Craziest power board  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Moshly
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 07:37:56 am
content: Up until today, I thought 'Captain Risky' had the doggiest powerboardBut then i found this ->http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/police-raid-2-million-cannabis-factory-powered-by-stolen-electricity-20151105-gks68t.html

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 07:45:59 am
content: Wow...

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 08:05:56 am
content: Wow, talk about cable management...

author: rickselectricalprojects
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 08:29:17 am
content: wouldn't you get suspicious if someone bought that many power boards?

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 08:34:25 am
content: Quote from: rickselectricalprojects on November 06, 2015, 08:29:17 amWell it could be for wholesale or something...

author: rickselectricalprojects
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 08:37:31 am
content: Quote from: crispy_tofu on November 06, 2015, 08:34:25 amtrue but i don't think even those people you see on shows like extreme couponing would want that many power boards

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 08:42:39 am
content: Quote from: rickselectricalprojects on November 06, 2015, 08:37:31 amTell the vendor you need a company name on the receipt (Paramount Pictures Corp) and pay them out of petty cash.

author: fivefish
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 01:53:25 pm
content: This is more ingenious.

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2015, 04:44:51 pm
content: I would have thought with all that land in Australia you could get away with setting up some wacky backy farms in the outback? Leave it to nature, no need to get caught.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 01:54:33 am
content: Quote from: fivefish on November 06, 2015, 01:53:25 pmDespite what we all may have learned from Sean Connery about throwing a lamp into a tub will kill someone, the floating power would likely do nothing to the people if it was submerged unless they somehow created an easier path to ground.So a live wire without a return path would be far more dangerous than the entire outlet being submerged.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 03:59:03 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 07, 2015, 03:49:37 amLooks like it's a Foxtel thing on channel TLC...Link:https://community.foxtel.com.au/t5/Entertainment-Plus/Discovery-Home-amp-Health-and-TLC-programming/td-p/(or possibly Netflix)

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 04:06:19 am
content: Just look at a google search. "grow op power theft"https://www.google.ca/search?q=grow+op+power+theft&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAmoVChMIrryT_rb9yAIVBSuICh2PBwl3&biw=1044&bih=496&dpr=1.5

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 04:15:28 am
content: Quote from: Stonent on November 07, 2015, 01:54:33 amLogically that makes sense, and itmayin fact be the case, but I'm not personally curious enough to try it and find out. My guess is that there might still be some current flow and voltage gradient outside the power strip as I'd expect that at least SOME of the power would not flow directly to the other terminals of the receptacles but would instead head to ground through the water, so there might at least be an unpleasant tingle in the pool with it. (And yes, that's tingle with a 'g'. Though the type with the 'k' might also be present depending upon the nature and hygiene of the pool dwellers, and would likely increase the conductivity of the water if it were...)-Pat

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 05:14:52 am
content: Technically there doesn't need to be aneasierpath for current to flow, just some path with less than infinite resistance. But the shorter path between live and neutral will carry much more of the current than the roundabout path across the other side of the pool. If the water is conductive enough that you might feel a tingle, there should be enough current going to the earth pin to trigger an RCD and shut everything off.

author: rickselectricalprojects
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 08:00:37 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 07, 2015, 03:49:37 amif you like those crappy american shows like wife swap and my strange addictions (like i do) then you will like that show. i think you can find it on youtube.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 10:00:19 am
content: Recalled conversation:"X jumped into the pool with his music player in his pocket. It's a good thing the batteries were not in it or he would have been electrocuted!"

author: rickselectricalprojects
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 10:29:28 am
content: Quote from: Whales on November 07, 2015, 10:00:19 amat school we have this little pond thingy and a cane toad had gotten into the pond and someone threw a AA battery into the pond trying to electrocute the toad.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 11:38:41 am
content: That is wrong on so many levels...

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2015, 11:22:41 pm
content: Quote from: crispy_tofu on November 07, 2015, 11:38:41 amI know, right? Not even one doggiest powerboarder ever.I nominate this mutt, Tillman (RIP):

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 03:24:27 am
content: Quote from: Cubdriver on November 07, 2015, 04:15:28 amLuckily, that Crazy Iranian Bloke took care of figuring that out for us:

author: SteveLy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 03:40:23 am
content: Quote from: Moshly on November 06, 2015, 07:37:56 amWow! That dopeheads' wiring!!

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 05:03:12 am
content: You would think that they could afford zipties with thousands of dollars...

author: Tim F
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 06:38:13 am
content: Quote from: Macbeth on November 06, 2015, 04:44:51 pmPeople do set them up in the parkland/bush/forest. Less likely to be spotted amongst the other greenery from aerial observation that way.

author: SteveLy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 06:42:26 am
content: Quote from: crispy_tofu on November 08, 2015, 05:03:12 amYou just don't understand how a stoner's mind with a "brilliant" idea for making lots of money operates!They were probably in the "lot of electrical equipment that hadn't been used yet" as mentioned in the article. Kind of feel sorry for them, because stupidity is their biggest crime. I hope they get the opportunity to clean up their neural circuitry and get some basic education in prison. (But who am I kidding, they're in Australia not bloody Sweden.)

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 07:29:38 am
content: Quote from: SteveLy on November 08, 2015, 06:42:26 amAnd then there are the expertshttp://www.chilliwacktimes.com/news/284016411.html12,000 plants in an underground bunker, estimated 3-5 million in drugs per year, stolen electricity. No mention of how many years in operation. For every one stoner op there are probably 10 pro ops and 100 smaller ones in between. Seriously I'd wish the govt would take them over and treat the stuff like alcohol and tobacco.

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 12:54:35 pm
content: I think stealing electricity and the reckless fire hazard are crimes they should be prosecuted for. As for growing plants - there is something fundamentally wrong with making that a crime. I don't like the stuff myself but I've no problem with people using it, and certainly not with growing it.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 07:15:15 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 08, 2015, 12:26:36 pmMoney was certainly the motivation and it looked well set up. I have no doubt that there are many qualified people that could set up every aspect of such a grow. Large scale operations and small ones require a great deal of secrecy so the teams that run them are by definition professionals. Even so time is against them, a fire, thieves, pure accidental discovery, lack of secrecy end up being the end result.The home I have now was purchased in a court sale. It was a grow op that was caught before it was finished. No water damage but the electrical was gutted and the power meter was bypassed. It required a great deal of work (all interior drywall removed rewired and replumbed) but was well worth it. In Canada a homeowner is allowed to do all the work took. It took over 18 months to complete, mostly myself.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 07:58:18 pm
content: The big red flag is the electricity consumption. Many substations have their own electricity meters so the local power company will send out the household bills then see if they all add up to the substation amount. Any gross differences (and a grow farm will make a BIG difference) and they know that someone is stealing power.As an aside, the first pop festival I ever went to was at a place called Deeply Vale just north of Manchester, England. A converted ice-cream van there was selling 'Moroccan Fruit Cake' and it was the only cake I have ever seen that you could either smoke or eat.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 08:03:18 pm
content: If I remember correctly, Mythbusters had a episode with throwing mains devices in a tub, while measuring the current through the heart.alexander.

author: Neilm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 09:34:15 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on November 08, 2015, 08:03:18 pmI think I remember that episode. IIRC, they started off by stating y needed 100mA through the heart to be fatal. (Wrong)

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2015, 10:42:08 pm
content: If it happens at the wrong time, a pulse of a few mA, perhaps even less, can cause fibrillation.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 04:33:03 am
content: Relevant:

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 04:50:43 am
content: And of course an open wound also causes issues. That includes being stabbed with a live wire.

author: Moshly
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 07:24:35 am
content: they have that ! its called a TaserI wonder how much difference V/I there is between the defibrillators they use for external resuscitation, and the type they use in surgery (open heart, bypass etc..) also if, in surgery, do they sync the stop/start pulse to the current patients heart rhythm.And re: the rats nest power boards from hell, it would of been interesting to point a thermal camera at it after it had been operating for a few hours.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 07:40:14 am
content: No signs of fire in the image, I wonder what brand the power bars are?They confiscated under 700 plants? That's barely a basement operation in BC, Canada.

author: Moshly
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 07:51:51 am
content: Over engineered maybe ?Looks like behind the cabling mess is a bunch of power supplies with all the fans ? blocked by the wiring.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 07:57:51 am
content: Quote from: firewalker on November 08, 2015, 08:03:18 pm...and if I remember correctly, they used a ballistics gel model which didn't represent the conductivity of real tissue at all. Then they picked up some RFI on their scope lead, misinterpreted that as being current through their model, and drew a conclusion which may have been right, but for completely the wrong reasons.I enjoy Mythbusters, but they should stick to blowing stuff up IMHO.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 08:00:13 am
content: Quote from: Moshly on November 09, 2015, 07:51:51 amDigital ballasts for the halides.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 08:06:41 am
content: Maybe they were using all of that power for hashing... haha... geddit...

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 08:07:22 am
content: Quote from: Stonent on November 08, 2015, 03:24:27 amThere's also this Scottish guy, who I believe also frequents the forum:

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2015, 06:48:59 pm
content: Quote from: Moshly on November 09, 2015, 07:24:35 amAFAIK the defibrillator does not start the heart beating, it disrupts an abnormal rhythm so that the natural beat can restore itself. You might need 10-40J of power from outside the chest, but inside the chest you need less than 1J of power to shock it back into a regular rhythm. If it has stopped beating the shock will not restart it, but if it is just quivering it can restart after a shock.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2015, 03:54:42 am
content: Quote from: SeanB on November 09, 2015, 06:48:59 pmCorrect. A defibrillator cannot restart a "flatlined" heart. ( the most common eye roller when holllywood depicts a medical resuscitation). Sometimes - drugs can - but only during a brief window - and only rarely.A defibrillator brings the cardiac muscle cells and Purkinje fibers all to the same potential rapidly. It "resets the clock" so to speak so that the normal cardiac pacemaker cells can resume their coordination of synchronized heart muscle depolarization and contraction. The chambers of the heart cannot pump blood effectively unless the cardiac muscle cells are contracting ("beating") in a coordinated fashion.