cigarette smoke damaging a tv ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Flump
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 01:02:45 am
content: Panasonic refused to repair a television under warranty as the damage was caused by cigarette smokePersonally I hate working on equipment that stinks of nicotine, looks like panasonic do too.Quotehttp://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/660406/cigarettes-harmful-tv-manufacturers-refuse-fix-smoke-damaged-set

author: uncle_bob
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 01:28:37 am
content: HiBased on the article, can that damage happen? .... yes. I have seen cigarette smoke residue build up on surfaces. It can be tough to clean off some plastics without doing damage.Bob

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 01:29:33 am
content: Seems reasonable to me, the gunk that builds up from cigarettes is absolutely fucking vile, and I have no doubt that as it builds up it can become conductive, or block parts of the backlight.But hey, second hand smoke totally doesn't affect anyone, right?

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 02:55:13 am
content: From my experience, smokers are rather ignorant of the effect they have on others - and if they are, they don't give a sh*t.In a past life, I've had two members of my team 'duck out for a smoke' several times during the day and when you add up the time away from their desks, you're down an hour a day - but try to pull them up and you're the worst bugger in the company. Their co-workers get peeved about this too, but don't say much in case they offend the offenders.Also smokers hanging around the entrance door to a building annoys me when I have to run the gauntlet to get inside.The one thing that irritates me is that when I comment about someone's smoking - because theywreakof it - they don't believe I'm doing anything but being an a**hole. I don't live in an ashtray - so I can smell it really easily.I once worked with a guy who gave up smoking (for a while) and after a month he was commenting on just how much flavour his food had. My boss (also a non-smoker) and I just laughed ourselves stupid.So a couple of smokers getting antsy about the effect of their habit on a TV is no surprise. And yes, such damage is entirely possible.

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 02:57:15 am
content: I've got a PC power supply that was exposed to cigarette smoke in a work environment. It's been stored for years, so at least doesn't smell.I've torn it apart to keep the PFC circuit to experiment with, most of the other components are going straight in the bin as I don't need them, and the leads aren't going to be easy to clean.Will try a bottle of PCB cleaner out on it today I think, see how well that works.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 04:47:22 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on April 13, 2016, 02:55:13 amWorking for the government there was a policy that you could not ask a smoker to change their behaviour as it would be "discrimination", even if that behaviour was ignoring all the policies and no smoking signs.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 05:58:23 am
content: I'm actually reasonably qualified to answer this one. Finally 3 months of slaving in a laboratory dripping with nicotine has two minutes of use!Nicotine is terribly destructive. It's acidic and hygroscopic so what you will find is that first it attacks the surface of anything it gets on. This breaks down any protection particularly encapsulation and lamination. Then the moisture gets in and with the acidic nature of the stuff, boom corrosion.It also has adhesive properties due to the high viscosity which destroys everything mechanical.And as if that's not enough it has relatively good insulation properties so forget convection. All your little tantalums now have wooly nicotine hats.And even more painful. It is entirely impossible to clean off entirely. I actually shaved my head after working in that lab to get rid of the smell.If I'm honest you should probably just throw anything away covered in it. It's pretty much the most disgusting thing on the planet. I can't even eat Marmite now - looks the same.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 06:02:31 am
content: I never could eat Marmite. It just was never as good as Vegemite, but now you've given me an extra reason.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 06:06:15 am
content: Quote from: Someone on April 13, 2016, 04:47:22 amPut me into an environment where I was required to endure a smoker's habit and I'd leave the area. If I was challenged, I'd simply state that I was not willing to work in an unsafe environment.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 07:19:52 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on April 13, 2016, 06:06:15 amAs far as I'm aware, all Australian Government buildings and grounds are non-smoking. At least in NSW. Those who choose to smoke (and yes, I'm not willing to accept anything other that it being a personal choice, no matter how addicted you might be) have to go out the door, onto the street somewhere.It's the most disgusting habit I've ever encountered. I'd be willing to put that above nose pickers and people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom.I actually think they should take it one step further and ban smoking while driving. I can think of no good reason why someone has to light up while behind the wheel of a moving motor vehicle. Not only is it a distraction but I can bet the majority of smokers also toss their butts out onto the street. (Thank you to the considerate few who don't.)

author: continuo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 07:41:20 am
content: If it looks similar to this, you likely won't get a warranty repair

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 07:51:08 am
content: While i agree smoking is bad, and the user brought the problem on themselves, the product should be fit for purpose.People smoking inside their houses is something to be expected and you can argue the manufacture should have built the product to be able to survive that.If the situation was the same, but it was residue from the users asthma inhaler i think people would all be in agreement that the manufacture is being stupid.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 07:54:21 am
content: I disagree. It's misuse of the product along the same lines as cleaning it with acid.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 08:13:05 am
content: Quote from: Psi on April 13, 2016, 07:51:08 amI agree -- But to expect a product to live up to years of torture due to smoking and other 'unnatural' chemicals introduced into an otherwise natural environment, no, I don't think so. When things like durability of a product comes into question, it needs to be what's "reasonable". Whilst smoking in someone's private residence might be common, I don't think it's reasonable to assume household appliances, fixtures and fittings would stand up to that kind of environment for very long and still be in some kind of original condition.I don't think an asthma inhaler has quite the same effect. Most people can puff away at an inhaler all they like (despite not suffering from asthma) and have no ill effect. I remember years ago doing tests on old breath analysis machines (the types used by Law Enforcement Agencies to test drunk drivers). It was a common misconception that asthma puffers had an effect and altered the reading (they don't), and we're talking about precise, calibrated instruments there.On the flip side however I think it'sreasonableto assume that a person would look after their equipment, particularly if it's not sealed, has vents and fans. That includes regular cleaning/dusting and not subjecting them to harsh chemical, particulates or gaseous environments.Based on the fact that the television in the article was purchased in 2012 and 4 years later has developed a problem (evidently due to smoking), I don't think that's unreasonable at all. Maybe if it were 3 months, yeah OK, design could have been better.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 10:43:08 am
content: Quote from: Flump on April 13, 2016, 01:02:45 amThe obvious solution is to take it to a place that employs smokers that eat meat...and drink alcohol.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 10:50:15 am
content: I'm wondering, for you long his new TV will withstand those toxic conditions.When somebody brings a device for repair taken from the room where people were smoking, the first thing you want is to get it out of the door. If you dare to open it, then half day ventilating the room is needed to decontaminate it from this shit.

author: TheWelly888
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 10:52:33 am
content: As a medical equipment repair technician, I have come across medical gear reeking of nicotine.Usually nebulisers for dosing inhaled medication!My hospital lends out apnea alarms to parents of premature babies on discharge as such babies are at higher risk of stopping breathing when asleep. They are used for a year before being returned (we have a good network of community nurses who can get them back!) and recently I had one smelling of nicotine!

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 10:57:33 am
content: Here is a $20000 projector, smoked to death within one year beyond repair. They tear it apart and show the ugly effects of cigarette smoke on the optics.Mind you that a projector differs from a tv in that it actively cools the whole time by blowing the air from the room through the projector to cool it.Unfortunately only german language but hey we can all watch the pictures

author: filtatosv6
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:24:18 am
content: I had repair PC units in the past that had the nicotine blanket like the above pictures but it takes from 2 to 5 years for the nicotine to build up like that and make any significant problem to the unit.I can't understand how did it destroy a TV inside the frame of the warranty.p.s.The only nice thing is that you can easily visualise the air flow inside a unit.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:40:11 am
content: Quote from: filtatosv6 on April 13, 2016, 11:24:18 amMy read of that article doesn't indicate that the TV was 'destroyed'. I just see mention of 'shadowing'. As I see it, this could mean a loss of brightness due to electrical fault - OR - simple obstruction of light by the build up of nicotine and smoke residue. The latter being repairable by mechanical cleaning (in theory).

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:42:10 am
content: Repair a tv by the official service centre?They can only replace pcb's or the entire panel, the latter with the added labor costs usually making the total tv repair costs > price of a new tv.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:45:39 am
content: Quote from: filtatosv6 on April 13, 2016, 11:24:18 amI am not sure it was in the standard warranty:QuoteSo four years of smoke abuse does not surprise me one bit.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:49:51 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on April 13, 2016, 07:19:52 amMore than once I've pulled up behind someone at a set of lights and seen a LIT butt tossed out the window, to end up on the road... smoking away. More than once I've seen this happen on TOTAL FIRE BAN days. One day I'm going to yield to the urge of getting out of my car, picking it up and throwing it back into their car saying "You dropped this."

author: botcrusher
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:52:09 am
content: Reminds me of when i got an old ruby G3 from a smoker. I managed to get it all out of the plastics, my only problem with the G3 is that the underside is low voltage, and the top side... Well, let's just say the cable coming out the back of the CRT looked, and still looks like, a furry tarantula. No way in hell I'm going anywhere close to that thing with my bare hands.Seems to have been enough though, it chugs along quite merrily after that. Quite rugged little guy, i would have assumed 10+ years of smoke would have toasted something.

author: han
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 11:59:34 am
content: The tar stick to anything. My hand stink of tar for whole week after cleaning electronic used by heavy smoker...

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 12:03:34 pm
content: Quote from: Brumby on April 13, 2016, 11:40:11 amIf you ever tried to disassemble the LCD panel. you'd understand that's impossible. Light diffuser is a stack of thin films, if you try to clean them or even touch the surface with a finger, they'll be ruined.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 12:34:09 pm
content: How much do you have to smoke to make it that bad? Both my parents smoked, my Dad died young, when I was a kid, because of it, and despite quitting a number of years ago, the damage was already done and my Mom recently passed from lung cancer. But nothing in the house ever had such nasty coats of filth in them. I've lived with smokers since the more modern computer era and none of my computers ever was as horrible as the pictures previously posted. I have more problems with the filter getting full of dog and cat hair from my pets than I ever had from nicotine and tar.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 12:45:41 pm
content: Thought I'd just leave this here:

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 12:48:42 pm
content: Quote from: rrinker on April 13, 2016, 12:34:09 pmIn the article both persons state 20 a day so 40 in the houshold per day for 4 years are 58400 cigarettes and then complainingThey probably next are going to claim the damage to the cigarette companies because nowhere on the packs it states that it damages electronics

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 04:44:14 pm
content: Back when I used to work in TV repair shops, the 2 worst kinds of sets to get stuck working on were the smoked up ones, or the ones packed with cockroaches.Nicotine/smoke film buildup in the high voltage portions of a CRT television was a frequent cause of corona/arcing. And it gunked up the contacts in the tuner, back when those were mechanical rather than varactor types.Once VCRs came on the scene, the nicotine film would cling to video heads and drive belts, causing all kinds of problems, as well.

author: _Andrew_
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 06:22:28 pm
content: I found the same working many years ago in a TV repair shop every so often something would come in with it's guts dripping with brown nicotine goop and caked in dust and soot partials. All added up to an early demise of the equipment.Open fires can also release a lot soot particles that clog up and coat the guts of electronic products. Luckily often a good can of air duster, isopropyl alcohol and a pack of safe cloths can win at getting it off.Bedrooms can be an unfriendly environment for electronic devices where air can flow through the guts. There can be a disproportionate amount of dust that builds up.Operating theaters can be something else. The equipment seems to do a fantastic job of collecting all the lint that comes of the surgical greens and cause overheating problems. Even with two PPM service visits a year you could stuff pillows with what would come out of the kit. Then there are also unsavory fluids that magically get in side the equipment.

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 07:04:37 pm
content: Take appart a movinghead with over 2000 or 3000 hours of nightclub use and you will find that a screwdriver is best tool for removing the dust.Of course that was pre smoking ban. It is now illegal to smoke in places of employment. Which is basically all buildings appart from private homes and prisons. We even banned in cars with children this year. Let's just say, if you are a smoker you will not want to come to Ireland. Oh and cigarettes are 10 euro a packet.

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 09:33:00 pm
content: See your moving heads and raise you the old Crown Macrotech power amps, only it was not so much cigarette smoke as the glycol from the smoke machines, dripping bum fluff all over the boards and power devices, and the miserable stuff is hygroscopicAlso cracked oil hazers do nothing good to video projection gear....Regards, Dan.

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2016, 10:02:24 pm
content: In early TV repair days in high school, one of the master license instructors had some etiquette tips. One was you only washed the crt or safety glass when the owner was out of the room. They were a bit embarrassed if they saw the brown flood dripping down the screen.Also, many times they would notice a much brighter and sharper picture. Nice if not related to the problem you fixed. Made collecting the bill easier.Everyone smoked in the 60's.Oh, and that computer was typical of the brown dust found stuck to evrything in tube TVs, not to mention HV corona made it almost as bad a paste as decayed cockroaches.Wonder if Australian cockroaches end up eating your customers...

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 14, 2016, 12:21:03 am
content: Quote from: MrSlack on April 13, 2016, 12:45:41 pmThanks, I almost forgot about that oneSome more, geez smokers are filthy.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2016, 12:21:25 am
content: Yeah Mr. Slack's photo is absolutely disgusting. Yes, both my parents smoked, fairly heavily, but they also frequently emptied the ashtrays so there weren't piles and piles of butts around. And my Mom regularly cleaned the house, so there was no buildup of film on windows or tabletops or anything. Now, combine heavy smoking with the level of laziness exhibited in that picture and yes, a complete disgusting mess. It would be amazing if over half that keyboard actually works.BTW I do not myself smoke, almost 50 now and I have never even TRIED a cigarette, absolutely no desire to inhale burning material into my lungs. I can't get why an otherwise intelligent person would even try. The addiction after you start is one thing, but even that, you can overcome if you really wanted to. My Mom quit cold turkey after more than 50 years of smoking, just decided one day she didn't like not being able to breathe freely and threw out what she had on hand and never bought another pack. Unfortunately it was already too late and the damage had been done, but she probably did live longer than she would have had she not quit.

author: R_Gtx
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2016, 11:51:55 pm
content: About 30 years ago, came a call from the graphics operatives from their control room at a television studio complex, not one of their bank of crt monitors could be calibrated for brightness. Walking in, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife, every person in there was chainsmoking (live television could be stressful!). I walked out returned with a can of Colclene tf and a roll of absorbent paper, cleaned half of one screen, demonstrating the source of their "fault", and left them to clean their own monitors. I cannot recall any genuine fault that could be attributed to the heavy smoking of many production staff. Now fruit juice was a real problem. Spilt on consoles, if not properly cleaned, would etch away pcb tracks and damage switch contacts.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 12:18:33 pm
content: I used to fix TV's in the early 80's as a side business. Sometimes the tar would exacerbate arcing on Rank Arena EHT triplers. Those triplers were very expensive, but could often be fixed by cleaning the gunk off, gouging out the charcoaled plastic, and sealing it with RTV silicone sealant.The only thing worse than a drug addict smoker's TV set is the stink is their breath which is not dissimilar to that when walking on a fresh dog turd.Fortunately Australia has developed to the point where teenage smokers are classes as losers amongst their peers. But in countries like France, China, Indonesia, and Japan, the populations are ignorant of the hazards of smoking. In France, they are so backward, the young still think it is cool to smoke. Smoking is cured by pricing the drugs into being unaffordable. It has worked in Australia, where more people from lower socio-economic backgrounds tended to smoke, so the smokes were taxed heavily to make the government money and to help the smokers give up their drug addiction. $25 per packet and about to rise heavily in 3 weeks time.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 12:23:33 pm
content: They are more or less doing the same here. Spineless politicians everywhere - if it's so bad, then just make it illegal and be done with it. New York state tried to tax it out of existence, and made the tax more palatable by saying the increased revenue would go to fund schools - can't argue with that much, right? Well, the huge tax had the desired first effect - cigarette sales plummeted. But then came the second, unintended consequence - even with the higher tax, with the overall decrease in sales, they were taking in far less tax money, and now the schools are in trouble.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 12:44:28 pm
content: Quote from: rrinker on April 15, 2016, 12:23:33 pmI have just one word for you: Prohibition.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 04:27:00 pm
content: I can't see what's wrong with the idea of informed consent. And why the special attention towards drug addict smokers and not junkie caffeine addicts, drinkers, and over eaters? Why are people so much more bothered about passive smoking* but don't care about the jam of mainly diesel vehicles right outside of schools?It's a diversionary tactic to take your attention away from much worse problems. Asthma rates are increasing as smoking in general becomes less common and passive smoking almost impossible and diesel usage increases? Don't look here, nothing behind this curtain. Look at them dirty filthy smokers...Quote from: VK3DRB on April 15, 2016, 12:18:33 pmI actually think that approach is as stupid as trying to punish drivers out of their cars and on to public transport. Instead they should try and encourage them on to the busses by maybe making sure they're cheaper than a cab and making sure they are a reasonably pleasant place to spend a journey. Unfortunately neither of which are the case where I am.*Not at all saying they shouldn't be, just that there are things they should be even more worried about given the stronger evidence and higher amounts of damage.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 05:01:56 pm
content: Raise the taxes and then you run into the illegal traders. Then you get absolutely anything in a pack. Better is to keep the tax at a point where people will pay and where the bootleggers do not want to get in because the profit is low. As the Netherlands and Portugal has legalised certain drugs, along with a few US states, the tax income is something to look at.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 05:14:24 pm
content: Jeeze, I have worked as a sound engie/tech in two radios during my studies, and yikes! Nicotine smoke is absolutely the last thing you want around electronics that isn't totally sealed.I had to literally grab an arrogant a..hole of a DJ and smash his nose and face into the opened console once so that he can see (and smell!) firsthand what they are doing to the equipment with their smoking in the studios. There were constant complaints about "scratchy faders", "sticking DAT drive", "sticking tape", etc but these jerks were lighting up one after another in that cramped space. There was always a small pile of ash I had to vacuum out of the console whenever I have opened it, which was almost once every week (of course, ciggie and tray always sitting on the console!).Some smokers are incredible asses - they take their ability to light up as a human right or something and will make an incredible fuss if someone tries to tell them to cut it out or go outside, regardless of the damage it causes.In the first studio the problems ended by firing the worst offenders, I believe. In the second, the majority of the direction was smoking too so there was little hope of getting the problem fixed in that way. It got solved only after the university has installed a fire alarm connected to the sprinklers ("New fire code req, can't do anything about that! Sorry!"). That has cut down on the problem sharply after a few "incidents" ...

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 05:23:58 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on April 13, 2016, 12:48:42 pmIt depends also onhowyou smoke. Some people are sensible and smoke in an open window or on a balcony, so most of the crap stays out. Others will smoke inside and then everything is dirty and reeks of the nicotine.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 05:53:37 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on April 15, 2016, 05:14:24 pmI've recently quit and while trying not to be overly holier than thou this is spot on. For various reasons I've always only allowed smoking in one room of my house that is separated from the rest of it by 2 doors and has French doors which I insist on been open when people are smoking. I've had to kick someone out for catching them walking through to the toilet with a cig hanging out of their mouth. To begin with I just asked them to take it to the other room and leave it there, their response was "You f&*king smoke, f$^k off!"But tbh this attitude is just a common human trait. It's just the same as the neighbour who thinks you need to feel their baseline at 3am or the idiot with the car with loud pipes who thinks they have to drive everywhere like they're in a drag race. I'm sure there're plenty of us here who love loud music and open exhaust V8s who just inherently understand there's a time and a place and get annoyed by those types.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2016, 06:13:24 pm
content: Like the ahole who drives a Hog with the loudest exhaust he can shove on the thing. At 3AM with 5 of his drunk buddies.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2016, 01:28:14 am
content: I worked on a dell laptop before that was heavily smoke infested. I cleaned it using IPA pads and it stained my fingers. I started getting a nicotine buzz and a headache.

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 16, 2016, 05:15:53 am
content: Some feedback on the PCB I'm trying to clean up.I used some Fluxclene on the board/components, it got most of the stuff off the PCB, got about half the black marks off the components.Problem I found was black rings of black flux around the board where I had soldered/unsoldered parts. Used a wire brush to remove that, which did take a tiny amount of PCB lacquer off in the process.For something with with heavy cigarette/tar exposure, I'd just bin it.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2016, 05:56:49 am
content: Quote from: continuo on April 13, 2016, 07:41:20 amIt looks bad, but I tell you what, this is nothing. I've worked on repairing a range of appliances and machines over the years. For the most part I dealt with vanilla PC repairs, and the crap I've seen inside was quite astonishing. Dead mice, including rodent nests, lots of cockroaches of course, really bad corrosion of the chassis (miracle the PC booted at all), then just a fuck ton of dust build-up. Quite typical in workplace environments, particularly workshops, etc.Then I had jobs related reconditioning gas and electric heaters. You have more airflow in those things, and you have also bigger animals seeking shelter in there. Needless to say, decomposing possums being cooked by the heat exchanger gave some rather appetising looking results. The carcass just turns into a mush of decomposing fat and fur, pooling at the bottom of whatever it got stuck, corroding metal, parts, and wiring. Hooray!Then I had jobs related reconditioning kitchen gas stoves. Here, you have about 2 decades of fat, oil, food scraps, dead roaches and mice, mouse shit, toys, and god knows what else accumulating into an inch thick of baked-on grease. You take a spatula and you can carve that shit off, like a piece of brown-yellow wax. Some of this shit melts and gets soaked into the fibreglass insulation under the side panels and around the oven. When you take out that glasswool, it has the consistency of frozen butter. And the smell... oh god the smell...Fun times.

author: RobertoLG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2016, 06:28:25 am
content: Quote from: Kjelt on April 13, 2016, 10:57:33 amI enjoyed to watch the video, thanks for posting it, I miss having people to speak in german

author: vze1lryy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2016, 09:53:03 pm
content: I had someone call me prejudiced against smokers because of comments I made on a board I opened a few years ago.I was stunned.I'mat fault? Suck it!You are welcome to do what you want in your own home. You are welcome to make your own life decisions so long as you are not harming others. However, you also have to live with the consequences of your life choices, and if those live choices involve clouds of poisonous smoke running around your home don't be surprised if it breaks something!And don't expect me to fix it for free.People have to learn to live with the consequences of their actions.For the time I worked at avatar as a junior technician, I can tell you, that people who smoked near the consoles or recorders would have been shot on sight.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2016, 12:18:55 pm
content: Quote from: vze1lryy on April 16, 2016, 09:53:03 pmOh yeah. Pretty much - "You don't smoke, so you can't understand and are only an intolerant prick!" *knocking ash everywhere* Been there tooQuote from: vze1lryy on April 16, 2016, 09:53:03 pmWish I could have done thatBut there they were more likely to kick me out as a "troublemaker" "rocking the boat" and "being a nuisance" than dealing with the idiots destroying the equipment. Sadly, some people don't see farther away than the end of their nose. And if the management is not on your side, you are screwed.If it was a regular radio, not a student operated outfit, there would have been a financial incentive for them to protect the gear because it costs money to repair or replace. However, when you have a student outfit where the equipment was paid for by the university and there is no direct financial involvement, then it is "it just broke ..." (not "Oops, I broke it!") or even "why do you care, it is not yours"All you could do was to appeal on common sense - "if this breaks, we will be offline because we don't have money for a replacement!". Unfortunately common sense is something that is in a short supply among uni students caring more about their beer and getting high on weed than the gear they are operating ...Oh well ... It is certainly easier to wrestle electrons around than people!

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2016, 12:31:12 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on April 17, 2016, 12:18:55 pmBut there's no responsibility for not being online either, so who cares...

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2016, 01:06:29 pm
content: Quote from: Kilrah on April 17, 2016, 12:31:12 pmWell, actually there was a responsibility for that. As that was a radio using a real (albeit low power) FM transmitter, they had a broadcast license from the authorities. And a part of a broadcast license stipulates that you must be actually using the frequency and broadcasting certain amount of hours every day (along with other obligations, like keeping a copy of everything broadcasted, keeping the playlists, etc.).So a sudden "silence on air" is not just PR/marketing/reputation problem but also a legal issue that could end up with your license being revoked and given to someone else - frequencies in the FM band are a very precious commodity, especially in the cities where the band is very crowded.However, most of the fools weren't aware/didn't care of this, because it was the uni managing the license paperwork. Most didn't get in touch with it directly except for vague threats from the administration to the head of the station whenever there was a complaint or problem.

author: W8LV
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 01:03:18 pm
content: Cigarette smoke is essentially: Gas (that you don't see) and very fine particles (that you see). If you inhale, say just for the argument, 10,000 "particles" of the stuff, you exhale 9,000 particles. And the 1,000 particles sit. In your lungs. Forever. Carcinogenic compounds. On VERY carcinogenic sensitive lung tissue. Those same particles (the 9,000 ones) in the air, can become charged. And when you see those particles on a CRT screen, they have been attracted there by a charge, just like the powder coating painting process. And these are REALLY fine particles. The "gas" portion of the smoke cools down, and condenses into a liquid..A sticky liquid. And the electronics, often carrying a charge, are slightly warm. Aided often by an internal circulation fan, which guarantees their delivery to electronic innards. And so they dry. And this happens over and over again. Alcohol will clean it some. Formula 409 will clean it some. But but of course, you can't put it on a screen, anything sensitive, or electronics. Or on lung tissue.So chalk it up to experience. And throw the electronics away. And stop smoking, unless you want to throw your lungs away.This is a bad idea, and I see the carnage daily, as a Nurse working a heart and lung transplant floor. Carnage to lungs and hearts (a damaged one will sooner or later damage the other...perhaps you have had the experience of attempting to run an engine with a clogged air filtre?) that will break YOUR heart with the misery and sadness it produces.Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

author: W8LV
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 01:05:25 pm
content: You're supposed to EAT Vegemite? I thought that was Solder Paste!Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 01:25:41 pm
content: Quote from: W8LV on April 19, 2016, 01:05:25 pmNo - that's Marmite. Vegemite tastes a lot better.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 02:48:32 pm
content: Quote from: Mechanical Menace on April 15, 2016, 05:53:37 pmMy dad smoked for decades and he did the same - only smoked in the back of the house in a very well ventilated area close to his office. I loved working with him (he taught me a lot about electronics), therefore I probably had/have a lot of crud in my lungs, but at least the rest of the house was absolutely smoke free. He was also pretty conscious of other people and always left the burning side towards his body when holding the cigarette on his side with his arm down (he did not want to burn others).Quote from: Mechanical Menace on April 15, 2016, 05:53:37 pmMe and my wife are going through this issue right now; an idiot neighbour with his sound at 1AM in weekdays. I usually wake up at 5AM - I would love to see his face if I did the same loud noise at that time (I won't as I have respect for the other neighbours).

author: W8LV
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 02:51:52 pm
content: Actually, I DO eat the stuff...and there's only one place I can buy it from in Ohio. Two hours drive.One way.Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk