On 4/17/2023 1:49 PM, Skybuck Flying wrote:
> Skybuck's Super PC for 2023 Draft 6:
>
> 17 april 2023:
>
> 1. 4K OLED Monitor: ASUS OLED PG42UQ (native resolution: 3840x2160, Herz: 138 Hz, 16:9, response time: 0.1 ms, wide screen: 42.0 inch, HDMI 2.0/2.1, DisplayPort, HDR10)
> Price: € 1636,00
>
> 2. PC Case: MSI MEG Prospect 700R (2 harddisk bays, 2 solid state disk bays)
> Price: € 369,00
>
> 3. Power supply: MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 (atx 3.0, pcie 5.0, 1300 watts, modular)
> Price: € 329,00
>
> 4. Motherboard: ASRock B650E Steel Legend WiFi
> ( ATX form factor
> 1 PCIe 5.0 x16, 1 HDMI ?, 1 DisplayPort, 7.1 CH HD Audio, Nahimic Audio, 1 M.2(PCIe Gen5x4), 2 M.2(PCIe Gen4x4), 2 SATA3,
> 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C (Front), 2 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (Rear), 8 USB 3.2 Gen1 (4 Rear, 4 Front), 6 USB 2.0 (2 Rear, 4 Front), Realtek 2.5G LAN
> 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2 )
> Price: € 294,90
>
> 5. Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D (4,2 GHz (5,7 GHz Turbo Boost), socket AM5, 16 (Hexadeca-Core), 128 MB, 120 Watt, 32 threads, Unlocked, Boxed, AMD Radeon Graphics)
> Price: € 799,00
>
> 6. CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black (2 x 140 mm, 24.6 dB, w 150 h 165 mm d 161 mm, 1320 gram, 83 CFM, 2.08 mm/H2O, PWM controlled)
> Price: € 119,90
>
> 7. CPU Thermal Interface Material (paste): Artic Silver 5 (12g)
> Price: € 19,90
>
> 8. Memory Module 1: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB CMT64GX5M2B6000Z40 (2x32GB, 6000 MHz, CL40, RGB, DDR5)
> 9. Memory Module 2: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB CMT64GX5M2B6000Z40 (2x32GB, 6000 MHz, CL40, RGB, DDR5)
> Price: € 439,00
>
> 10. Memory Module 1: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB CMT64GX5M2B6000Z40 (2x32GB, 6000 MHz, CL40, RGB, DDR5)
> 11. Memory Module 2: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB CMT64GX5M2B6000Z40 (2x32GB, 6000 MHz, CL40, RGB, DDR5)
> Price: € 439,00
>
> 12. Graphics Card 1: ASUS GeForce RTX 4070 Ti STRIX OC (12 GB, 2790 MHz, 7680 CUDA cores, GDDR6X, DLSS 3, 3.15 slots, PCI-E 4.0, 1x 16-pin power, 192 bit bus, W 150 mm H 63 mm L 336 mm, 3 x Displayport, 2 x HDMI, OpenGL 4.6, Max Display Support 4)
> Price: € 1129,00
>
> 13. Sound card: not needed (Audio signals via graphics card and HDMI output port or motherboard chip and HDMI output port)
>
> 14. Network card: not needed (Networking via ethernet chip and ports integrated on Motherboard)
>
> 15. Harddisk 1: 22 TB WD Gold, 22 TB hard disk (WD221KRYZ) ( WD HDD, 3.5 inch, 22TB, SATA III, 7200 RPM, 670 gram)
> Price: € 649,00
>
> 16. Harddisk 2: 22 TB WD Gold, 22 TB hard disk (WD221KRYZ) ( WD HDD, 3.5 inch, 22TB, SATA III, 7200 RPM, 670 gram)
> Price: € 649,00
>
> 17. CD/DVD/Blueray burner: not needed (obsolete technology, download via highspeed internet)
>
> 18. Keyboard: SteelSeries Apex Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
> Price: € 199,00
>
> 19. Mouse: Logitech G203 LIGHTSYNC gaming muis
> Price: € 61,80
>
> 19. Speaker set: Already have Creative Gigaworks S750 (subwoofer broke, replaced by Denon Receiver 1909)
>
> 20. Powered subwoofer: ? maybe later ! ;)
>
> New hardware:
>
> 21. Solid State Disk 1 (large, back of motherboard, sata3): concerned about low or no airflow on back of motherboard, would have to be low heat.
>
> 22. Solid State Disk 2 (large, back of motherboard, sata3): Could be purchased in future.
>
> 23. Solid State Disk 3 (strip, m2_1 on motherboard): Still looking for a good one ! ;) should probably come with special cooler though motherboard might be able to cool it not sure yet.
>
> 24. Solid State Disk 4 (strip, m2_2 on motherboard):
>
> 25. Solid State Disk 4 (strip, m2_3 on motherboard):
>
> 26. Solid State Disk 4 (strip, m2_4 on motherboard):
>
> 27. External (USB) All-In-One Card reader: Sitecom MD-061 USB 3.0 Memory Card Reader
> (
> CF, CF Type II, GeheugeNeestick, Geheugenstick, MicroSD, MicroSDHC, MicroSDXC,
> miNeeiSD, MMC, MS DUO, MS Micro (M2), MS PRO, MS PRO Duo, MS PRO Duo HS, MS PRO Duo Mark 2,
> MS ProHG, MS ProHG Duo, MS ProHG Duo HX, MS XCHG Duo, MSXC, SD, SDHC, SDXC, xD
> )
> Price: 30,95
>
> These fans look most similiar to rest of the PC case fans on front and back, and should work with PC case "board controller" not entirely sure but ok.
>
> 28. Extra Top PC Case Fan 1: Cooler Master SickleFlow 140 ARGB (650 ~ 1400 RPM, 67 CFM, 2.2 mm/H2O, 27 dB, RGB, ARGB (3 pins), PWM Controlled)
> Price: 18,95
>
> 29. Extra Top PC Case Fan 2: Cooler Master SickleFlow 140 ARGB
> Price: 18,95
>
> 30. Extra Top PC Case Fan 3: Cooler Master SickleFlow 140 ARGB
> Price: 18,95
>
>
> Total: € 7221.3
>
> Part 1 to 5 have already been ordered, there is still room to change the other parts or find a good SSD.
>
>
> I will give you a sneak peak of my supplier now that I have the most important parts ! =D
>
> Tomorrow parts 1 to 4 should arrive, so I think it will be ok to share this with you now ! =D
>
> https://www.megekko.nl
>
> Bye for now,
> Skybuck.
>

Your power supply could be an 800W unit. I expect you're buying
the monster one, for the power connector for the video card.

You seem to have too many memory modules ?

2x32 means there are two 32GB modules for a total of 64GB of RAM in the kit.

You only need enough memory kits to fill the available sockets, and
verify the vertical height of the top of the module, with respect
to your CPU cooler choice. My cooler (Wraith) is so tiny, the memory
modules are all to one side of the Wraith :-)

For the hard drive, I would try to research those and see which
ones use HAMR or MAMR, and get a PMR (==CMR) one instead. At 22TB, they're
filled with helium for sure. Everything 8TB and above is helium.
I think they can do a "conventional" one with 9 platters of 2TB each
or so (18TB drive). Just a guess.

OK, this article has some new buzzwords for HDD.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/feature/HAMR-vs-MAMR-and-the-future-of-high-capacity-hard-drives

"Western Digital came up with indirect energy-assist PMR, also called
energy-enhanced PMR (ePMR). The company is using ePMR in its recently
released nine-platter Gold 16 TB and 18 TB HDDs. Western Digital claims
these drives are the first commercial implementation of EAMR. With ePMR,
greater bits per inch are achieved by applying an electrical current to
the recording head to increase the magnetic field and improve writability,
according to Western Digital."

"Western Digital came up with ePMR while working on MAMR HDDs, which use
microwaves to heat the storage medium. MAMR and HAMR, which uses lasers
for the same purpose, are seen as the next step to increasing HDD capacity.
In the HAMR vs. MAMR race, the next few years will determine which technology
comes out on top."

Therefore, on a 22TB drive, you would want to ask the question what
that is based on.

https://www.storagereview.com/review/wd-gold-22tb-hdd-review

[ten platters of 2.2TB each]

"This CMR-based drive also boasts a 2.5-million-hour MTBF and features OptiNAND
technology, energy-assisted PMR (ePMR), triple-stage actuator (TSA), HelioSeal,
and is backed by a five-year warranty."

So it's not using MAMR or HAMR, but at ten platters, the platters
will be the thin ones (DONT DROP IT). On emergency power shutdown, it
writes the DRAM cache contents into NAND flash on the disk drive controller
board (something like that) -- this helps if you were in the middle of
a random 4K read/write test, when the power went off. If the drive parks,
the cache is probably empty at that point, so the NAND flash method is
only for unexpected shutdowns. I would expect the platters to be glass,
which would normally be robust, but these are shaved down to allow an
extra platter in the stack. I have not seen a technical quotation of just
how thin the glass platters are getting.

Paul

On 4/17/2023 6:06 PM, Skybuck Flying wrote:
> One light bulb just went out and then back on... it's strange... I am not sure if the light bulb is faulty or if something weird is going on with electricity in Netherlands.
>
> Maybe the light bulb is just ultra sensitive and can detect strangeness in the electric flow.
>
> German shots down nuclear power plants.
>
> There was also an power outage near my mother's area and a friend of mine both experience it.
>
> It would suck enormously if my new PC would be damage somehow by all these "climate change and co2 and green" changes trying to reduce electricity and co2 and energy price hikes. Hmmmm... maybe it is a bad time to buy a new PC LOL, but I have to and I must and I want to... so fingers crossed.
>
> Bye for now,
> Skybuck.

This is what UPS is for (uninterruptable power supply).

Mine is broken at the moment (about 15 years old or so).

When using a UPS, it has a "shutdown cable". The UPS sends
a character to the computer, over the shutdown cable. This
character requests the computer to do a clean shutdown.
This protects the integrity of your SSD storage.

Do not buy the $65 ones. A mid-tier UPS usually has better characteristics.
It must be rated for the "real loading". While running Furmark and
Prime95, you use a Kill-O-Watt meter and measure the PC power
(in units of Watts and VA). And that informs you, how big of
a UPS to buy. On the old Test Machine across the way, that
figure is about 400 watts. My daily driver machine uses less
power than that. Idle consumption on the PC that is on all the
time, is 42 watts. The Test Machine idles at 100 watts.

Paul

On 4/17/2023 6:24 PM, Skybuck Flying wrote:
> Hmm now both light bulbs seems to be blinking... I am starting to get a little bit worried.
>
> 1. Either the denon receiver has gone bad because of spilled coffee by salesman or folks long long long long ago ?! But why now ?! Doesn't make any sense.
> 2. Something wrong with the light bulbs.
> 3. Neighbours screwing around with something.
> 4. Work being done on electric grid, maybe in german effecting netherlands, don't know..
> 5. Or there is an electrical shortage developing at night ?!?? Strange...
>
> It seems like these flickers are getting worse by the day. I hope it's just the light bulb starting to fail, cause if it's not then netherlands is in trouble ! ;)
>
> Bye for now,
> Skybuck.
>

This could be a problem in the electrical panel, or in the incomer cable
from the power company.

Use a Kill-O-Watt meter, to measure the voltage.

The voltage in this room right now, is 122.2 volts AC.
The "official" value should be 113 volts AC.

The 122.2 volts is out of spec and too high. This
is what killed my stereo ten years ago, these sorts
of too-high voltages. I have contacted the power company,
but they are clueless bumpkins. They did try to change
the power routing in the neighborhood. The voltage
dropped to 100 volts (way way too low). They undid the
changes and I'm back to 122 volts.

My stereo is now replaced by a home built amplifier. The
home built amplifier is protected against excess voltage
(what a surprise...) .

Paul

On 4/17/2023 8:57 PM, Paul wrote:
> On 4/17/2023 6:06 PM, Skybuck Flying wrote:
>> One light bulb just went out and then back on... it's strange... I am
>> not sure if the light bulb is faulty or if something weird is going on
>> with electricity in Netherlands.
>>
>> Maybe the light bulb is just ultra sensitive and can detect
>> strangeness in the electric flow.
>>
>> German shots down nuclear power plants.
>>
>> There was also an power outage near my mother's area and a friend of
>> mine both experience it.
>>
>> It would suck enormously if my new PC would be damage somehow by all
>> these "climate change and co2 and green" changes trying to reduce
>> electricity and co2 and energy price hikes. Hmmmm... maybe it is a bad
>> time to buy a new PC LOL, but I have to and I must and I want to... so
>> fingers crossed.
>>
>> Bye for now,
>>    Skybuck.
>
> This is what UPS is for (uninterruptable power supply).
>
> Mine is broken at the moment (about 15 years old or so).
>
> When using a UPS, it has a "shutdown cable". The UPS sends
> a character to the computer, over the shutdown cable. This
> character requests the computer to do a clean shutdown.
> This protects the integrity of your SSD storage.
>
> Do not buy the $65 ones. A mid-tier UPS usually has better characteristics.
> It must be rated for the "real loading". While running Furmark and
> Prime95, you use a Kill-O-Watt meter and measure the PC power
> (in units of Watts and VA). And that informs you, how big of
> a UPS to buy. On the old Test Machine across the way, that
> figure is about 400 watts. My daily driver machine uses less
> power than that. Idle consumption on the PC that is on all the
> time, is 42 watts. The Test Machine idles at 100 watts.
>
>    Paul
>

Here is a related question for you Paul.
Do "Surge Protectors" wear out? The one I'm using is over 20 years old.
My thinking is that if current is flowing through it, it must be okay,
but a family member said they wear out.
-Bill

On 4/18/2023 2:24 AM, Bill wrote:

>
> Here is a related question for you Paul.
> Do "Surge Protectors" wear out? The one I'm using is over 20 years old.
> My thinking is that if current is flowing through it, it must be okay,
> but a family member said they wear out.
> -Bill

Surge suppressors are in parallel with the load.

There are many design styles. Some designs are "kooky"
or "imaginative". The other designs are "conventional".
Filtering elements can be thrown into the "kooky" ones,
to extend their service life.

- - - ---+---------+
| |
/-/ |
^ Load
--- |
| |
- - - ---+---------+

They can fail open-circuit. They can be blown to bits
by an event (good designs have pieces of insulation
next to the protective element, to prevent it from puncturing
other stuff). Some events are man-made (voltage transient
with a too-long time constant). Multiple protective elements
can be positioned shoulder-to-shoulder, which is why the
puncture proofing is important.

Some of the suppressors have a LED for monitoring
their continued integrity. But I do not know how the
LED is tied into the circuit, to work out that the
clamping element is still working. If the clamping
element had more than two legs, and its own integrity
signal, I would be more impressed by it.

So the answer is "yes, surge protectors can wear out".
They can be blown to bits, five minutes after you fit one,
or, they could last fifty years. Does "that LED" actually work ?
Dunno.

This means, for the consumer, there is no "algorithm" for
managing the things. If the green LED remains lit, we
don't really know whether the protective element will
withstand the very next insult.

Fitting two units in series, can invalidate the
insurance on *both* units. Some products come with a
"$50,000 insurance policy", which of course, nobody
has ever collected upon. If you violate the installation
rules, and use an extension cord, your insurance claim is
denied.

Paul

On 4/18/2023 7:24 AM, Paul wrote:
> On 4/18/2023 2:24 AM, Bill wrote:
>
>>
>> Here is a related question for you Paul.
>> Do "Surge Protectors" wear out? The one I'm using is over 20 years old.
>> My thinking is that if current is flowing through it, it must be okay,
>> but a family member said they wear out.
>> -Bill
>
> Surge suppressors are in parallel with the load.
>
> There are many design styles. Some designs are "kooky"
> or "imaginative". The other designs are "conventional".
> Filtering elements can be thrown into the "kooky" ones,
> to extend their service life.
>
>  - - - ---+---------+
>           |         |
>          /-/        |
>           ^       Load
>          ---        |
>           |         |
>  - - - ---+---------+
>
> They can fail open-circuit. They can be blown to bits
> by an event (good designs have pieces of insulation
> next to the protective element, to prevent it from puncturing
> other stuff). Some events are man-made (voltage transient
> with a too-long time constant). Multiple protective elements
> can be positioned shoulder-to-shoulder, which is why the
> puncture proofing is important.
>
> Some of the suppressors have a LED for monitoring
> their continued integrity. But I do not know how the
> LED is tied into the circuit, to work out that the
> clamping element is still working. If the clamping
> element had more than two legs, and its own integrity
> signal, I would be more impressed by it.
>
> So the answer is "yes, surge protectors can wear out".
> They can be blown to bits, five minutes after you fit one,
> or, they could last fifty years. Does "that LED" actually work ?
> Dunno.
>
> This means, for the consumer, there is no "algorithm" for
> managing the things. If the green LED remains lit, we
> don't really know whether the protective element will
> withstand the very next insult.
>
> Fitting two units in series, can invalidate the
> insurance on *both* units. Some products come with a
> "$50,000 insurance policy", which of course, nobody
> has ever collected upon.  If you violate the installation
> rules, and use an extension cord, your insurance claim is
> denied.
>
>    Paul

Thanks Paul. It is an "APC Professional". There is a green light (on)
that says Protection Working, and a red light (off) that says "Fault
Site Wiring", so I'm going to assume it's okay. The rest of the story is
that I bought it in 1997, and a lightning strike killed my modem (which
ran through it) a few years later. I notified them and they
immediately swapped my surge protector in what seems like overnight mail
and, after submitting a "wiring schematic", they refunded the $75 or so
I paid for the modem. So their service impressed me--I would stick with
this brand. I asked them, "It must be routine for you to get claims like
this?", and they said "No". Admittedly, it Was a big, or at least loud,
lightning strike--also taking out my neighbors $3000 television. -Bill

On 4/18/2023 2:35 PM, Bill wrote:

>
> Thanks Paul. It is an "APC Professional". There is a green light (on) that says Protection Working, and a red light (off) that says "Fault Site Wiring", so I'm going to assume it's okay. The rest of the story is
> that I bought it in 1997, and a lightning strike killed my modem (which ran  through it) a few years later.  I notified them and they immediately swapped my surge protector in what seems like overnight mail and, after submitting a "wiring schematic", they refunded the $75 or so I paid for the modem. So their service impressed me--I would stick with this brand. I asked them, "It must be routine for you to get claims like this?", and they said "No". Admittedly, it Was a big, or at least loud,  lightning strike--also taking out my neighbors $3000 television.   -Bill

The DAA (data access arrangement, is what the front end might be called),
can sometimes have a certain amount of protection features itself. For
example, on an ordinary phone, there can be a limiter device right across
the earpiece.

In the example here, one of the schematics has a limiting device right
across Tip and Ring (Fig. 3). The reason it's set at 270V, is it has to
make room for the ringing voltage (which used to be in the order of 180V AC?).
There are a number of reasons for not touching the pair of wires on
the telephone (Vbat), but the ringer is the real item for keeping you awake.
the line drawer on the switch, the ringing generator is basically a
rather nasty power supply, which gets applied to the line for
signaling.

https://web.archive.org/web/20071008144620if_/http://www.scantec.de/Whitepaper/TDK/embedded-modem-designs.pdf

There should be differential (between Tip and Ring), and common mode
(Tip to GND, Ring to GND) protections, with transorbs or the like.
That's if you're including an RJ11 protector in a wall plate
(the wall plate having access to Green safety ground). The front
end, depending on design, can also have dielectric isolation to the
rest of the circuit board.

On something like Ethernet, they can have 2kV spark gap capacitors
for protection at the transformer. A big enough transient, would
cause an arc-over at the caps. And this is presumably happening,
before the insulation in the Ethernet transformer breaks down.

Things like modems then, have some amount of attention to moderate
out-of-bound voltages. The isolation details vary, because modern
kit had switched to a silicon DAA, to take the place of rather
large magnetics solutions.

You will notice as well, in some of the diagrams, the presence of a fuse,
and it's possible the design was still "working" and just the fast blow
fuse went in the data path. If I'd had a modem failure, I would not have
been expecting a fuse in the telephony path.

Paul

On 4/17/2023 9:02 PM, Paul wrote:
> On 4/17/2023 6:24 PM, Skybuck Flying wrote:
>> Hmm now both light bulbs seems to be blinking... I am starting to get
>> a little bit worried.
>>
>> 1. Either the denon receiver has gone bad because of spilled coffee by
>> salesman or folks long long long long ago ?! But why now ?! Doesn't
>> make any sense.
>> 2. Something wrong with the light bulbs.
>> 3. Neighbours screwing around with something.
>> 4. Work being done on electric grid, maybe in german effecting
>> netherlands, don't know..
>> 5. Or there is an electrical shortage developing at night ?!?? Strange...
>>
>> It seems like these flickers are getting worse by the day. I hope it's
>> just the light bulb starting to fail, cause if it's not then
>> netherlands is in trouble ! ;)
>>
>> Bye for now,
>>    Skybuck.
>>
>
> This could be a problem in the electrical panel, or in the incomer cable
> from the power company.
>
> Use a Kill-O-Watt meter, to measure the voltage.
>
> The voltage in this room right now, is 122.2 volts AC.
> The "official" value should be 113 volts AC.
>
Where is the official voltage 113 volts?
> The 122.2 volts is out of spec and too high. This
> is what killed my stereo ten years ago, these sorts
> of too-high voltages. I have contacted the power company,
> but they are clueless bumpkins. They did try to change
> the power routing in the neighborhood. The voltage
> dropped to 100 volts (way way too low). They undid the
> changes and I'm back to 122 volts.
>
> My stereo is now replaced by a home built amplifier. The
> home built amplifier is protected against excess voltage
> (what a surprise...) .
>
>    Paul
I live in the United States (Pennsylvania) and I read 123 volts AC with
a Kill-O-Watt meter. According to Wikipedia* that is within spec.
* "In the United States and Canada, national standards specify that the
nominal voltage at the source should be 120 V and allow a range of 114 V
to 126 V (RMS) (−5% to +5%). Historically 110 V, 115 V and 117 V have
been used at different times and places in North America."
I've read that those lower voltages haven't been used for about 75
years, at least in the United States.
Charlie

On 4/22/2023 8:43 AM, Charlie wrote:
> On 4/17/2023 9:02 PM, Paul wrote:
>> On 4/17/2023 6:24 PM, Skybuck Flying wrote:
>>> Hmm now both light bulbs seems to be blinking... I am starting to get a little bit worried.
>>>
>>> 1. Either the denon receiver has gone bad because of spilled coffee by salesman or folks long long long long ago ?! But why now ?! Doesn't make any sense.
>>> 2. Something wrong with the light bulbs.
>>> 3. Neighbours screwing around with something.
>>> 4. Work being done on electric grid, maybe in german effecting netherlands, don't know..
>>> 5. Or there is an electrical shortage developing at night ?!?? Strange...
>>>
>>> It seems like these flickers are getting worse by the day. I hope it's just the light bulb starting to fail, cause if it's not then netherlands is in trouble ! ;)
>>>
>>> Bye for now,
>>>    Skybuck.
>>>
>>
>> This could be a problem in the electrical panel, or in the incomer cable
>> from the power company.
>>
>> Use a Kill-O-Watt meter, to measure the voltage.
>>
>> The voltage in this room right now, is 122.2 volts AC.
>> The "official" value should be 113 volts AC.
>>
>
> Where is the official voltage 113 volts?
>
>> The 122.2 volts is out of spec and too high. This
>> is what killed my stereo ten years ago, these sorts
>> of too-high voltages. I have contacted the power company,
>> but they are clueless bumpkins. They did try to change
>> the power routing in the neighborhood. The voltage
>> dropped to 100 volts (way way too low). They undid the
>> changes and I'm back to 122 volts.
>>
>> My stereo is now replaced by a home built amplifier. The
>> home built amplifier is protected against excess voltage
>> (what a surprise...) .
>>
>>     Paul
>
> I live in the United States (Pennsylvania) and I read 123 volts AC with a Kill-O-Watt meter.  According to Wikipedia* that is within spec.
>
> * "In the United States and Canada, national standards specify that the nominal voltage at the source should be 120 V and allow a range of 114 V to 126 V (RMS) (−5% to +5%). Historically 110 V, 115 V and 117 V have been used at different times and places in North America."
>
> I've read that those lower voltages haven't been used for about 75 years, at least in the United States.
>
> Charlie
>

There were two linesmen in the truck, there to measure
at the mast, and I had the operator (who has remote control
via a tap-changer), and I was told by the operator it
was 113V at the mast (allows 115 minus 2V drop on cable from the shared
pole transformer), and +/- 8V was what they expected
on the distribution range.

Where I used to live, the city was "gridded", the distribution
a lot stiffer, and stuff like this simply didn't happen.

The wires in my neighbourhood are not gridded. Each street got one "phase"
of the three phase. The wire just runs and runs along the street, in
typical rural fashion, except the houses have urban spacing and there
are no really large lots. The area does have farms, but with the spread of the
city, they're under a lot of pressure, and the farm properties have
been chopped to bits.

With the long wire run, my end (the "high end") is at one
extreme, and the people at the other end, suffer from too low
a voltage. And if the operator screws with the tap changer to
suit me, someone at the other end will only phone up and complain.

The (60000 foot) map looks like "random islands" of power. When the weather is
bad, several of the islands can be "up", and two in the middle "down",
with seemingly no rhyme or reason. To their credit though, they
did run backup next-level routing through the woods to the next
substation. And during the last "natural disaster", they finally
(after 20 years of sitting there), seemed to energize the backup.
The higher voltage lines are fitted with those "red LED flashers"
which indicate state changes, and as I was driving by that section,
even though the substation was off, the backup routing wires, their
LEDs started flashing. And it only took 12 hours to do that.

One reason for doing that, as it turned out, our sewage pumping station,
the backup diesel failed, and I think we came pretty close to a, um,
"disaster". The latest news from the city, is a memo was mailed
to us, stating that "regular maintenance to replace pump underway",
as if you don't do PM, you wait for infrastructure to just fail
on you, then... you fix it. Makes sense o.O

The sewage pumping station today, has a diesel generator "trailer"
parked outside the plant. And that's the backup power. And a cement
pumping truck was there yesterday. And for the life of me, I can't
see how changing out a pump, requires pouring more cement. There's more
to this story than meets the eye. No particular reason to be honest
about what happened. The cement is poured on the side-opposite the
infrastructure. The pour was below-grade, because the pumping truck
boom was being lowered into a hole I could not see. And that should
be on the "output" side of the plant (a 20 mile pipe goes into the
city somewhere).

At no point were we told to stop flushing toilets. I mean, I saw a few
trucks at the plant, but I figured they were just eyeballing stuff
(checking that the weather had not knocked anything over,
some adjacent trees had snapped and fallen over).

While I was outside, I had to be careful of trees snapping off and
falling on my head. So seeing the trees snapping at the plant, served
as a good warning to be careful for the rest of the day. When trees
suffer storm damage, some trees "give up limbs" 24 hours after
they're soaked. And that's what you have to be wary of, delayed failures.

Paul