LAIRD KELLY wrote in a message to JOE PAULSON:

 -=>/Huh!/ Bad FIXES421!  What'cha gon', what'cha gon',
 LK>  what'cha gonna do when JOE PAULSON and ALL come for you?<=- 


 JP> Audio cassettes:
 JP>   I had trouble with one radio where ,when recording,the tape
 JP> would bunch up like an accordian and stop.The belt was ok since it
 JP> kept turning.I wondered why the jam.I tested a group of cassettes
 JP> by holding the center of one spool between my thumb and forefinger
 JP> and used a small pair of scissors to turn the other spool to take
 JP> up slack.About 6 cassettes were ok but another 6 had some slack,
 JP> some quite a bit.After tightening up,I rewound the tape and tried
 JP> again.It still jmammed.The problem has to be between the rubber
 JP> wheel and the turning pin.Maybe the rubber wheel has to be
 JP> perfectly round.Will check.

 LK> Sounds like the take-up hub is slipping too much - normally the
 LK> take-up hub runs faster than the capstan/capstan roller with
 LK> slippage in a clutch allowing it to slow to match the tape speed.

This agrees with my thinking.

 LK> ...

 JP> Strange cable:
 JP>    While dumpster diving ,I came across a plastic coated #18 wire
 JP> with a series of metallic switches? ,about 2 1/2 " by 1/2 ",along
 JP> the wire about 1 foot apart.The devices were encased in a transparent
 JP> soft plastic pouch.I checked for capacitance by first measuring
 JP> the resistance ( was an open circuit) ,then reversing the leads
 JP> and see id I got a kick. Got nothing.
 JP>   Anyone have an idea what these things were?

 LK> Sounds like a heat cable - resistance wire with thermostatic
 LK> switches. 

Ah.  I was wondering about that one.  I've heard them called "heat
tapes",  usually they're pretty flat. 

 LK> If it's intended to protect plumbing from freezing the thermostats 
 LK> are open above 45F or thereabouts, greenhouse soil heat cables 
 LK> heat to around 80F, waterbed heaters go even higher - try freezing 
 LK> it and see it it has continuity then...

I've heard of these being used to wrap pipes under trailers,  but didn't
know the same sort of thing was used in other applications.

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