03-03-05  07:49, Wayne Chirnside told James Bradley about Tap tap tap...

 Well, how do, Wayne?

 WC> If it's crack she'll soon be stealing and prostituting herself if not
 WC> already.

I suspect there was some of that as soon as she moved in. I don't think the
theft was too extensive, but the vehicle traffic for a while was bordering
on the ridiculous.

 ->  WC> Vacuum Tube Volt Meter, very high input impedence for little
 ->  WC> loading effect.
 
 -> I suspect a Kipp & Zonen here might be the same. How 
 -> would one check for the
 -> impedance? Meter the meter...         

 WC> They use FETs today.     

By the box alone, I'd suspect this one as being made in the '70s, so I
doubt it'd use 'em. Someone suggested there were inductors to influence a
pendulum-mirror arrangement. I should tear into it a little more on of
these days. It requires power, but most of that is likely for the light.

 WC> One job I had the boss had built a regulated supply for a very heavy
 WC> current draw and he was shocked that the voltmeter read some 90 volts
 WC> instead of the expected 5 volt regulated.

 WC> Then I put my Simpson VOM on it ( 600 ohm impedence) and it showed 
 WC> rhe expected 5 volts.
 WC> A minute leakage current in the microampere range had spiked the
 WC> expensive high impedence meter.

 WC> I then put a low current 12 volt lamp across the supply and had my
 WC> boss test it again and it showed the proper voltage.
 WC> That small load swamped the leakage current.
 
As it was supposed to regulate: you had a bad junction in the last
transistor? The Linux box here must have blown some of its rectifier
bridge. It was still measuring 15V, but it's 3A never came up to snuff.
Instead of tearing it apart, I picked a competitors PS up and spliced on
the right plug. I might pull the old one apart just for curiosity.
 -> Either you were building a Jacob's ladder, or a radio station? <-;

 WC> Neighter, experimental.
 WC> It put out a pretty stiff 30k volts at enough current to set cardboard
 WC> afire in 1 second.

You d' man!
 WC> I was going to use a voltage ladder to boost the voltage to 
 WC> 300,000 using caps and diodes of the type used by high power Ham 
 WC> radio builders but having never properly enclosed the thing in
 WC> plexiglass so abandoned it as too dangerous.

L'ed up some lung-butter.
 WC> I once caught the back EMF from the primary alone and it
 WC> was a real wakeup call, I don't want to know what the secondary 
 WC> would feel like, likely lethal.
 
...But, back EMF from a transformer? You must have drained the caps on the
other side while it was idle.
 ->  WC> I've heard Antec  spoken well of.
 
 WC> They've got a 450 watt supply as well as fanless heat sinked PS's
 WC> known as their Phantom series.

Oh... They assemble systems. I've heard of them. I was thinking they made
the MB. I'll likely go the kit route, and purchase a PS separately, or sell
the case as surplus if that is how it is packaged.
 ->  WC> Mine's black and white with a white blaze down the center of
 ->  WC> the top of his head through the snout.
 WC> There's also the brindel or red nose Pit for three.
 
 WC> Yeak, spinal injury.
 WC> He's om steroids for that and they've been working well the last two
 WC> years.
 WC> The spinal injuries are from the original owners that wanted
 WC> to make him into an attack dog.

Attack dog: Unless he knows what he is doing, and prepared for the results.
 WC> I put a very abrupt end to that type of behavior as soon
 WC> as he came into my possession.
 
It's an easier life for dog and man.
 -> Who hasn't? Spanky is his nickname then? The Our Gang
 -> dog Spot was a Pit, but I
 -> suspect you knew that.     

 WC> Just old enough to have seen that early B&W show.
 WC> That's what the original owners named him from.

Well, Spanky was a kid's character. Wasn't he the overweight one? I made a
POINT of watching every episode I could once a week. Wish I grabbed the DVD
at Wallmart, but by the time I had purchased what I came for, it seemed to
have been snapped up. I didn't have that much leg time to go diggin' in the
bin for another one. /-:
 -> They're just doin' what comes naturally. Their muscle 
 -> mass alone can get them
 -> through many scrapes. 
 WC> 
 WC> They are not only yough but seem virtually immune to pain.

A fellow I knew, told me they have the densest muscle-mass of any mammal.
 WC> Spanky had severe punctures from the attack but no foaming, bubbles
 WC> or much bleeding at all, I bled a LOT worse.
 WC> So guessing no airway or arteries were injured and fearing an old
 WC> dog put under anesthetic  might not awake from same after suturing
 WC> I treated him at home with peroxide and betadine.
 WC> Wounds completely healed in a month but a great deal of surface
 WC> hemorraghing persisted for another month and a half.

Betadine is a product name?

 WC> I'm eating a very spartan diet so as to save up for a new drive and 
 WC> I/O card.
 WC> Looking for the second week of April to get them and this time
 WC> Windows won't be loaded!!!

Oh... have I been there! Until my mortgage was paid, and for the get in-out
the kitchen factor, I can't tell you how many meals of pasta and canned
beans I've eaten. Now that I can get to the stove a little bit longer, I've
been able to vary the diet a little.

This is my last lean year, as I had to borrow money to sock up the
retirement plan - tax deductible - because the union disbursed a fund this
past tax year. House needed a roof, bills needed to be paid, government
kept a third... Now, I hope to see some of that government $ back. Daddy
needs new shoes! ;-)

 WC> I've a hardware modem, hardware sound card and have researched
 WC> Linux printers.
 WC> Though they require drivers Lexmark is mentioned as having
 WC> support from their manufacturer. 

...Which is a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM, if I read it right. I'd never
go the ink/bubble route again. I got sick of the expendables, and I think
one of mine is either clogged big time, or just giving up the will to work
any more. As I never print that often, I was always cleaning the heads, I
probably put as much ink into that as I did paper.

I did pick up a few Okidata LED printers that needs their drum replaced. As
long as I can afford the first sheet to be botched, the rest of any job
usually works out fine. There will come a day when they will get expensive
to keep in service, but I'll likely keep the best of that lot going.

Sheesh... I've got four gel-cells that need replacing for UPSes.
Prescription glasses I've been going without... I was glad to see some old
Techtronix dye-sublimation printers are supported by Linux. I picked a few
of those up at auction/second hand. Windows support for those is via a $200
executable from a third party manufacturer. No wonder why I got them so
cheep. 

Sure glad we have a free recycling program here! [-|{





... 'am' B'ad'

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