HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: richard@sfu.ca (Richard Chycoski)
Subject: Re: Beware when prewiring for telephone
Reply-To: richard@sfu.ca
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 16:53:22 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.204859.14154@oracle.us.oracle.com> tslee@oracle.uucp  
(Terry Lee) writes:
> I had our house prewired with 3-pair flat stranded telephone wire.  This is a
> BIG mistake.  Pacific Bell told me that flat stranded is OK for short runs,
> but fails miserably on long runs (picks up a lot of RFI), and has severe  
cross
> talk problems between pairs (i.e., can only run one phone line on it).
> 

Yes, you definitely need twisted pair cable for proper telephone operation.
Also beware of round cable that has four conductors but is not twisted pair.
The same crosstalk problem happens with this kind of cable. (It is commonly
found at the local hardware and lumber yards around here.) 

I have been post-wiring my house (it's a year old, but only had *three*
telephone outlets installed by the builder) with six-pair cable, obtained
at a local wire-and-cable supplier (at about 50% of the price of four wire
cable from the hardware store!).  However, I have my own PBX and have 
paging speakers and Localtalk on the twisted pair and Thinwire Ethernet
on coax, so six pair *may* be overkill. However, even the local phone
company is now using three pair to all of the outlets, and it's not much
more expensive to add a few pairs now, but quite a nuisance to recable later...

If you want to use your two telephone lines before you get recabled, you could
remove the connections to a number of the phone drops for the second line, and
leave it connected to only one or two of the jacks in your house (preferably
the shortest ones). This should reduce the crosstalk to the point where you
don't have to shout over the person using the 'other' line. (:-)

(If this still isn't enough, use some of the phone drops for your 'line 1',
and the other drops for your 'line 2'.

- Richard Chycoski (VE7CVS)
  richard@sfu.ca
From: denbeste@enigma.bgsu.edu (William C DenBesten)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Genie Garage Door safety-reverse light beam
Date: 3 Sep 92 22:32:49 GMT
Reply-To: denbeste@enigma.bgsu.edu
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Originator: denbeste@enigma

denbeste@enigma.bgsu.edu (William C DenBesten) writes:
| I just recieved a letter in from Genie offering to sell me (a registered genie
| owner) a light beam for $25.00, which is half of the regular listed price.
| They advertise this as being part of their "National Safety Campaign".
| 
| I suspect that others may be able to call their 800 number and purchase this 
| if they are so inclined.

 800-447-5564

-- 
William C. DenBesten is denbeste@bgsu.edu or denbesten@bgsuopie.bitnet
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: kls4344@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Person in flux)
Subject: Re: wood floor or carpet?
Reply-To: kls4344@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 14:44:43 GMT

In article <1992Aug27.105925.7484@cbnews.cb.att.com>, trb@cbnews.cb.att.com 
(tom.balent) writes:
>
>It is just that I have heard these objections to
>wood floors before and I don't buy them. I have wood floors in my
>house and I do not feel that I have more mainteance because of it
>(if fact I personally fee I have less) and, unless you have a very
>poorly insulated house, wood floors are not ice skating rinks to the
>feet (sure they are colder than a carpet).

I agree with Tom, especially because I have two dogs.  I use one area rug,
that's it.  The dog hair is so much easier to vacuum or sweep up from the
hardwood floors than it is from the rug, so do take that into consideration.  I
love my wood floors, especially in the summers in my bare feet.  Plus, they
look better for far longer than carpet ever does.

Katie
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: butteris@dingus.ssc.gov
Subject: Is homesteading still possible?
Keywords: homestead
Organization: Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 13:20:11 GMT


Hi, 

I was wondering if any countries, including the USA, still homestead. If  
so, which ones and how do I get more information about them? 

:+]
Jamey B @ SSC
From: n9020351@henson.cc.wwu.edu (James Douglas Del-Vecchio)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: suggested weapons (was: Killing burglars.)
Date: 27 Aug 92 20:50:26 GMT
Article-I.D.: henson.1992Aug27.205026.9659
Organization: Western Washington University

d3a132@pnl.gov (Carl P Baker) writes:

>NOT speaking from personal experience, but I can't imagen anything scarier
>than looking down the wrong end of a twelve bore at a frightened angry
>homeowner protecting her family.  This recommendation makes the most sense
>to me.  A cloud of shotgun pellets is awfully destructive at short range
>(less than 20 yards or so), and awfully innocuous after passing through
>a wall or 70 yards or so of air.

	A pellet of 00 buck (.36" diameter) is still potentialy very 
lethal after 100 yards of air (or several sheetrock walls) according
to a poster's ballistic calculations on rec.guns.  To my knowledge this
has been verified by others. Smaller pellets will slow down much more 
rapidly. 

>By #4 magnums do you mean 4 inch?  What size shot?  I think that I would save
>the rock salt for pesky teenage hoodlums (:-)), and stick to lead shot for
>the home invader.  Have to remember that baseball bat thing.  Handy to have
>while your watching over him waiting for the police to come (if he happens
>to not be dead and you choose to keep him that way).

	#4 buck pellets are .24" diameter.   Magnum loads are in the 
neighborhood of 2.4 oz of shot at about 1200 fps.   (Rem has a 12 ga
3" mag load with 15 pellets of 00 buck).

	Rock salt, btw, is something you would never want to shoot someone 
with.  If a person is not in enough danger to need a "real" load, he is not
in enough danger to justify lethal force (which even a "rock salt" load is
under the law).   I know you guys were kidding though.


>-- carl

Jim Del Vecchio
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: vln@icpsr.umich.edu (Victoria Neff)
Subject: Re: Sound insulation for ceiling/floor:  ideas?
Keywords: sound insulation fibreglass
Organization: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 16:54:28 GMT

In article <069FqB4w161w@cdthq.UUCP> gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston) writes:
>
>But fiberglass *still* isn't much good for acoustic blocking.
>

I used to own an old house (built in 1880).  The attic had been made into
an upstairs bedroom.  There was vermiculite there before the upstairs floor
was put in (as evidenced by leakage through holes in the top kitchen cupboards
and in the downstairs closet).  There was also wall-to-wall carpeting.

It was so quiet up there that a mad sports fanatic could watch games in the
living room and the quiet reader upstairs wouldn't even know the game was
on.  I thought it was the insulation.  Do you think it was mostly the
carpet?  Or is vermiculite better than fiberglass at insulating against
sound?
From: n9020351@henson.cc.wwu.edu (James Douglas Del-Vecchio)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: suggested weapons (was: Killing burglars.)
Date: 27 Aug 92 15:42:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: henson.1992Aug27.154222.19424
Organization: Western Washington University

sbarnhar@mailbox.mail.umn.edu (Dr. Barnhart) writes:

>I've had this conversation with some police officers I know, and they have
>been fairly unanimous in recommending a 12 guage shotgun with the shortest
>legal barrel length, no choke, and loaded with #4 magnums. 

A very effective combination, but a hard kicker, which will take practice.

>They recommend this over a handgun because it is terribly lethal at any
>in-house range; the shot won't pass between walls with enough power to
>seriously hurt strangers/loved ones in the next room/apartment; you just
>won't miss.

	#4 buck _will_ penetrate standard sheetrock walls with enough
force to kill those on the other side.   Even birdshot can go through
one wall often.    You also _can_ miss.  At close ranges a shotgun spreads
very little and is no easier to hit with than a rifle.

>Not missing is *critically* important.  Many people spend plenty of time on
>the range with their handguns, but it'd be nice if defending your home at 3
>AM was as easy as hitting a transitional taget down a well-lit shooting
>lane with all the time in the world.  Your house is dark/poorly lit, you've
>just woken up and aren't even sure that the sounds you're hearing are a
>prowler.  Could be the cat, your kid going to the bathroom, the wind, or
>your imagination.

>By the time you finally realize there's a prowler in the house, your heart
>is racing so fast you can hear it pounding in your ears and there's a cold
>sweat breaking out.  Now tell me how well you can aim stumbling around the
>corner in your underwear to hit a moving and likely armed target with a
>handgun?

>With a shotgun, even a novice shooter can quickly learn to hit a 6" clay
>target flying through the air much faster than even Carl Lewis can run, and
>at ranges much farther than any open area in a house.  This means that it's
>highly likely that you'll hit & kill the scumbag in your house, even though
>the light's dim, you're scared out of your wits, and the guy's running for
>it.  Which is the idea in the first place, right?

	A shotgun will not spread much in typical house ranges (maybe
a two inch pattern at 30 feet) and is no more easy to hit with than a 
handgun.   It is however, _far_ more likely to stop an attacker than a 
handgun given a hit.   Buckshot, like the #4 buck above, will do the
trick very well, but even large birdshot in a 12 ga is effective at 
very close ranges, plus will minimize wall penetration.

	There are so many things to choose.  What you are familiar with
is going to be best, be it shotgun or handgun.

>Shawn Barnhart ! sbarnhar@mailbox.mail.umn.edu

Jim Del Vecchio
From: adil@netmail.austin.ibm.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: water softener help
Date: 31 Aug 92 20:27:07 GMT
Reply-To: adil@netmail.austin.ibm.com
Distribution: usa
Organization: IBM, Austin

What are a good set of features to look for in a quality water softener? 
Is there an appreciable difference in the quality of water produced by a 
$400 softener and a $3000 one?


Adil K. Soofi
email: adil@netmail.austin.ibm.com, adil@cactus.org
voice: (512) 823-9388
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: denbeste@enigma.bgsu.edu (William C DenBesten)
Subject: Genie Garage Door safety-reverse light beam
Originator: denbeste@enigma
Reply-To: denbeste@enigma.bgsu.edu
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 21:00:48 GMT

I just recieved a letter in from Genie offering to sell me (a registered genie
owner) a light beam for $25.00, which is half of the regular listed price.
They advertise this as being part of their "National Safety Campaign".

I suspect that others may be able to call their 800 number and purchase this if
they are so inclined.

-- 
William C. DenBesten is denbeste@bgsu.edu or denbesten@bgsuopie.bitnet
From: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: 12 gauge vs 14 gauge wiring price
Keywords: electrical wiring
Date: 1 Sep 92 22:41:29 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

I wished for 12-gauge wiring on my house when I plugged in an electronic 375-
watt waterbed heater. The electronic control works by pulsing the current 
at lower settings. The lights in the bedroom flickered in time with this
draw, even though I measured the voltage drop at 2 volts max. I wound up
dropping another circuit, off the breaker that runs the attic fans (reasoning:
waterbed and attic fans rarely on at same time, and motors don't flicker
and thereby induce madness).
 
I believe that I would have had not problem on this circuit, had the wiring
been 12-gauge instead of 14 (and perhaps screwed to the outlets, rather 
than 'pushed').
 
Greg
From: browner@rm1.interlan.com (Michael Browner)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Credit report
Date: 3 Sep 92 13:14:51 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Racal-Milgo, Sunrise, Florida

In article <LOWRY.92Sep1152303@rotor.watson.ibm.com>, lowry@watson.ibm.com (Andy Lowry) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep1.143132.9181@ms.uky.edu> kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) writes:
|>  > You're forgetting one thing:  TRW is doing this out of the goodness of
|>  > their hearts.  There is (unfortunately) no law forcing them to give out
|>  > free credit reports except after a credit denial so unless you've just
|>  > been denied credit they can attach whatever conditions they like to the
|>  > free report.
|> 
|> I think this may have changed recently.  I had heard something about
|> some legislation that would soon kick in requiring credit agencies to
|> furnish free credit histories to individuals who request them, at
|> least once per year.  Presumably such legislation would include at
|> least a rough idea of what form the requests should take.
|> 
|> I'm not certain of this.  Has anybody else heard such a thing?
|> --
|> Andy Lowry, lowry@watson.ibm.com, (914) 784-7925
|> IBM Research, P.O. Box 704, Yorktown Heights, NY  10598

TRW does nothing out of the goodness of its heart, it has none.  
The reason TRW is giving out free reports is to actually head off 
legislation that would have forced them to provide the information free 
and other limits on their operations.

They are more concerned with opening the doors to limits on their operation
then with the consumers good.

Also there might have been a consent decree signed involved, don't remember 
for sure.
-- 
Michael Browner     		browner@sun1.interlan.com or
(305) 846-6848                  browner@rd1.interlan.com
Racal-Milgo, MS E-112, 
P.O.Box 407044, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33340
From: diprosp@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Michael DiProspero)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Eletric dryer - running but not drying
Date: 31 Aug 92 21:13:32 GMT
Reply-To: diprosp@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Michael DiProspero)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

I recently purchased a home in which the washer/dryer combo was included
by the previous homeowner.  Everything was fine for about a month -
but a couple of days ago when I tried to dry a load of clothes the
dryer kept on running and running, but never got hot.  The dryer is
a Kenmore and electric (I forget the model number).  Does anyone have
any ideas what might be causing this?  Thanks.

Mike
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: hubcap@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor)
Subject: Re: Spray Foam Follies
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 14:00:28 GMT

 * Laurin (wondering how to insulate the next door) 

With less foam.

-Mike (having read the label :-)
From: joncon@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Jon Connolly)
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 00:39:02 GMT
Subject: Used HouseHold Stuff Wanted!!
Organization: the HP Corporate notes server
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

                             HouseHold Stuff Wanted!!

I'm lookind for some different household things that maybe someone would
be getting rid of due to remodeling or something.

I'm looking for the following things:

Kitchen cabinets/counters

Refrigerator

Carpet

 
I just moved into a live\work space and I'm trying to add a kitchen as 
cheaply as I can ( all my money is going to rent).  If anyone has any
of these things that they are trying to get rid of I would appreciate
a call.

Thanks,

Jon Connolly
(415) 344-0708 nights
(415) 857-2914 days
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: 12 gauge vs 14 gauge wiring price
Date: 2 Sep 92 01:24:08 GMT
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <1992Aug31.202652.8126@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:
>In article <6068@atlas.cs.nps.navy.mil> erickson@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (David Erickson) writes:

>>On the contrary, as the FAQ points out, there is an exception to the
>>general rule that the rating of a device be at least as great as the
>>rating of the overcurrent protection.  It is o.k. to put 15A outlets
>>and switches in a 20A branch circuit.  It is also o.k. to do the
>>reverse.

Only in the US.  [I'm sorry I have to keep repeating that, but, since
this is USENET, ya hafta.  15A devices on 20A circuits is illegal
in Canada.]

>Also figure in the cost of the breakers. If you have a 150 amp panel,
>you can fit fifteen 20a breakers in it. It will take twenty 15a breakers
>to do the same job, and they each cost the same as a 20a. You'll save
>enough on breakers to pay for the wire. When you add in the fact that
>you'll use less 12ga wire to run fifteen 20a circuits than you will
>14ga wire for twenty circuits, the builder will probably show a cost
>savings.

A 150A panel can take as many breakers as it has slots.  There's no
requirement that the sum of breakers cannot add up to more than the
main breaker.  I have a fully stuffed 200A 32 holer, with
a 12 breaker pony.  That's 44 breakers - at 15A apiece, 330A (on each
side of the 220V).  Many of the breakers are > 15A.  All legal.
(I suspect the total is closer to 450A a side)

[Actually, I think it there is a factor in there somewhere, you can't
fill the panel with 50A breakers.  But the factor is at least 2 if
not 3]

Besides, the CEC and the NEC both have maximum outlet counts per circuit.
Which is (usually) 10.  A tract-house will usually max out each circuit
so you can't use fewer circuits.  So you won't be able to use less wire.
-- 
Chris Lewis; clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: psroff-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Ferret list: ferret-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: suggested weapons (was: Killing burglars.)
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 19:15:33 CDT
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

mjc+@cs.cmu.edu (Monica Cellio) writes:

> So, what specific weapons and ammo do you folks recommend for home 
> protection?  Assume it's for an adult with no previous firearms experience
> (bows and crossbows aside) and a willingness to learn.  (Of course, no weapon
> gets into my house under *my* power before I've been properly trained with 
> it.)  Goals are to maximize effectiveness (shooting to wound is stupid) while
> minimizing both risk to others (pass-through on walls) and property damage.

At last, a rational question!

I use a .357 Ruger Security Six revolver, made of stainless steel, 
loaded with inverted hollowbase wadcutters (handloads, in .357 cases).
This combination is reliable, won't jam trying to eject something,
is heavy enough to absorb recoil, and the loads are comparatively
mild, so there's not too much recoil to recover from if a second
shot is needed.

The load is reputed to make a .357 entrance hole and a 12" exit 
hole, but I have not personally verified this. A friends' brother
reportedly did, removing most of a burglars (armd and threatening)
back with three shots. (He had just gotten home from fast-draw 
team practice.)

The theory is that the IHBWC will tear hell out of the first thing
it hits, be it burglar or wall, and expend 90% of its' energy there,
greatly reducing the hazards from a miss. From test firing, I know 
they keyhole after about 30', which also causes them to lose energy,
once more limiting hazard. I consider it safer than a 12 gauge with
buckshot, and *far* easier to handle.

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Dryer ventillation problem
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 21:25:09 CDT
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

kosowsky@zener.harvard.edu (Jeffrey J. Kosowsky) writes:

> Is it possible to install some type of one way trap or valve in our
> vent to prevent the back-venting of the dryer exhaust into our
> appartment.

Normally, a dryer vent hood has a flapper to prevent this problem.
Since yours is vented into a chimney, that's obviously not possible
to do. You might be able to find a small stove damper or an A/C 
duct damper that you could close when you're not drying clothes.

Gary Heston, at home...
gary@cdthq.uucp
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: eliot@chutney.rtp.dg.com (Topher Eliot)
Subject: Re: Linoleum-bathtub joint
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 20:21:48 GMT
Distribution: usa
Reply-To: eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com
Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC
Keywords: caucking

In article <1992Aug24.174826.19385@cbnews.cb.att.com>, yp@cbnews.cb.att.com (yagnesh.pathak) writes:
|> In my 3-year old house I have seen this problem slowly progressing over last 
|> 6 months:
|> 
|> The joint between the linoleum floor and the bathtub in the bathroom was fine until 
|> 6 monts ago when a small portion of the flooring is lifted off and thus making 

I've dealt with curling sheet vinyl as follows:
* with a pointy tool, vacuum cleaner, whatever, clean out underneath as much 
as possible.
* heat the vinyl with a hairdryer to make it soft.  Blow underneath to help
dry things out.  If it's really wet, leave it going as long as necessary to
dry it, I guess.
* squidge silicone caulk under it to glue it down and seal it against water.
* press it down real hard, and clean up the silicone that squeezes out.
* put a flat board on it to hold it tight down against the floor.
* put mucho weight on the board.  I used a big bucket full of water.
* leave it overnight.

-- 
Topher Eliot             Data General DG/UX Systems Administration Development
(919) 248-6371      eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com       {backbone}!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!eliot
Obviously, I speak for myself, not for DG.
misc.consumers.house archivist.  Send mail to house-archive@dg-rtp.dg.com
"I opened an STR on myself and I had to reject it."  -- Paul McGrath
From: ram@jetsun.weitek.COM (Ram Ganapathi)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: plumbing contractor needed
Date: 1 Sep 92 22:25:19 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: WEITEK Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

We're looking for a good plumbing contractor who charges 
reasonable rates and performs excellent work to install
a gas line into our kitchen stove area. If you know of
someone you'd like to recommend or provide a reference
for, would you please send me e-mail?

We live in Milpitas so the contractor would have to
be South Bay based.

Thank you very much in advance!

Ram Ganapathi	 Weitek Corp.(408)738-5765 x2215         
1060 E. Arques Ave, Sunnyvale, Calif 94086.     ram@weitek.com		 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Possible gas leak?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 92 22:13:55 GMT

In article <1992Sep1.162958.10970@col.hp.com> cab@col.hp.com (Chris Best) writes:

>Pilot lights don't just 'come back on'.  The only case where this
>is close to true is in devices with electronic ignition, and they
>don't use pilot lights at all.

You'll find that most of the larger items (like furnaces) which have
electronic ignition use it to light the pilot, which then lights the
burners just like a more conventional arrangement. My GE oven works this
way, though the burners on top don't.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | "Zero Defects": The result of shutting down a
                    |    production line.
                    |         Kelvin Throop - The Management Dictionary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: hester@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (Bob Hester)
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 22:04:25 GMT
Subject: Re: Mice
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO