Electronic Horror Gallery - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: The Searcher
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2014, 12:19:51 pm
content: Post here pics or simply tell us about the worst things you ever seen in electronic, including bad and/or dangerous electronic products, outdoor/indoor installations (i.e. street lamps, high voltage pylons, transformer rooms, etc.) that doesn't meet safety standards, and anything related with electronic that isn't glaringly done correctly.

author: Wh1sper
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2014, 01:27:34 pm
content: What a fuck.silly

author: rob77
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2014, 01:36:04 pm
content: simple mistake and they would win the darwin award.. those kids are stupid jerks. what is the voltage @ railroads in russia ?it's 25kV AC here, or some older tracks 3kV DC in slovakia. i would not do that at all and especially not on a 25kV AC railroad.

author: TheWelly888
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2014, 01:47:47 pm
content: Quick check of Wikipedia - overhead electrification voltage on Russian railways is either 3kV DC or 25kV AChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_electrification_in_the_Soviet_UnionJudging by the thickness of the contact wires and the smallness of the insulators, I reckon the train was running under 3kV DC wires.Bloody dickheads!

author: lowimpedance
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2014, 11:53:42 pm
content: Yet another example that the future of the human race is in good hands !These intellectual giants should lay off the wacky weed and try getting a job.

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 01:06:32 am
content: Well see in Russia, they dont safegaurd everything like in the US. If you want to be an idiot, they allow you to be an idiot. Plenty of things are done in Russia and you can see on youtube.

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 02:24:14 am
content: Quote from: Tinkerer on May 28, 2014, 01:06:32 amGood. So they can remove themselves from the gene pool. As one wise person put itQuote

author: mamalala
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 02:59:45 am
content: Quote from: echen1024 on May 28, 2014, 02:24:14 amGreetings,Chris

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 04:37:32 am
content: If you ever buy a handgun ( this excludes Dave for this example) you will find there is a leaflet on how to clean it, but no warning labels, safety stickers and such. Might be a warning to keep out of reach of children, but that is likely to be the only one.

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 04:51:48 am
content: http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/blog/index.php/2010/08/server-cable-hell-15-of-the-worst-wiring-jobs-ever-2/

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 04:55:11 am
content: This too...And yes, this ALL wire.

author: theatrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 04:59:45 am
content: Quote from: TVman on May 28, 2014, 04:55:11 amSuper common in Thailand (usually just a giant rats nest of phone, power is better) and Vietnam.

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 05:10:38 am
content: Note the labels! Now Somebody went to the trouble of labeling this mess!

author: HackedFridgeMagnet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2014, 05:14:42 am
content: Cant believe those Russian boys did the video without vodka.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 08:05:14 am
content: First ones are from Beihai, sth China.The phone in my hotel room got very noisy then stopped working. Pushing aside the 2nd bed to find the connection, here's what was revealed. That's exactly how it was. Never had any cover panel.Next two shots are electrical panels down by the waterfront in Beihai.Finally one of a power pole from Manila. Not the worst I saw.

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 08:34:35 am
content: That third photo of the meter looks perfectly safe to me, even went to the trouble to add strain relief to the wires from the breaker. And most of it is in conduit.Those switches seem to be properly rated, too. The right most one is bigger so I assume that's the master switch. Also, they took care to weigh down the water proofing (what looks suspiciously like Linoleum flooring) on top of that distributionboxshack.The Chinese have enough people, if one or two get fried by these "installations" it doesn't really matter much...

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 08:51:08 am
content: I had this customer once who bought a small switch, a 1m 12V LED strip, a 3A fuse and fuseholder from me. He came back 30 minutes later and wanted a bigger fuse. Sold him a 10A this time. Another 30 minutes later he was back again, again demanding a bigger fuse, 20A this time. Another half hour later he wanted a 30A fuse.At this moment I asked him what the problem was. He told me his LED strip kept blowing his fuses. I started asking him what he'd done exactly and from his answers I drew this little sketch.I'm sure you can see his mistake...

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 08:58:37 am
content: Quote from: SeanB on May 28, 2014, 04:37:32 amCompare that to a pack of cigarettes.Perhaps they could at least say "keep out of reach of criminals, children, the stupid, and the mentally unstable."

author: speedyant
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 04:54:34 pm
content: Quote from: david77 on May 29, 2014, 08:51:08 amA very little mistake...

author: rob77
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 05:41:57 pm
content: Quote from: speedyant on May 29, 2014, 04:54:34 pmfully agree , it's just a minor cosmetic issue10kA fuse would have solved it

author: speedyant
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 05:49:59 pm
content: I'm still pray for the poor battery!

author: mcinque
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 08:21:21 pm
content: Quote from: david77 on May 29, 2014, 08:51:08 amOh, it's damn simple: the ampacity of the battery was not big enough to turn on the led strip.

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 09:46:56 pm
content: Quote from: david77 on May 29, 2014, 08:51:08 amInstead of a bigger conventional fuse, he just needed an auto reset breaker, set to trip at a couple of amps.Also, for some reason, the "on" and "off" labels on his switch don't seem to be right. What's going on here?...

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2014, 11:17:07 pm
content: Ehm, I have a family member who has connected a circuit breaker in this way. No amount of explaining would convince him that it cannot work like that. He saw the error of his ways only once he tried to push the button to turn the breaker on. It took only one big bang, blown house fuses and a furious wife ...

author: kizzap
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 04:17:24 am
content: The biggest "horror show" I could think of was in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, where one of the telephone exchanges in Manhattan was flooded to the point that all the paper covered copper was flooded. The cables had air pumped through them deliberately to stop flood waters getting into the paper, but it proved ineffective as the pumping stationsalsowent under water. As a bonus, even paper covered copper that was above the flood-line was wet, due to capillary action. Contractors were ripping up parts of the road so they could dry the area/get fresh air in.Photos here:http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/17/3655442/restoring-verizon-service-manhattan-hurricane-sandy

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 04:43:11 am
content: Oh wow.

author: abaxas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 12:43:21 pm
content: Quote from: kizzap on May 30, 2014, 04:17:24 amSurely someone got sacked for putting it in such a stupid place?

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 12:58:14 pm
content: Quote from: kizzap on May 30, 2014, 04:17:24 amReminds me of this:http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-25862543

author: aroby
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 01:26:54 pm
content: Quote from: kizzap on May 30, 2014, 04:17:24 amIt's only events like that that force the modernization that was well overdue.Anthony

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 03:52:10 pm
content: Quote from: Tinkerer on May 28, 2014, 01:06:32 amHmm, how many electrified railway tracks are in the US and in Russia? I hope you do realize that there are thousands of kilometers of electrified track in Russia and it would be physically impossible to guard every meter of it. So if an idiot wants to climb on a train and risk death, they have ample opportunities to do so ...In Slovakia, where I am from, there are every year several people either killed or severely burned because they are climbing over stationary railway cars at stations (often to avoid having to walk around the entire train) - and get hit by the 25kV AC arc. And that is in stations, which are usually being watched by cameras and with staff being around.What has me really puzzled is how it is possible that the two morons on the locomotive don't get fried while standing on the roof and pulling the pantograph down - the roof is normally not insulated from the chassis of the engine and there are usually beefy ceramic insulators on which the pantograph assembly is mounted for that reason.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 04:04:05 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on May 30, 2014, 03:52:10 pmGloves and luck.

author: max666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 07:02:16 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on May 30, 2014, 03:52:10 pmWhat puzzles me is how anyone can think that climbing over a train is easier than going aroundDon't you guys have underpasses in Slovakia?As others have suggested, the train track in the video might only be running on 3kV, and the yellow ends of the pantograph look to be insulated.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 07:47:51 pm
content: Quote from: max666 on May 30, 2014, 07:02:16 pmYou can see the same attitude on this forum. I have given up counting the number of times I got beaten to pulp her just because I suggested a particular practice or instrument is unsafe.What could possibly go wrong? But it is cheaper! But it is faster! I have always done it this way! I pay attention when doing this. Bureaucratic bullshit, restricting my freedom! Real men do it this way. I don't care, I don't have to.

author: rob77
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 08:35:34 pm
content: Quote from: max666 on May 30, 2014, 07:02:16 pmactually it's not true... there were some cases in the past , but it's definitely not a several cases per year. i would say it's rather one case per several years.but the number of lazy dumb-asses is not so low herebasically it's not about climbing over a train like those russian stupid kids... it's more about crossing a railroad through a "parked" train's freight carriages (the open ones) - the air gap between the person and the 25kV is significant. - it might be considered even kind of safe if it's not raining and the person doesn't carry an umbrellabut i wouldn't do that , i would rather walk around the train - even if it would be several hundreds of meters.another point is why to even do it rather than use the over/underpass - the trains are never parked on places where a pedestrian is supposed to cross the railroad and there is no over/underpass.and i need to mention that it's strictly prohibited to even cross the railroad on places not dedicated for crossing.warning signs are present on all railroad stations. if the railroad police is catching you, then you get fined.

author: max666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 09:38:02 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on May 30, 2014, 07:47:51 pmActually that would be a good enough reason for me

author: GabYoung92
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 09:45:06 pm
content: Quote from: david77 on May 29, 2014, 08:51:08 amI work at Jaycar, and I can tell you that this is seen almost daily! The amount of times I have to explain how to wire up a switch and how people are shocked that "positive and negative" don't go into the switch...

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2014, 10:04:33 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on May 30, 2014, 03:52:10 pmI did not mean literally guarded like that. In the US they generally put impediaments in your way and signs and all that and if someone sees you, you will likely be arrested etc. In Russia, when people see you, they either dont give a damn, or you are told off usually; not sure how many safety signs etc they got.

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 04:03:44 am
content: Quote from: Tinkerer on May 30, 2014, 10:04:33 pmOf course.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 07:42:15 am
content: Quote from: Tinkerer on May 30, 2014, 10:04:33 pmEhm, then UK has to be the safest place on Earth, judging by the amount of various warning and safety signs ... And yes, even Russians do use signs and know that electricity is deadly. Do you really believe that the signs would prevent something like that?I think the difference is more in the mentality of the people. You see that sort of stunt and go "WTF?! Idiot!", however a lot of people from my country would think - "Oh, cool!" instead. It has to a lot to do with the cultural norms in the place - which are obviously not the same everywhere. Good example of this are the various sexism and sexual harassment scandals - what gets you fired in one place gets you admiration from your peers elsewhere ...

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 07:58:46 am
content: Quote from: max666 on May 30, 2014, 07:02:16 pmDid you ever see an underpass in a railway yard or a cargo station? And yes, people do think that climbing between cars is faster, because the trains could be easily few hundreds of meters long - 800m long cargo consists are quite common.The people are not supposed to be walking over the tracks in the first place - there are usually fences and everything, but they still do it, because it saves them detours and few minutes (doesn't make it any less stupid or dangerous, of course). I used to live near a rather busy line and there were fatal accidents with people being killed by passing trains every week or two - only trying to save about 5 minutes of walking to an underpass when trying to reach a bus stop on the other side ...Quote from: max666 on May 30, 2014, 07:02:16 pm3kV will still fry you to a crisp, it just doesn't arc as far as 25kV does. And no, the yellow ends are *not* insulated - that's only the original colour of the pantograph assembly.Not sure whether this is the same engine type, but here you can see the typical arrangement on the roof:http://spz.logout.cz/foto2005/vl80s_1811mk_ds.jpgSee the large insulators on which the pantograph is sitting? The entire assembly is live and there is a thick main wire going from it to the traction circuits.

author: Thilo78
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 08:10:44 am
content: Quote from: janoc on May 31, 2014, 07:42:15 amOh, always keep in mind:Warning signs are not there to keep people safe. They have been installed so that after an incident companies can say: "See, we told you so! No refunds here!"It's the same with warning signs as with safety instructions, manuals, and so on.We live in an insurance society, and it's all about keeping the risk at the lowest end of the food chain.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 08:20:02 am
content: Quote from: rob77 on May 30, 2014, 08:35:34 pmIt is more frequent than that - my ex used to work in a burns yard in a hospital - and they had multiple cases every year. Usually teens that got caught by a 25kV arc while trying to climb over a parked train. It doesn't take much, especially if the dumbass tries to climb using the ladders on the cars instead of going straight over the buffers.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 09:19:14 am
content: Quote from: janoc on May 30, 2014, 03:52:10 pmRubber shoes on wood duck boards and rubber gloves, if you look at the top of the train there are wooden boards running down both sides and the voltage is only three thousand.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 09:24:21 am
content: Quote from: G7PSK on May 31, 2014, 09:19:14 amThat could explain it, but it is still an incredibly stupid thing to do - all it would take is a bit of moisture on the boards. I am not sure how thick the rubber soles and gloves would have to be to protect you even from "only" 3kV shooting through.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 12:15:23 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on May 31, 2014, 09:24:21 amIn ideal conditions, ~1cm of rubber would probably be enough; seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_strengthSince conditions are never ideal there was definitely current flowing through them in that video, it just wasn't enough to be perceptible.Of course, the amount of energy available if the insulation does break down is a different matter altogether....

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 12:26:40 pm
content: Just look for Train surfing and you will see some horrid footage.Saw a building where they were doing some renovation, and the builders were using an extension cord that was rather well used. No plug on the end into the wall, just the 3 brass pins where there used to be a plugtop, and with bare wiring showing at spots all the way along the cord, and the socket at the end being broken.The cable below was in use until the beam was removed because of woodborer........

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 02:21:51 pm
content: Quote from: kizzap on May 30, 2014, 04:17:24 amAny reason they wouldn't throw some high power RF (a few hundred watts) on the lines to dry them out?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 02:28:15 pm
content: Wet paper plus copper plus the regular 48V battery bus voltage means a green goo within minutes as the copper corrodes out of the cable into the paper. The lines probably were powered until the local battery banks failed from salt water ingress into the cells.

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 03:37:33 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on May 31, 2014, 07:42:15 amLike other commenters say, the signs are for insurence purposes. I am sure that signs do persuade some of the less inclined people however and possibly those who may somehow be ignorant of the danger. For the other people, they help provide ample "wtf-ness" when they do violate them.Quote from: NiHaoMike on May 31, 2014, 02:21:51 pmPossibly because of shorting hazard. Dirty water does conduct and because everything was wet, you wouldnt just wanna shove energy down the line as it might end up electrifying that water faucet someone is using nearby...(for example, I would find it unlikely somewhat, but the hazard I would not count out) Plus the fact that like commented, "green goo".

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 04:10:17 pm
content: We have a facebookpage here for sparkies who out their mates for doing sloppy work.shitty electrical on facebook.You won't believe.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 05:09:31 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on May 31, 2014, 02:21:51 pmWhen they say "storm surge" that means sea water. You can dry out paper insulation all you like, but if it was wet with salt water it's never going to insulate again. Even if it wasn't powered at the time, and didn't turn to green goo.

author: Andrea :)
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2014, 06:48:44 pm
content: Quote from: Hydrawerk on May 27, 2014, 12:50:52 pm

author: max666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 12:39:35 am
content: The difference is, the Russians survived, this less slick ones maybe not.Natural selection at work.(*luckily I’m drunk, because that one was scary to watch*)

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 02:43:26 am
content: Holy hell!!youtube just removed that video!

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 03:33:58 am
content: Quote from: janoc on May 31, 2014, 07:42:15 amUnfortunately, yes. The body responsible for the national rail infrastructure (Network Rail) has said, "public safety is our primary concern". Oh? I rather thought running trains on time was your primary concern?As a result, they are closing level crossings and pedestrian crossings left, right and centre. The are being replaced with razor wire fences and large detours to the nearest bridge. It's completely stupid. Rails have trains spaced minutes apart, they are confined to the tracks they run on, and you can see them coming a mile off. In comparison roads have cars every few seconds, they have nothing to keep them on the road, and often you can't see round the nearest bend. Yet they don't put up razor wire fences alongside every road.The reason they are doing this? Local youths like to play chicken with trains. The last person to jump out of the way is the loser (or minced meat). Unfortunately people think that if kids get squished by standing in front of trains, it is not the kid's fault.In the 1970's we used to cross railway lines before they put up the razor wire. We didn't play chicken with the trains. We were smarter than that.The world is turning into a very dumb place.

author: Rigby
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 04:50:01 am
content: Quote from: IanB on June 01, 2014, 03:33:58 amNot really, though it does seem that way.1) YouTube, Facebook, email, IM, all the modern methods of communication on the Internet make it very easy for incidents which are rare to be seen by many, many more people than in previous decades. Those types of videos were taken decades ago, however it was EXTREMELY unlikely that one would ever stumble across videos of these things in one's day to day life back then. This makes it feel like these things are much more common, when in fact, they are much less common, it is just that the videos are much more widely distributed and much more easily found and viewed.2) Almost all of us have done things in our youth that were very stupid and that would have gotten us thrown in jail, if we were caught. I don't know a single person that led a life of purity and in the 70s, 80s and 90s. We ALL did stupid stuff, and if you didn't, I don't believe you. Unless my kids are a LOT sneakier than I was, which is unlikely, but possible, they'd be caught.Example, I don't know a single child today that has playedLawn DartRoulette, yet it was played daily where I grew up, in the three days between invention and local ordinance outlawing it. It is a 10-12-player game, and alcohol is required; all players stand in a circle, arms length away from the next guy. Main Asshole of the group, whose house you are visiting, and whose family owns the Lawn Darts, picks a rube at random, who must throw a lawn dart straight up, then look straight ahead, and not move. The lawn dart will harmlessly land in grass most of the time, but about one in three full turns (48 throws) the dart would land in some poor bastard's shoulder or skull. Participation in this game is guaranteed to accurately predict the arrival of both the EMTs, Police, and result in the arrest of at least one person with an outstanding warrant they didn't know about. Oh, if you move while the dart is in the air, you had to lay down while everyone got a free kick in on you.My point is that people were plenty fucking stupid 20-30 years ago. My hometown was PARTICULARLY stupid, as I'm sure you have guessed, and stupidity is not anything close to a modern invention.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 07:39:57 am
content: Good invention against riding on the train roofs.

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 03:39:38 pm
content: QuoteOnce i pushed a mysterious red button in a refridgerator. It activated an automatic defrost... My father had to heat the temperature sensor with a hair dryer so the thermostat thought the fridge was hot and the defrost was over. Then it started cooling again.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 04:38:12 pm
content: What has changed is that dumb behavior has become an acceptable lifestyle choice. What previously led to social shunning, which helped to regulate the level of dumbness, now passes as normal. Even to the point that you are no longer allowed to call dumb behavior dumb behavior. E.g. in schools (or on this forum).In the past, stupidity begetting stupidity was a local phenomenon, but not a nationwide or worldwide phenomenon. These days, however, media actively promotes it, e.g. see Jackass, Jersey Shore, or thousands of YouTube videos.

author: jaxbird
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 05:11:31 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 01, 2014, 07:39:57 amI like it, cheap and efficient.If you are dumb enough to still try it, you are likely to get your skull crushed.

author: jaxbird
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 05:44:49 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on May 30, 2014, 07:47:51 pmAll hail Bored@Work, our master of unbiased universal truth, cmon get over yourselfSorry, not meant as a personal attack, but please consider there are people with values and goals that are different than yours.

author: jaxbird
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 06:25:13 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on June 01, 2014, 06:09:54 pmSo, as you know, you provide biased advise in some form, and you cannot know the situation of every single reader, why not just accept that, and leave it as general advise from your point of view, instead of insisting everyone else is wrong?

author: M0BSW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2014, 08:56:33 pm
content: Quote from: Hydrawerk on May 27, 2014, 12:50:52 pmThey really do deserve what they will eventually get, "killed"

author: Rigby
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2014, 02:55:09 am
content: Quote from: M0BSW on June 01, 2014, 08:56:33 pmI'm not sure why you think you can say that someone deserves to die. Maybe I'm inferring more self-righteousness than you're implying.

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2014, 03:53:18 am
content: Quote from: Rigby on June 01, 2014, 04:50:01 amWe played with rocks in elementary. We only used small ones that would hurt but not necessitate EMT though.

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 02, 2014, 03:58:30 am
content: Let's keep the thread on track - Electronic Horror Gallery is the subject.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2014, 07:00:52 pm
content: Quote from: GeoffS on June 02, 2014, 03:58:30 amCan I show something electric? The smoke did not quite make it out, it got caught in the oil mostly. The top bearing is, as Ed Jones (Aussie50) would say, Definitely Not Happy.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2014, 07:13:55 pm
content: Nice!So I assume the overloads in the motor starter controlling that thing were grossly oversized, jumped out, or never installed?

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2014, 04:55:11 pm
content: I found this in a bin of old cables that had been used for stage lighting--so it carried relatively high loads at elevated temperatures for extended periods of time. Definitely not the place to use a shitty 5-15 plug. Never found the female plug that would have failed along side this one, presumably the missing blade from this one stayed with it when the two were separated. Not long after that the whole facility was switched toproper connectors.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2014, 05:15:29 pm
content: Quote from: N2IXK on June 02, 2014, 07:13:55 pmIt is made in PRC......... DOL relay control, I think if anything a PRC made motor relay would silently fail as short circuit and never trip in any case. They did include a nice set of circuit breakers in the machine, and at 16A they will never trip until the last. If you are worried the cable is a 3 wire Chinese mains cable with red, green and yellow cores. The red had been so heated it was purple, and I only saw it was red when stripping the insulation further back. This is the only small motor not driven by an inverter, the other 2 are inverter controlled, so have overload protection, and I added an overload relay for the pump after that one died a burning death after dropping a phase inside. biggest issue is the control gear uses 36VAC, so it is always a problem getting replacement parts for switchgear coils.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2014, 09:35:28 pm
content: 36VAC controls?Why?Tiny copper savings over 24V, and cheaper insulation requirements than 120V, I guess...Is that actually a PRC standard voltage, or just this one manufacturer?Is that motor actually a standard frame size so you can just replace it? Or you planning to get it rewound?

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2014, 02:46:00 am
content: Maybe use 24V relays/contactors with series resistors?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2014, 02:56:49 am
content: Quote from: N2IXK on June 03, 2014, 09:35:28 pmwell, the voltage must be common enough so that a lot of manufacturers use it, as you get control gear from assorted suppliers in it.It was a standard B5 frame motor, so bought a new one that runs quieter and cooler than the original ever did. I had to rewind some non standard ones, as it is hard to get an extended shaft motor in small sizes, especially with very long shafts.

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2014, 03:27:33 am
content: Quote from: ajb on June 03, 2014, 04:55:11 pmI'v seen something like that before.I replaced it the Minute I got out of the hardware store.Dunno where the plug went though.(I like to keep those crappy plugs for when I grow up.)

author: vk3yedotcom
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2014, 11:18:46 am
content: Feeling hungry? Want a hot meal? Or want to be 'hot' yourself? Check out these electric hot dog cooker ideas by Darwin Award nominees:http://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/http://www.yoctopuce.com/EN/article/the-usb-hot-dog-cooking-machine

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2014, 01:11:27 pm
content: Electrocuting hot dogs havebeen done commercially.Of course that version is much safer since it only turns on when closed.

author: rob77
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2014, 02:01:35 pm
content: some time ago (actually many years ago) it was common here to boil water with 220V- same stupid and dangerous thing like electrocuting hotdogsthe device was a plastic mug with two metal plates in it - connected to mains 220V. it was faster than an electric kettle, but it was extremely dangerous (btw.. electric kettles were uncommon/rare here at that time).

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2014, 11:11:54 pm
content: And the hot dogs always tasted nasty and metallic, presumably from ions being stripped off of the electrodes.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2014, 11:25:29 pm
content: Quote from: max666 on May 30, 2014, 07:02:16 pmthey don;t want to go under the train ! they want to go over the train ...