HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: davemill@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (d.m.miller)
Subject: X10 Reliability
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Indian Hill South - Naperville, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 14:58:32 GMT
Keywords: Heathkit motion detector flood lights

I have just had my first experience with X10 hardware.    I installed
two Heathkit motion detector flood light sets that send an X10 signal
back to a lamp module inside the house.  Both use the same house and
unit codes.  Both spot lights are on the same 120V phase and I have one
lamp module on each of the 120V phases.   I also installed a .1MF
capacitor across the two phases in the circuit breaker box.

The motion detectors turn on the flood lights OK, but the inside lamp
modules are less than reliable at best.   Some times one or the
other will detect the X10 signal.  Some times both or neither
will. Some times one will not turn off. The lamp module on the same
phase as the flood lights seems a little more reliable than the lamp
module on the opposite phase. 

The Heath hot line suggested I remove all surge protectors on any
appliances.  This made no difference.  I suspected high current
appliances such as the water pump causing trouble.  With the pump off,
they still don't always work.  My house shares a Com-Ed power
transformer with several other houses.  I don't know what is in my
neighbor's houses, but I doubt they have any X10 equipment.

Anybody on the net have any ideas what might attenuate the X10 signal,
or what else I can do to isolate the problem?   Or, is this typical of
X10 hardware?

Thanks in advance,  Dave Miller  att!ihlpe!dave
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord)
Subject: Re: Tying 2 Switches to Common Load?
Reply-To: davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord)
Organization: NCR Corporation, Rancho Bernardo
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:56:50 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.230331.8188@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r) writes:
>In article <1993Jan5.203718.21060@wybbs.mi.org> jongsma@benzie.si.com writes:
>>Does someone with access to the NEC know if it's within spec to drive
>>a common load with two switches?
>>
>>I'm thinking about using a common exhaust fan for two bathrooms. I'd
>>like either switch to turn the fan on and was thinking that all I'd
>>need to do would be to wire the fan and both switches in parallel.
>>The net effect would be that either bathroom switch would be able to turn
>>on the fan, but both would have to be off for the fan to go off.
>
>Why don't you just do the job right and use 3-way switches?

That was my first reaction, then I looked again at what he was trying
to do. Two bathrooms, one fan. He wants the fan on whenever either
bathroom is in use so his idea is LOGICALLY correct. You wouldn't
want the user of one bathroom to be able to turn the fan off while
the other bathroom is still in use. The only problem
is that he is never going to train his family to always turn the
switches on and off when they go in and out.
Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:16255 rec.aquaria:9820 alt.aquaria:6407
From: howardr@col.hp.com (Howard Rebel)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: "humid" environment materials?
Date: 4 Jan 1993 16:39:06 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division
NNTP-Posting-Host: hplsdum.col.hp.com

oleg@netcom.com (Oleg Kiselev) writes:
> I am planning to build a "fish room" to house a large number of
> aquariums in the (uninsulated) garage of our house.  The fish room will
> have to be insulated and the materials, obviously, able to resist high
> humidity levels.  Ideally the structure will also be cheap and easy to
> build and easy to remove.  Some sound insulation would be desirable, too.
> 
> The insulation does not need to be extremely good: the temperatures here 
> rarely fall below freezing and I am prepared to heat the fish room.

Insulation is your friend.  It will pay for itself in short order. 

I can not produce the figures for you but I tried using a space heater
to raise the temperature of a heated bedroom and my utility bill went
up by nearly a $100.  The average room temperature was about 60 without
the heater and 75 with it.  

Your mileage may vary.
-- 
Howard Rebel hpcsos.col.hp.com
From: tubis@cs.purdue.edu (Charlotte I. Tubis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: pocket doors
Date: 11 Jan 1993 14:19:33 -0500
Organization: Purdue University Department of Computer Sciences
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: gareth.cs.purdue.edu
Keywords: pocket doors


I have a pocket door to a powder room.  I have a lock and pull combination
on it which is not
relable or sturdy.  It costed about $15.  I have seen Baldwin locks for
pocket doors which cost $200.  If you have pocket doors like this,
how have you solved the problem?
Thanks,
Charlotte
From: zeus@cs.umd.edu (Hillel Steinberg)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: X-10 and HAL's Frankenstein Module Interface
Date: 12 Jan 93 16:53:12 GMT
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742


   Hi guys/gals.  I recently bought a Frankenstein Serial module from Home
Automation Laboratories.  I would like to use this device to monitor X-10
activities in my house - Yes, this device goes beyone the CP290, because 
it can poll for activity on the wire, as well as transmit.

  My problem is that It comes with software for microsoft "C", and I want to 
use it under UNIX (In particular - Linux).  Does anyone have any experience
with this device?  Especially under Unix?  Any source code out there for it
yet ???  Thanxs in advance,

        - Hillel
From: rand@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Rand Briggs)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 00:34:01 GMT
Subject: Gray flexible water supply pipe OK?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house


	Poly-Butyl Water Supply Pipe

	I am looking into building a new home.  The builder suggests
	using the flexible, gray, plastic pipe, rather than the
	usual copper pipe.  I am a little bit leery of it.  Does
	anyone have information about this stuff?


	Thanks,

	Rand

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: garyp@rmtc.paramax.com (Gary Palangian [RMTC/ISP])
Subject: Re: Garage Door Openers
Organization: Paramax Systems
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 18:47:39 GMT

In article <1993Jan07.044619.13320@n8emr.cmhnet.org>, gws@n8emr.cmhnet.org (Gary Sanders) writes:
|> In article <1993Jan5.001444.22508@gvl.unisys.com> garyp@rmtc.unisys.com (Gary Palangian [RMTC/ISP]) writes:
|> >
|> >    These policies have been designed to protect the garage 
|> >door opener consumer from crushing kids by accident.  The
|> >garage door consumer will have to pay about $20 to $40
|> >per opener plus an additional $20-$50 in installation for
|> >the new units.
|> 
|> Consumer, There are desisnged to protect the opener manufactures.
|> Its a RTFM clause for the opener attornys. I have a 15yr old genie and
|> it stops when going down if something is in the way.. my "Stupid" dog
|> had tried to squeeze under the door while it was comming down and each 
|> time the door stopped and reveresed directions as it was suppose to.
|> 
|> -- 
|> Gary W. Sanders gws@n8emr.cmhnet.org, 72277,1325
|> N8EMR @ N8JYV (ip addr) 44.70.0.1 [Ohio AMPR address coordinator]
|> HAM BBS 614-895-2553 (1200/2400/V.32/PEP) Voice: 614-895-2552 (eves/weekends)



I guess subtle satire is not my strong suit.  I hate the new regs
regarding garage door openers.  It seems to be yet another attempt to
save us from our own stupidity.  I think it is natural selection
when you crush your kids with your garage door.
Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:16607 misc.legal:22372
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.legal
Subject: Re: Zoning Question
Date: 11 Jan 93 22:07:33 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

sohl,william h writes:
>Michael Regoli writes:
>>I live in a subdivision that has about two dozen lots.  We're all
>>zoned 'agriculture' (the land used to be a vineyard).
>>
>>Can our taxes increase due to a reclassification in zoning?  
>
>That's not likely.
>

Hah!  Don't bet on it.  It is very common for residential zones to pay
more taxes than agricultural.  In out own state of NJ, for example, there
is something called Green Acres that gives farmers a tax break for keeping
their property farmland.

Dave
-- 
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
"I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25,
 but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com (Fred Christiansen)
Subject: "gap-osis" between range and base cabinets/countertop
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, RT Software
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 21:30:14 GMT

Drop-in and slide-in ranges typically come with a flange around the top
which rests/seats/sits down on the countertop, preventing crumbs, spills,
etc, from working their way between range and cabinet.  However,
standard ranges (with controls on the "backsplash") do not have this
flange.  Therefore, despite one's best efforts, there is often a gap
between the range top and the cabinet countertop into which crumbs
and spills can fall/flow.  Yuck!

Given that a standard range is preferred over the others (for whatever
arbitrary reasons), what can be done about this gap?  Has anyone found
anything that seals off this gap?  Latex caulk comes to mind, but I'm
uncertain how it stands up to temperature cycling (as the range top
heats up and cools down due to range use).
-- 
Fred Christiansen, Motorola, 2900 S Diablo Way, Tempe, AZ 85282  "Canajun, eh?"
fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com  ||  uunet!phx.mcd.mot.com!fredch  ||  +1 602-438-3464
  ".. I have set before you Life and Death, blessing and cursing;  therefore
      choose Life, that both you and your children may live"  Deut 30:19
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: eldred@rrunner.jpl.nasa.gov (Dan Eldred)
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the pricinple of your home loan?
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 02:09:07 GMT

In article <1993Jan4.232220.3008@mdd.comm.mot.com> rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com (Doug Rudoff) writes:
>
>I have a friend who is considering putting a few thousands dollars
>toward the princple of her home loan. She's owned the home a year and
>a half and right now only plans to spend a few more years there.
>
>To me this doesn't sound like good financial sense. Sure, she'll gain
>more equity in her house, but what advantage does that give her? (She
>put 20% down when she bought the house; no PMI.) It seems like there
>are better things to do with the cash she has. I'd rather have my
>money readily available instead of locked into a house.
>
>Does anyone have any advice, pro or con, on reducing the principle
>amount of a home loan?

The real cost of borrowing the money against the house is the mortgage rate
minus your tax bracket.  The money you make on investment is the interest
rate minus your tax bracket.  The principle put into either the mortgage
or an investment doesn't disappear and so it doesn't fit into the
equation.  Thus the general rule of thumb for what to do
is this:  if you have a way to invest the money with a greater
rate of return than your mortgage rate, then you are better off investing;
otherwise you should pay off the mortgage.  As it is difficult today
to get a return rate greater than a mortgage rate, it would seem that
paying down the mortgage would be preferred.

It gets more complicated if you also consider the direction that interest
rates will take in the future.  Money you put into the mortgage today
is no longer liquid;  that is, you can't easily take it out of the
mortgage to invest if interest rates rise significantly.  Thus, anticipation
of large rises of interest rates in the future would weigh against
paying down the principle on the mortgage, other factors being equal.
If your friend is only planning to keep the house for a few years this
is probably a moot point, as it's probably better to take the sure money
today rather than gamble on what is going to happen in the future.  

If you really want to sweat the details, you have to make a spreadsheet
which incorporates the tax tables into it, as there are limits on tax
deductions, and the difference between interest and deductions may drive
you into another tax bracket.

A third option is to simply spend the money and increase your standard
of living today as a trade against your standard of living in the future.
I can't help you here!


	- Dan		eldred@rrunner.jpl.nasa.gov

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mje@pookie.pass.wayne.edu (Michael J. Edelman)
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the
Reply-To: mje@pookie.pass.wayne.edu
Organization: Wayne State University
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 20:43:01 GMT

In article 27154@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU, peterson@CS.ColoState.EDU (james peterson) writes:
>In article <1993Jan6.191958.6899@cs.wayne.edu> mje@pookie.pass.wayne.edu writes:
>>
>>Those who had low 4 and 5% mortgages they bought in the 50s
>>and 60s profitied from the Carter era high inflation rates. 
>
>A minor quibble.  Is this the result of a selective memory that forgot the
>inflation of the Nixon/Ford era????? Have we forgotten wage and price
>controls, and the WIN program?  But then again, what is 8 years compared to
>4.......?
>
Big difference. The Nixon/Ford era peaked around what, 7%? and was on a downward trend
when Carter took office. Then it went up to around 16% and more. That's when the 
S&Ls became insolvent. Followups to appropriate newsgroups, and only if you have
real data. ;-)

           --mike


Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Advice on re-finishing wood floors
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: misc
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 19:11:40 GMT

In article <9301071210.PN15420@LL.MIT.EDU> khamsi@ll.mit.edu (Sarir Khamsi) writes:
>
>I am moving onto a house that has hard wood floors and would like to
>know how much work it may be for a first-time kind of guy (me) to sand
>and coat the wood floors. Is it worth doing yourself, having some
>experience wood-working? Thanks in advance.

The answer is a resounding "maybe". The general procedure for DIY is
this.

You rent sanding equipment. Around here this consists of a big drum
sander and an 8" disc sander for the edges. Rental costs are about
$45 a day, which includes a reasonable amount of sandpaper. If your
floors are fairly flat, you can do about three rooms a day. If they're
badly cupped, you'll be lucky to do one.

Remove all shoe moulding, wear a mask, and have at it. You raise the
drum sander off the floor, start it up, and *gently* lower it. It's
easiest to pull one of these along the floor, and you should have it
moving before the paper touches the floor. The biggest risk an amateur
runs is having the sander dig trenches in the floor at the point that
the sander is lowered. Work in the same direction the boards run.

After you finish with the drum sander, do the edges with the disc one.
These things are pretty much like routers in shape and power. Set it
down on the floor, turn it on, and keep it moving in circles. One of
these can put an arc shaped gouge in the floor if you let it get away.
The best way to handle it is to keep it *very* slightly tilted so that
it keeps trying to get away in only one direction.

You basically have a choice of shellac or varnish for a finish. Shellac
dries more rapidly; you can get several coats down in a weekend. It does
not hold up as well as varnish, and it doesn't look as good, in my
opinion. With the old formula varnishes, you needed three coats, and
each coat required a day to dry. No between coat sanding is required if
you timed it right.

With the new "low vapor" formulae, I don't know how many coats are
required. I favor McCloskey's varnishes myself. Avoid the Behr brand
like the plague.

Oh - the most important thing. Before you do anything, stick a piece of
paper or something similar down in a crack between two of the boards
and get some idea of how much wood there is above the tongue in the
joints. If there's less than 1/8", talk to a pro. If there's less than
1/16", forget about sanding the floors.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | If you always tell the truth, you never
                    | have to remember what you said.
                    |                        Samuel Clemens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dougl@mail.boi.hp.com (Doug Leno)
Subject: Re: Honeywell Electronic Thermostat
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 13:54:37 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard / Boise, Idaho
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

Steven Bellovin (smb@research.att.com) wrote:

: The kicker is that the installation instructions are not ``consumer-
: friendly''.  That is, you're not going to find handy, step-by-step
: instructions on how to figure out which wire goes where.  You're going
: to have to rely on some circuit diagrams, and maybe some common sense.
: My brother-not-quite-(yet?)-in-law ran into trouble installing one;
: however, Honeywell's customer service line was very helpful, and talked
: him through the proper setup.  In general, the simpler your situation
: (i.e., heat only, no AC, no zone relays), the easier time you'll have.


Make sure you obtain the detailed data sheet publication for the model of
interest.  They are available from Honeywell directly, or through distribution
channels (contractors or wholesalers).  I got mine from the local distributor.
These publications are some 20 pages long and quite detailed, giving complete
installation instructions including schematics for various configurations,
specifications, cycle rate adjustment, etc - even a rather detailed
troubleshooting chart (not just "install correctly", or "check batteries") and
a glossary of terms.  no description of Adaptive Intelligent Recovery (AIR) ,
though.

Interesting that you persuaded a wholesale distributor to sell you one.
The local distributor here wouldn't hear of it, although they were 
more knowledgeable than the heating contractors and were more than willing
to supply information to help me decide which model to choose.  

Marc and I have just completed a rather detailed dialog with Honeywell, where
we learned a bit more about AIR and the difference between the different
models.  Perhaps he and I will collaborate on an FAQ or something.

Doug

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond)
Subject: Funny Feeling From Heater
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 16:57:13 GMT


Ihave two electric ignition furnaces in my basement (this used to be a
duplex). They've been checked by PG&E (our gas and electric co.) and found
to be ok. But it seems to me when they are on I feel a little woozy
sometimes. I don't smell gas, except for a teeny puff just before they
light (I guess they take a little too long to light - can that be
adjusted?), but don't know if that would really be enough to make me feel
odd - do you think?

Others have suggested something about vent gasses and cracks in something as
possible causes and I'm trying to understand that, but don't really. I don't
really smell anything, any more than nitrous oxide at the dentist's office
really has a smell, but it makes you feel something anyway.

Anybody got any possible explanation? Thanks. Or something specific I can
either check for myself or have checked for - and then real specifics,
please. Thanks again.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the pricinple of your home loan?
Organization: OSF Research Institute
Distribution: na
Date: 12 Jan 93 11:10:02

In article <C0pKoz.8J7@plato.ds.boeing.com> simnet@plato.ds.boeing.com (Mark R Poulson) writes:

   >On a realated note, if someone gave you $450,000 to build a house (incluing
   >a $150,000 lot -> $300,000 for house), would it be better to:
   >1. pay cash for house
   >2. get a mortgage for say $150,000 - $200,000 and invest it other places.
   >3. build a $250,000 house + lot and invest the other $200,000.

   I'd build two houses that are affordable by at least half of
   prospective home buyers... -- live in one and rent out the other.
   So basically I'm saying do option 3 with an investment you trust.

The fact that you're investing the other $200k in real estate is
completely orthogonal to the rest of the question....

   This is the ideal opportunity for real estate investment since you
   don't have a mortgage to suck out all the cash flow!

This would be true of ANY investment made with cash rather than a
loan!

   What worries me with other investments that require brokers (mutual funds,
   stocks, etc) are their fees.

Real estate transactions have much higher costs than mutual fund and
stock transactions.  And of course there are no-load funds.

   The "load" on a mutual fund can take a sizeable chunk of your
   profits

I think you're thinking of the management fee here.  Surely you are
not claiming that running a rental property is cost-free?  (Sure, it
may be your time, not cash, but at that point you should compare it
with other possibly profitable uses of your time, such as setting up a
business in your garage.)

	   if you don't have a huge amount of money invested. Same
   with stocks.

These costs can be kept down by using no-load funds and discount
brokers.

	-s
From: rstern@col.hp.com (Richard Stern)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the
Date: 7 Jan 1993 16:44:22 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division
NNTP-Posting-Host: hpcslb1.col.hp.com

jon@destin.dazixco.ingr.com (Jon Stone) writes:
> 
> It depends what your viewpoint is.  Most of the posters have assumed
> that putting money in your house is just like any other investment.  I
> don't.  Paying off your mortgage is different in the following ways
> (among others) than putting money in an equivalent (after tax)
> investment.

Well, no matter how you like to view it, it really is just another
investment.

Here's another way to look at it that may make sense:

  Assume a $100,000 30yr 8% mortgage.  The PI payment is $733.77 per month.
  By paying $833.77 per month, the mortgage will be payed off in 21 years.
  This is only an extra $100 per month.  With the normal payment, the
  loan balance at 21 years is around $60,000.  Seems like a great deal,
  right?

  But instead of putting that $100/month extra to the mortgage, let's
  put it in a mutual fund that returns 9% average (of course your 
  mileage will vary).  At the 21year mark, you will have well over
  $60,000 in your fund (someone else can supply the exact numbers, but
  it will depend on the year by year return).  Now you can pay off the
  loan balance and have cash left over in your pocket.  If your fund
  happens to return 10%-15% average, you come out way ahead.  If your
  fund returns 7.5%, you lose.  It's a gamble like any other investment.

> Advantages:
> - you pay less interest.  If you have a 30 yr loan, 90+% of the money
>   you are paying is interest.  True, there is a tax refund, but you're
>   only getting back ~30% of what your paying out anyway.

Any extra $$/month only reduces that interest by (that $$ * loan rate).
If you can earn more than your loan rate, the earnings more than offset
that interest.

> - As a friend of mine says, "Once my house is payed off, I can flip
>   hamburgers and still feed my family" (hard times scenario).

As I stated above, if you can earn a larger return than your loan rate,
you'll have enough $$ to pay off your loan and have some left over.

Richard Stern
rstern@col.hp.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house