What I do find surprising is those who are so shoddy with design and
construction they find valves forgiving are still here to tell the tale,
given the voltages involved...


I think the highest reading I have had on my meter was 525 volts - it's
funny how quiet and slow everything goes while you are holding the probe!
:-)



1.5 kV here, can't remember the valves in use might have been DT100's or
something like that;?...


OK, that's pretty pokey! :-)



In the past some very big distribution amps around a K or more output
and modulator stages AM and 405 line TV 'mitters;))..
--
Tony Sayer

And another one!
 

"Iain Churches" wrote in message
...

"Keith G" wrote in message
...


I think the highest reading I have had on my meter was 525 volts - it's
funny how quiet and slow everything goes while you are holding the probe!
:-)


Morning Keith,

That's a serious voltage!

I have a Solartron (valve) bench psu that can manage
600VDC at 500mA. People get used to the routine
of working with valves - switching off the DC from
the bench PSU, and switching on the discharge box
wired across the reservoir caps of the amp becomes
second nature.

An open valve amp chassis commands a lot of respect:-)


I spent some time recently restoring a '50s vintage Band 1 TV transmitter.
The main HT is 1800V and a fair bit of exposed metal (such as the rectifier
stacks and the tuned circuit connected to the anodes of the RF power
amplifier valves) is at this voltage. Makes 600V seem positively "LV".

David.

And another one!
 

"Keith G" wrote in message
...


I think I'm going to nip this one in the bud with: if you aren't sharp
enough to know what I mean by *sharp* then there's no point in me telling
you!


Ah - you don't want to answer, understandable.


Er, where did 'us' creep in? When I ask someone for an opinion it's for
*my* benefit.

Then why do you keep posting them here as proof of the quality of your
speakers?

Actually, no - I left this group for about a year a couple of years ago.
When I hooked it back up you were already a prolific poster here. Perhaps
you may remember the 'nooby treatment' you tried to give me for a while?


Your memory is at fault, I was posting here well before your break.

David.

And another one!
 

In article ,
David Looser wrote:
I spent some time recently restoring a '50s vintage Band 1 TV
transmitter. The main HT is 1800V and a fair bit of exposed metal (such
as the rectifier stacks and the tuned circuit connected to the anodes
of the RF power amplifier valves) is at this voltage. Makes 600V seem
positively "LV".

My flesh is creeping just thinking about it.

--
*Born free - taxed to death *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.