Hello Ian!
On 31 Aug 97, Ian Macaulay wrote to Rich Lockyer:
 IM> Like you said, thick is best. I make the slot tight and hopefully get a
 IM> joint of glue from wood to wood through the hinge holes.  I figure the
 IM> pins will take less vibrator abuse than the glue.
Epoxy, yes, but CA, even thick, tends to be brittle.  I use it extensively 
for construction, but I really don't trust it and I do use epoxy on major 
load-bearing joints... especially those with a lot of shear force applied.
 IM> diverse but usually end up building something.  Even my first computer 
was
 IM> a scratch job:-)
I tend to do that too.
 IM> I took up photography and never really learned how to
 IM> take a picture but spent hours upon hours in the lab working on other
 IM> peoples negs.
~8-)... I take them and never get them developed!  I've probably got 20 rolls 
or airshow pictures from the last 10 years.
 IM> Actually this will probably be the next big thing in my
 IM> life. I will merge my computer, photography and philatelic hobbies into
 IM> one.
Speaking of stamps... I found a couple of oldies today cleaning out the 
glovebox in the car.  A couple were no big deal, standard six-cent Ike 
stamps, but one is an Apollo 8 stamp with the Earthrise and the words "In the 
beginning, God"
How times have changed... there would be no way to get that one issued today.
No, my car isn't that old (*I* barely remember the moon shots before Apollo 
11)... I think they were put there after a visit to a yard sale last year.
 IM> I am considering an investment of a few bucks into an electronic
 IM> photo lab.  I will create pages for my stamps using the computer to
 IM> touchup and enhance photo images that I have accum ulated or snatched 
form
 IM> wherever.
Go top quality all the way... if you don't, you'll be no better off than 
paint Shop Pro and a Logitech hand scanner if you know what I mean.  Any 
compromise will show in your prints.  If you can't afford a CLP along with 
everything else, you can probably take the files to a place like Kinko's to 
have them printed.
 IM> I also have a collection of plastic pickup truck models, some
 IM> built, but most NIB.
My kits didn't last a day before they were started... and I usually didn't 
sleep until they were done.
 IM> case.  I think mom knew it when she named me.  Ian, I am nuts:-)
SPEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 IM> I have his address, or did.    You are probably the one who years ago
 IM> convinced me that my pioneeer amp was worth some bucks. I put an advert 
in
 IM> the locals for a month or two and never got a nibble so I threw it out.
Tube? Oh man... Should have said something here... I would have paid shipping 
on the whole unit just to get hold of those transformers!
 IM> Best amp I ever owned. lasted thrity years of constant use. I blew one 
f
 IM> the diodes when I loaded or unloaded it withe six sets of speakers. It 
was
 IM> a stupid misscalculation on my part. I paid dearly to replace the part 
and
 IM> then replaced all the tubes and cleaned it up but it never had the 
quality
 IM> sound that it had before.
It probably came close to blowing the output transformer.  Well... no, it 
probably DID blow it, but it may have only shorted a couple of windings so 
you still had sound, but the impedance mismatch affected the frequency 
response and power level.
 IM> I have blown up three amps since all because of
 IM> either my wife or kids switching on more than two sets of speakers at a
 IM> time. The whole house is wired in coax and there is a patch panal and
 IM> switch panal in the basement for the TV, computer, and audio systems to
 IM> get from here to there with out major rework.  It works well till some
 IM> inept cretin takes a wrong move.
That is one nice thing about solid state amps... you can still smoke them, 
but if they are well designed and you have adequate airflow, you can 
practically short the output jacks and it won't kill them.
A buddy of mine used to show off how powerful his Crown power amp was by 
running a small 60hz signal into the input and powering an air conditioner 
from the output!  This was NOT a typical home amp... this was a concert PA 
system.
Tube amps are very touchy about impedance... too high and the tubes will 
unload and arc internally, two low and the current draw causes the plates to 
overheat, which CAN cause them to warp, blowing a lot of things if they touch 
the grid.
C-ya! Rich
--- GoldED 2.40
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