"David Holgate" wrote
Martin, thanks for the flurry of interesting posts that your original
confession has produced.

I have had a Bush VHF 61 (early VHF plus MW/LW) beside my bed for a year
now. Cost me a tenner and a little very basic fixing, and sounded great
for a year till something died within it. Now the clock radio sits on
top! Yes, hifi it ain't but I was amazed by the mellow beauty of its
tone on FM.

However, your post prods me to do something about getting it working
again. It's all hard-wired within, and I was told that many of the
(working) components should also be replaced. Off to
http://www.bvws.org.uk/ at the weekend.

David

Ha, yes, I always enjoy reading stories of people's near brushes with
electrical death!

I myself used to enjoy big caps as a teenager; I fondly remember
making it rain white-hot molten aluminium onto my bedroom carpet
many times, as I used to short out a big bank of caps with a piece
of aluminium. The little globules used to fall onto the carpet and
fade through orange to red, then black again, as small wisps of
carpet smoke issued up from each cooling drop!

And the big fat orange furry 40kV sparks that reeked of ozone, which
came from an old oil-filled 'scope xformer, which had its 4v or
6.3v filament windings collected to 10 or 15VAC, while we made good
use of what came of the 3.2kV (IIRC) H.T. winding.... Now that WOULD
have killed us (me and my best friend from school, electropyromaniacs
both) if we'd done anything wrong - with extreme prejudice!

But I did get some sensible things done. At 15 I managed a 4-digit
frequency counter with 1, 1000, 1000000 ranges, build entirely from
discrete 4000-series CMOS chips, which came to something like 22
I.C.s on an IMPRESSIVELY small piece of Veroboard.

I made a half-decent push-pull valve audio power amp that I got
about 15W RMS out of, which wasn't bad considering I wasn't using
a proper output xformer, but rather a mains xformer pressed into
service. That valve experimentation got me my share of minor jolts.

A single-scope to 8-channel multiplexer from a 4051 CMOS analogue
switch I.C. and a counter (though in truth, it wasn't that useful
when made).

Stuff like that. All good teenage kicks. I could go on. All good fun, apart
from the shocks.

Keep 'em coming (the stories)!


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk

"Fleetie" wrote in message
...
Clip
But I did get some sensible things done. At 15 I managed a 4-digit
frequency counter with 1, 1000, 1000000 ranges, build entirely from
discrete 4000-series CMOS chips, which came to something like 22
I.C.s on an IMPRESSIVELY small piece of Veroboard.

I made a half-decent push-pull valve audio power amp that I got
about 15W RMS out of, which wasn't bad considering I wasn't using
a proper output xformer, but rather a mains xformer pressed into
service. That valve experimentation got me my share of minor jolts.

A single-scope to 8-channel multiplexer from a 4051 CMOS analogue
switch I.C. and a counter (though in truth, it wasn't that useful
when made).

Stuff like that. All good teenage kicks. I could go on. All good fun,
apart
from the shocks.

Keep 'em coming (the stories)!


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967
110890
Manchester, U.K.
http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk


Thanks, your post just nudged my memory & brought back to me something I'd
completely forgotten about. Countless years ago while doing radio training I
designed and built a 12 hr digital clock using lots of 74 series ic's & 6
nixies hh/mm/ss compete with nixie drivers. Can remember thinking the logics
out on how to go from 12 to 1. The clocking was initially 50hz mains freq
& schmitt trigger to square it , remember messing around with Xtal clocking
later on. It kept time really well but trouble was everytime there was a
lightening storm the thing went haywire. Never got around to 'scoping the
clock during a storm.....went on to another project.

Mike

"Fleetie" wrote in message
...
Clip
But I did get some sensible things done. At 15 I managed a 4-digit
frequency counter with 1, 1000, 1000000 ranges, build entirely from
discrete 4000-series CMOS chips, which came to something like 22
I.C.s on an IMPRESSIVELY small piece of Veroboard.

I made a half-decent push-pull valve audio power amp that I got
about 15W RMS out of, which wasn't bad considering I wasn't using
a proper output xformer, but rather a mains xformer pressed into
service. That valve experimentation got me my share of minor jolts.

A single-scope to 8-channel multiplexer from a 4051 CMOS analogue
switch I.C. and a counter (though in truth, it wasn't that useful
when made).

Stuff like that. All good teenage kicks. I could go on. All good fun,
apart
from the shocks.

Keep 'em coming (the stories)!


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967
110890
Manchester, U.K.
http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk


Thanks, your post just nudged my memory & brought back to me something I'd
completely forgotten about. Countless years ago while doing radio training I
designed and built a 12 hr digital clock using lots of 74 series ic's & 6
nixies hh/mm/ss compete with nixie drivers. Can remember thinking the logics
out on how to go from 12 to 1. The clocking was initially 50hz mains freq
& schmitt trigger to square it , remember messing around with Xtal clocking
later on. It kept time really well but trouble was everytime there was a
lightening storm the thing went haywire. Never got around to 'scoping the
clock during a storm.....went on to another project.

Mike

"Mike Gilmour" wrote
Thanks, your post just nudged my memory & brought back to me something I'd
completely forgotten about. Countless years ago while doing radio training I
designed and built a 12 hr digital clock using lots of 74 series ic's & 6
nixies hh/mm/ss compete with nixie drivers. Can remember thinking the logics
out on how to go from 12 to 1. The clocking was initially 50hz mains freq
& schmitt trigger to square it , remember messing around with Xtal clocking
later on. It kept time really well but trouble was everytime there was a
lightening storm the thing went haywire. Never got around to 'scoping the
clock during a storm.....went on to another project.

Yeah, embarrassingly, I clocked my freq counter off 50Hz mains! Pretty
useless really, and I intended to raid a cheap garage digital watch
or perhaps with more prospect of luck, an electromechanical quartz-driven
clock movement, for a 1Hz source, but again, never got round to it.

Also a coincidence that you mention nixie clocks, because I
REALLY WANT ONE now! But I've looked at the prices on the web,
and can't justify that at the moment, and can't be bothered
going though the hassle of making one myself now, because I don't
really do electronics any more.

But one day, I would really like to get my hands on a nice
nixie clock; it's in the same category as valve stuff with me.


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk

"Mike Gilmour" wrote
Thanks, your post just nudged my memory & brought back to me something I'd
completely forgotten about. Countless years ago while doing radio training I
designed and built a 12 hr digital clock using lots of 74 series ic's & 6
nixies hh/mm/ss compete with nixie drivers. Can remember thinking the logics
out on how to go from 12 to 1. The clocking was initially 50hz mains freq
& schmitt trigger to square it , remember messing around with Xtal clocking
later on. It kept time really well but trouble was everytime there was a
lightening storm the thing went haywire. Never got around to 'scoping the
clock during a storm.....went on to another project.

Yeah, embarrassingly, I clocked my freq counter off 50Hz mains! Pretty
useless really, and I intended to raid a cheap garage digital watch
or perhaps with more prospect of luck, an electromechanical quartz-driven
clock movement, for a 1Hz source, but again, never got round to it.

Also a coincidence that you mention nixie clocks, because I
REALLY WANT ONE now! But I've looked at the prices on the web,
and can't justify that at the moment, and can't be bothered
going though the hassle of making one myself now, because I don't
really do electronics any more.

But one day, I would really like to get my hands on a nice
nixie clock; it's in the same category as valve stuff with me.


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk

Jim Lesurf wrote:

1) using a scope probe, one of my fingers was touching the earth ring
around the outer part of the probe tip. My other hand touched an
exposed solder tag on the chassis that was carrying 'live'. The
current caused me to grip on, with current across my chest.
Fortunately, I stepped back, and pulled out the power plug! The probe
was not inside the set, so I though I was working 'one handed' as I
hadn't noticed my other hand was touching the earth ring.

When I had my little tete-a-tete with the computer, my other hand wasn't in
the case either - the circuit was between the pad of the thumb in contact
with the pliers, and another part of the same hand in contact with the
chassis.


--
Wally
www.makearatherlonglinkthattakesyounowhere.com
Things are always clearer in the cold, post-upload light.

Jim Lesurf wrote:

1) using a scope probe, one of my fingers was touching the earth ring
around the outer part of the probe tip. My other hand touched an
exposed solder tag on the chassis that was carrying 'live'. The
current caused me to grip on, with current across my chest.
Fortunately, I stepped back, and pulled out the power plug! The probe
was not inside the set, so I though I was working 'one handed' as I
hadn't noticed my other hand was touching the earth ring.

When I had my little tete-a-tete with the computer, my other hand wasn't in
the case either - the circuit was between the pad of the thumb in contact
with the pliers, and another part of the same hand in contact with the
chassis.


--
Wally
www.makearatherlonglinkthattakesyounowhere.com
Things are always clearer in the cold, post-upload light.

"Jim Lesurf" wrote


snip


My first shock was when touching a bayonet socket when about 10 years old.
The socket was done up, but a strand of wire was managing to get through
the screw-thread on the back and was outside the body of the socket.



OK, if we're swinging the lantern!

I remember that when we were kids and the weather was too bad to play out,
my mother used to give me and my sister the toaster and a loaf of bread so
we could amuse ourselves making toast for a while, which we did. The toaster
was a spring-sided affair where you pulled the side down, put your piece of
bread on it and released the side suddenly to see if you could actually flip
the bread right out. This meant that quite often the bread would stick fast
to the vertical bars which were placed about an inch apart, in front of the
heating element. When this happened, I used to use a (bone handled) knife to
prise the toast off when it was done - plumes of smoke and squeals of
excitement! (No sappy 'automatic' rubbish in those days!) I never knew what
the slapping in my elbow was, that I could feel at these times.... :-)

Also, my own post reminds me of the time when I was on a large building site
in Sarf London*, doing the same job as mentioned before, which used to
involve using powerful handtools under extreme load and blowing fuses with
monotonous regularity. Anyhoo, I remember one day it suddenly went very
quiet and everything stopped (and I mean *everything* including the
traffic). I was enjoying a very peaceful ciggie, listening to the birds when
I heard a conversation from one of the floors below (I'm about 5 or 6 floors
up) saying that 'someone's going to cop it - the substation's blown'!! I
spent the next 10 minutes feverishly running down the stairs, ripping the
silver foil (from cigarette packets) off all my fuses in the extension boxes
on each landing......


*Parker Morris tenement block renovations, for the 'Housing Control' PhD
students amongst us.....

"Jim Lesurf" wrote


snip


My first shock was when touching a bayonet socket when about 10 years old.
The socket was done up, but a strand of wire was managing to get through
the screw-thread on the back and was outside the body of the socket.



OK, if we're swinging the lantern!

I remember that when we were kids and the weather was too bad to play out,
my mother used to give me and my sister the toaster and a loaf of bread so
we could amuse ourselves making toast for a while, which we did. The toaster
was a spring-sided affair where you pulled the side down, put your piece of
bread on it and released the side suddenly to see if you could actually flip
the bread right out. This meant that quite often the bread would stick fast
to the vertical bars which were placed about an inch apart, in front of the
heating element. When this happened, I used to use a (bone handled) knife to
prise the toast off when it was done - plumes of smoke and squeals of
excitement! (No sappy 'automatic' rubbish in those days!) I never knew what
the slapping in my elbow was, that I could feel at these times.... :-)

Also, my own post reminds me of the time when I was on a large building site
in Sarf London*, doing the same job as mentioned before, which used to
involve using powerful handtools under extreme load and blowing fuses with
monotonous regularity. Anyhoo, I remember one day it suddenly went very
quiet and everything stopped (and I mean *everything* including the
traffic). I was enjoying a very peaceful ciggie, listening to the birds when
I heard a conversation from one of the floors below (I'm about 5 or 6 floors
up) saying that 'someone's going to cop it - the substation's blown'!! I
spent the next 10 minutes feverishly running down the stairs, ripping the
silver foil (from cigarette packets) off all my fuses in the extension boxes
on each landing......


*Parker Morris tenement block renovations, for the 'Housing Control' PhD
students amongst us.....

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

"Jim Lesurf" wrote



OK, if we're swinging the lantern!

I remember that when we were kids and the weather was too bad to play out,
my mother used to give me and my sister the toaster and a loaf of bread so
we could amuse ourselves making toast for a while, which we did. The
toaster
was a spring-sided affair where you pulled the side down, put your piece
of
bread on it and released the side suddenly to see if you could actually
flip
the bread right out. This meant that quite often the bread would stick
fast
to the vertical bars which were placed about an inch apart, in front of
the
heating element. When this happened, I used to use a (bone handled) knife
to
prise the toast off when it was done - plumes of smoke and squeals of
excitement! (No sappy 'automatic' rubbish in those days!) I never knew
what
the slapping in my elbow was, that I could feel at these times.... :-)

Also, my own post reminds me of the time when I was on a large building
site
in Sarf London*, doing the same job as mentioned before, which used to
involve using powerful handtools under extreme load and blowing fuses with
monotonous regularity. Anyhoo, I remember one day it suddenly went very
quiet and everything stopped (and I mean *everything* including the
traffic). I was enjoying a very peaceful ciggie, listening to the birds
when
I heard a conversation from one of the floors below (I'm about 5 or 6
floors
up) saying that 'someone's going to cop it - the substation's blown'!! I
spent the next 10 minutes feverishly running down the stairs, ripping the
silver foil (from cigarette packets) off all my fuses in the extension
boxes
on each landing......


*Parker Morris tenement block renovations, for the 'Housing Control' PhD
students amongst us.....



Swinging the lantern just a little bit more....

My first shock at a very early age (can't remember quite when) was through
pushing a dandelion stalk into a heater touching the spiral wound electric
element, my other hand was holding the metal heater body.
Been careful ever since though I did have a very close call concerning 440V
and a 10cm Radar Scanner.
Remember also being splattered with hot metal from a disintegrating 440V
motor contactor. On a ship in the Indian Ocean when the air conditioning
packed up. The lecky was working on it when I got a call saying the starter
contactor coil has burnt out with no spare - me being helpful said okay I'll
rewind the old coil. Which I did..put the coil back in, checked with the
lecky, he said go ahead and pushed start. What I didn't know was that other
engineers had the over current trip disabled. What actually happened in the
first place before the contactor coil burnt out was the motor winding had
shorted out... a nice 440 bang.
Since that I check everything for myself. Survival is a sharp learning
curve hopefully ;-)