On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:42:48 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:28:11 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:32:24 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 22:24:57 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:19:42 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> > printing is so 20th century, why do we need to print should be the question.
>> >> Oh don't start with the treehugger paperless society, it's inconvenient. Plus I wonder how much electricity people use to power the devices they now read things on. And the materials used to create those electronics.
>> >
>> > They have their phones laptops etc.. why carry around text books that cost from £30 to £100 when they can read the PDF on the phone.
>> Not sure why those books cost that much. Presumably most is the research cost, not the paper cost, so why don't the PDF copies cost that much? Or are you pirating it?
>
> No educational discounts check out kindle for book prices.
> Stocking distribution etc are the main costs I think.

When I studied at uni, I bought them second hand then sold them back to the shop at the end of the year, only cost a few quid per book if it was returned in the same condition.

>> > Most coursework is uploaded via email and automatically checked for plagiarism, if yuo have a class of 600 students checking their work hasn't been copied from a book is a pain and takes to long.
>> Pretty easy to reword an article to avoid that.
>
> Not really that easy, when it flags something you can then check manually.
>
> It's done with music too all done via AI etc.

Bullshit. Easy to outsmart a computer. The Youtube copyright algorithm can be outsmarted by uploading the video in mirror image.

>> >> > even if we use ebay we don't have to send them a gross of sheep in exchange for products.
>> >> > There's a printer in most labs and perhaps a couple in the main shared offices.
>> >> > If an acadmic wants a printer they can order one from their grant money and they;'ll have to fill it and replace the ink.
>> >> > we have done the same with bins especailly since covid not every office has 2 bins that the cleaners have to collect from.
>> >> > There are bins in corridors and shared offices, I don;t have a bin, I jusrt use the
>> >> WTF, there should be bins in every room.
>> >
>> > Why we have 100s of offices the multi use rooms will have a bin or two we have about 6 in our lab, we don;t need 2 each in our 3 offices.
>> I always did, there's always stuff people are throwing away.
>
> Packaging mostly.

Yes. Including crisp packets.

>> >> > All the student labsheets are on-line as PDF, all the order forms students use are in google-docs.
>> >> So when they want to study they all have to sit at a computer, how ridiculous.
>> >
>> > Most have laptops or phones or tablets now. If they want they can print stuff out it;s up to them.
>> > Far easier to search through text on a computer than have bookmarks .
>> > Quite a few don;t even carry a pen or pencil as they borrow from me quite often .
>> Do they take notes on a phone?!
>
> well all the lectures are recorded and posted online they can make notes either by typing or writing, it';s up to them.
> Most people can type faster than they can write on a laptop and most have them.

Sensible lecturers hand out the lecture, some of mine insisted we write it down. Stupid really, your full attention should be on what he's saying.

In my electronics lecture, typed stuff would have been difficult due to all the diagrams and formulas. Easier for him to write it by hand, photocopy it, and hand it to us.

>> >> > Had one pHd student come to me yesterday asking for soldering board , I handed him some 'veroboard he said not that type,
>> >> > then he showed me an image of martix board on his phone so I gave him that instead I said we don't use really use this much.
>> >> > He wanted a 3 pin lead no idea what type again showed me what he wanted on the phone it was a female to female 3 pin JST lead 2.54mm pitch.
>> >> Yeah showing people pictures can be useful. When I was repairing my mother's door handle, we went to B&Q after I took a photo of her holding a ruler against the old one, saved me measuring every part of it.
>> >> > he was pleased because I had one in stock , but he he said that means they don't need ordering so don;t have to go on the ordering form, wait till he sees I've added them
>> >> > He didn't know any of that he just wanted a lead with 3 pins, he was lucky he could show me a a picture there an then otherwise I;d have given him a IEC lead,
>> >> > and said this has 3 pins.
>> >> I was once asked for a figure of 8 lead, we eventually worked out she meant a taperecorder lead. She didn't know what a taperecorder was.
>> > I have a selection of leads it;s annoying but most of our stuff use IEC.
>> USB is the worst. There must be 15 connector types.
>
> the pi4s use a 5.1V PSU which is annoying

Surely they'd work on 5V? Nothing is that fussy.

On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> >> I deal with stuff well over that. An amp clamp is nice though, especially for a car where I can't be bothered disconnecting stuff in awkward places.
> >> >
> >> > yes we have one of those but we won;t be having 100 students working on a car in the lab.
> >> > They'll be using 6V 60ma bulds to start with then I'll move them on to LEDs .
> >> I thought it was a uni you worked in not a primary school. What research are they doing?
> >
> > Quite highend stuff whos titles I don;t even understand lots to do with big data deepmind computing , we were researching how to contructing an invisibility cloak a grant of $5 million bewteen us and two other universities.
> And yet you speak of 6V 60mA and LEDs.

That's for teaching 1st year undergrads on a skill course getting them used to using protoboards using the equipment
for the first time getting used to measuring and understanding things, not for post grads or researchers.
Our lab scopes only go up to 100MHz but we have a THz research lab which has scopes costing £50k or more.
undergrades build cheap robots they learn how to do simple things with a budget of £50, but the research student in our lab
uses a pepper robot which is £14k for programming it for interacting with people.

> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
> >> >
> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
> >
> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!

Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there, but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
we have a box of old mice and keyboards.

> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
> >
> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.

yep.

But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.
> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
> >
> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
> What?

A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.

> >> > Well the FGs, PSUs, scopes and anything else we buy from our supplies does.
> >> > I've not put a plug on a lead for over 6 years now, not even at home..
> >> I put one on my hair trimmer the other day, a parrot had got hold of it and chewed the wire, which I replaced. Moulded plugs are stupid, you can't move them to another wire.
> >
> > Never really needed to do that.
> Nobody has ever melted a wire with a soldering iron?
Not recently and if they do we replace it, all our irons have silicon leads so don;t melt easily, not had one for years.
All irons have stands and we train them to use them.

> >> >> > I've over 200 IEC leads and if we put a plug on anything college says it needs a PAT test cert which is £1.39
> >> >> So don't tell them you did it.
> >> >
> >> > What about the pass/fail stickers the sig on the lable and the date of next test ?
> >> Eh? They come round every x years, if something doesn't have a label they test it, what's the problem?
> >
> > Cost £7k last time they came to check our department.
> > They only found about 6 they failed mostly in admin offices.
> Wow, just do it yourself.

We did have someone that did that but he left and they didn't replace him.
If they want it done they'll have to replace him .
There's no way I'm checking nearly 5000 items, all get recorded etc...

>
> Some twat did our place once. Failed a PSU I had which had bare wires, at FIVE VOLTS! I just pulled the red sticker off and kept using it.

We had that they failed 3 of the 24V irons because they said they were were showing the earth lead that had been exposed.

> >> >> > but have to wait until someone comes and does the test, it;s been 4 years since the last tests
> >> >> Fuck that, I did that PAT testing myself. £80 for a PAT test machine. Takes you a couple of minutes to do it, less if you just put the sticker on it and assume it's fine.
> >> >
> >> > Wanna come and do my lab with over 4500 and that's just what's on my oldish stock list.
> >> I'll do it for a lot less than them.
> >
> > They do it out of hours so start about 6pm.
> > We use them because they takes responsibility and have insurance so no-one in the college does should something go wrong.
> Fuck responsibility, just make it work. A colleague used an overhead projector (before digital, the acetate ones) where the bulb kept blowing for some unknown reason. He attached a big resistor inline with the power cord without even taping it up. It worked fine. If anyone was stupid enough to touch bare ires that's heir problem.

Unfortunately the law doesn't see it that way.

> >> > Wanna remove all the from pan;es from under the desks to get to the plugs and scokets , and you won't get paid for doing these you have to do them in your spare time.
> >> > Plus your name will go on as the resposible person if something goes wrong you'll need to prove it.
> >> Never happens.
> >> > One tech. said they'd only do equipment they or their students make , provided the dept buy the tester. Well that was before covid .
> >> > Not heard anything since then.
> >> Seriously, you actually bother testing home made stuff?
> >
> > yes and student made stuff.
> Why?! Do you have severe OCD?

I don't the lawyers do.

> >> > I suggested the college should employ a PAT tester full time , we used to give someone 1 day a week to do just our department
> >> > and it wasn't enough time as they wanted everything tested every year.
> >> > So it's been a fuck you regarding us PAT testing.
> >> Every year? Where the fuck did that come from? We did 4 years. And new stuff didn't need testing since the manufacturer has tested it. Like a new car doesn't need a MOT for 3 years.
> >
> > I know but they wanted it that way, I did explain it to them think that's why it was stopped so they now have to decide what to do about PAT testing. Previously the college paid now each department has to pay from their own funds.
> Which is why in my department I just did it myself. £80 for a 2nd hand PAT tester off Ebay, and fuck all for a roll of pass stickers. I never used fail stickers.

On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
>> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
>> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
>> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
>> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
>> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
>> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS.. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
>> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
>> >> >
>> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
>> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
>> >
>> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
>> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
>
> Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,

230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.

And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.

> but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
> we have a box of old mice and keyboards.

A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.

>> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
>> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
>> >
>> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
>> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.
>
> yep.
>
> But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
> unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.

Those were invented in 1966, WTF was worth that much?

>> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
>> >
>> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
>> What?
>
> A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.

Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver.

We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.

>> >> > Well the FGs, PSUs, scopes and anything else we buy from our supplies does.
>> >> > I've not put a plug on a lead for over 6 years now, not even at home.
>> >> I put one on my hair trimmer the other day, a parrot had got hold of it and chewed the wire, which I replaced. Moulded plugs are stupid, you can't move them to another wire.
>> >
>> > Never really needed to do that.
>> Nobody has ever melted a wire with a soldering iron?
> Not recently and if they do we replace it,

Aha, so you do replace wires.

> all our irons have silicon leads so don;t melt easily, not had one for years.
> All irons have stands and we train them to use them.

Yeah but the wire always gets in the way when you're using it.

>> >> >> > I've over 200 IEC leads and if we put a plug on anything college says it needs a PAT test cert which is £1.39
>> >> >> So don't tell them you did it.
>> >> >
>> >> > What about the pass/fail stickers the sig on the lable and the date of next test ?
>> >> Eh? They come round every x years, if something doesn't have a label they test it, what's the problem?
>> >
>> > Cost £7k last time they came to check our department.
>> > They only found about 6 they failed mostly in admin offices.
>> Wow, just do it yourself.
>
> We did have someone that did that but he left and they didn't replace him.
> If they want it done they'll have to replace him .
> There's no way I'm checking nearly 5000 items, all get recorded etc...

Seriously it doesn't take long. Do it on overtime and get more beer money.

>> Some twat did our place once. Failed a PSU I had which had bare wires, at FIVE VOLTS! I just pulled the red sticker off and kept using it.
>
> We had that they failed 3 of the 24V irons because they said they were were showing the earth lead that had been exposed.

Yes earth is well known to be dangerous, zero volts can be fatal.

>> >> >> > but have to wait until someone comes and does the test, it;s been 4 years since the last tests
>> >> >> Fuck that, I did that PAT testing myself. £80 for a PAT test machine. Takes you a couple of minutes to do it, less if you just put the sticker on it and assume it's fine.
>> >> >
>> >> > Wanna come and do my lab with over 4500 and that's just what's on my oldish stock list.
>> >> I'll do it for a lot less than them.
>> >
>> > They do it out of hours so start about 6pm.
>> > We use them because they takes responsibility and have insurance so no-one in the college does should something go wrong.
>> Fuck responsibility, just make it work. A colleague used an overhead projector (before digital, the acetate ones) where the bulb kept blowing for some unknown reason. He attached a big resistor inline with the power cord without even taping it up. It worked fine. If anyone was stupid enough to touch bare ires that's heir problem.
>
> Unfortunately the law doesn't see it that way.

The law never gets involved with things like that.

>> >> > Wanna remove all the from pan;es from under the desks to get to the plugs and scokets , and you won't get paid for doing these you have to do them in your spare time.
>> >> > Plus your name will go on as the resposible person if something goes wrong you'll need to prove it.
>> >> Never happens.
>> >> > One tech. said they'd only do equipment they or their students make , provided the dept buy the tester. Well that was before covid .
>> >> > Not heard anything since then.
>> >> Seriously, you actually bother testing home made stuff?
>> >
>> > yes and student made stuff.
>> Why?! Do you have severe OCD?
>
> I don't the lawyers do.

Never happens.

On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
> >> >
> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
> >> Block?
> >
> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.

He must park to load and off load, and then there's traffic lights .

> >> >> >> > I wished we'd kept some of that stuff would be worth quite a bit now.
> >> >> >> > I wanted to keep the jabobs ladder that was lent out to the film set for young frankiestien the one that sting was in.
> >> >> >> > Loads of old meters dating from the 60s in bakolite cases.
> >> >> >> I got a few old meters dating back to 1930 form Ebay, for as little as £15. One is electrostatic.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I did take a standard vairac and something else that I don;t know exacly what it is I just like the look of of.
> >> >> > Think it test HV transformers , somewhere in my loft now along with a couple of AVOs.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > 3 phases varaics with control wheels the size of car stearing wheels.
> >> >> >> Have you ever watched the Youtube channel from photonic induction? He loves to play with stuff like that.
> >> >> > Not recently did a few years back.
> >> >> He's back, and has made more videos. Or for more serious things, Big Clive.
> >> >
> >> > Yes I've watch big clive taking apart some of the dodgy chinese stuff from ebay.
> >> I like dodgy Chinese stuff, cheap and simple. Like the shower head with a live heating coil in it. I'm not a girl, I'm not scared of dangerous stuff.
> >
> > OK when you know it's dangerous that's what warning labels are for.
> No that's what common sense is for.

Common sense would mean you should be able to adjust the shower head without risking electrocution.

> >> >> >> > 1.5 KW loads although those were the size of a washing macine and had asbestos panels in them.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > We had 6.6MV van der graff and a 10ft diameter fly wheel that was used to keep it going.
> >> >> >> > We used to to test for lightning strikes on the concorde fuselage and filmed it using a 20 FPS camera
> >> >> >> 20 FPS camera doesn't sound unusual.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Sorry forgot the K so 20k FPS it had a large cinima type real like an old cine film camera 12" in diameter
> >> >> > made a hell of a racket when it started up. I never got to see it in action though, well not actually doing any filming.
> >> >> > I think it needed a major service.
> >> >> For high speed filming, see The Slow Mo Guys. I think they have a Phantom camera that does a million FPS.
> >> >
> >> > See that of similar filming light traveling through a bottle of water, think it uses rotating mirrors .
> >> Ah, several CCDs? I wondered why it made a noise.
> >> >> >> > this was just before my time here think it was ealry 70s.
> >> >> >> > Also had lots of high power high voltage stuff
> >> >> >> > Large oil filed transformers. Lots of interesting bits and pieces but all thrown out.
> >> >> >> Are substations still oil filled? Those make a nice big fire when they get shorted.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Don;t really know we're starting teaching power stuff again but using tesktop versions.
> >> >> When I was in high school our physics teacher set up a simulation of the national grid divided by 100, so 2.4V at the "houses" with an xmas tree light. There were actually very high voltage bare wires across the room and at once point she freaked out as another teacher walked in and straight towards the "pylons" spanned across between two desks.
> >> >
> >> > I remember my physics teacher dipping his hands in mercury to upturn tubes to measure air pressure and stuff,
> >> > he didn;t have much hair or many teeth , a good teacher.
> >> My chemistry teacher asked if anyone had a genuine gold ring. My friend did. It was dipped in nitric acid, which meant it was gold.
> >
> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?

Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .

> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
> >> >
> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain.
> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
> >
> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
Unless you crash .

> >> >> > well not until I win the lottery, well I did a could of weeks ago but as usually I spent the lot on a can
> >> >> > in the club £5.50 !
> >> >> FFS, my home brew is a lot cheaper.
> >> >

> >> > Local pub is £4.35 for a nice pint of adnams .
> >> Far too expensive. For £20 I can make 50 litres of 23% alcohol.
> >
> > Well if it tastes OK but I;ve tried others home brew even the local pub and that's quite rough hardly worth drinking.
> I just brew ethanol. I add the flavouring afterwards. You can brew it by feeding it apples, whatever, I just feed it sugar. And you don't need expensive brewing sugar either. Tate and Lyle from Tesco works fine.

Can't be bothered , I don;t really drink much now anyway I also perfer to decide what I feel like drinking
sometimes ale sometimes lager sometimes I just have a few spirits.

> >> >> > almost double my euro millions £2.40 win.
> >> >> You can actually win as little as £2.40?
> >> >
> >> > Yeah won £30 a couple of times over the years.
> >> And how much did you spend on tickets to achieve that?
> >
> > No idea but IO don;t buy coffees from shops as some do everyday on their way to work,
> > so I guess I spend up to about £50 a month via online tickets.
> > Depends how I feel and how much I've spent, so don;t really miss the money.
> What a waste.

I won £65 on the 17th july, my highest ever :-)
Be nice to win a few million then I can buy my own brewery

On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail..com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
>> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
>> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
>> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
>> >> >
>> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
>> >> Block?
>> >
>> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
>> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.
>
> He must park to load and off load,

There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.

> and then there's traffic lights .

You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?

>> >> >> >> > I wished we'd kept some of that stuff would be worth quite a bit now.
>> >> >> >> > I wanted to keep the jabobs ladder that was lent out to the film set for young frankiestien the one that sting was in.
>> >> >> >> > Loads of old meters dating from the 60s in bakolite cases.
>> >> >> >> I got a few old meters dating back to 1930 form Ebay, for as little as £15. One is electrostatic.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > I did take a standard vairac and something else that I don;t know exacly what it is I just like the look of of.
>> >> >> > Think it test HV transformers , somewhere in my loft now along with a couple of AVOs.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > 3 phases varaics with control wheels the size of car stearing wheels.
>> >> >> >> Have you ever watched the Youtube channel from photonic induction? He loves to play with stuff like that.
>> >> >> > Not recently did a few years back.
>> >> >> He's back, and has made more videos. Or for more serious things, Big Clive.
>> >> >
>> >> > Yes I've watch big clive taking apart some of the dodgy chinese stuff from ebay.
>> >> I like dodgy Chinese stuff, cheap and simple. Like the shower head with a live heating coil in it. I'm not a girl, I'm not scared of dangerous stuff.
>> >
>> > OK when you know it's dangerous that's what warning labels are for.
>> No that's what common sense is for.
>
> Common sense would mean you should be able to adjust the shower head without risking electrocution.

It says in the instructions not to put your head closer than 2 feet from it.

>> >> >> >> > 1.5 KW loads although those were the size of a washing macine and had asbestos panels in them.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > We had 6.6MV van der graff and a 10ft diameter fly wheel that was used to keep it going.
>> >> >> >> > We used to to test for lightning strikes on the concorde fuselage and filmed it using a 20 FPS camera
>> >> >> >> 20 FPS camera doesn't sound unusual.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Sorry forgot the K so 20k FPS it had a large cinima type real like an old cine film camera 12" in diameter
>> >> >> > made a hell of a racket when it started up. I never got to see it in action though, well not actually doing any filming.
>> >> >> > I think it needed a major service.
>> >> >> For high speed filming, see The Slow Mo Guys. I think they have a Phantom camera that does a million FPS.
>> >> >
>> >> > See that of similar filming light traveling through a bottle of water, think it uses rotating mirrors .
>> >> Ah, several CCDs? I wondered why it made a noise.
>> >> >> >> > this was just before my time here think it was ealry 70s.
>> >> >> >> > Also had lots of high power high voltage stuff
>> >> >> >> > Large oil filed transformers. Lots of interesting bits and pieces but all thrown out.
>> >> >> >> Are substations still oil filled? Those make a nice big fire when they get shorted.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Don;t really know we're starting teaching power stuff again but using tesktop versions.
>> >> >> When I was in high school our physics teacher set up a simulation of the national grid divided by 100, so 2.4V at the "houses" with an xmas tree light. There were actually very high voltage bare wires across the room and at once point she freaked out as another teacher walked in and straight towards the "pylons" spanned across between two desks.
>> >> >
>> >> > I remember my physics teacher dipping his hands in mercury to upturn tubes to measure air pressure and stuff,
>> >> > he didn;t have much hair or many teeth , a good teacher.
>> >> My chemistry teacher asked if anyone had a genuine gold ring. My friend did. It was dipped in nitric acid, which meant it was gold.
>> >
>> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
>> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?
>
> Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .

Or if you have gold fillings.

>> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
>> >> >
>> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
>> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain.
>> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
>> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
>> >
>> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
>> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
> Unless you crash .

She did, into a rock in the middle of a field. AFTER landing. The chute took off again due to her clumsiness and she went flying backwards. It was funny for me to watch from above.

>> >> >> > well not until I win the lottery, well I did a could of weeks ago but as usually I spent the lot on a can
>> >> >> > in the club £5.50 !
>> >> >> FFS, my home brew is a lot cheaper.
>
>> >> > Local pub is £4.35 for a nice pint of adnams .
>> >> Far too expensive. For £20 I can make 50 litres of 23% alcohol.
>> >
>> > Well if it tastes OK but I;ve tried others home brew even the local pub and that's quite rough hardly worth drinking.
>> I just brew ethanol. I add the flavouring afterwards. You can brew it by feeding it apples, whatever, I just feed it sugar. And you don't need expensive brewing sugar either. Tate and Lyle from Tesco works fine.
>
> Can't be bothered , I don;t really drink much now anyway I also perfer to decide what I feel like drinking
> sometimes ale sometimes lager sometimes I just have a few spirits.

But you're called Whisky Dave. You mean you've abandoned the drink? WTF?

>> >> >> > almost double my euro millions £2.40 win.
>> >> >> You can actually win as little as £2.40?
>> >> >
>> >> > Yeah won £30 a couple of times over the years.
>> >> And how much did you spend on tickets to achieve that?
>> >
>> > No idea but IO don;t buy coffees from shops as some do everyday on their way to work,
>> > so I guess I spend up to about £50 a month via online tickets.
>> > Depends how I feel and how much I've spent, so don;t really miss the money.
>> What a waste.
>
> I won £65 on the 17th july, my highest ever :-)
> Be nice to win a few million then I can buy my own brewery

On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 03:55:47 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
> >> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
> >> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
> >> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
> >> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
> >> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
> >> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
> >> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
> >> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
> >> >
> >> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
> >> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
> >
> > Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,
> 230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.

people have died from electric shocks.

>
> And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.

around 241V at work, I've seen it as low as 235.
> > but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
> > we have a box of old mice and keyboards.
> A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.

Our computers tend to come with mice and keyboards , the PC's get replaced about every 4 years.

> >> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
> >> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
> >> >
> >> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
> >> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.
> >
> > yep.
> >
> > But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
> > unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.
> Those were invented in 1966, WTF was worth that much?

Look up the price of 74HC series. Most are at least 40p each. we buy them in 100s of each type,
mostly 00, 04, 32, 74, 86 .

> >> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
> >> >
> >> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
> >> What?
> >
> > A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.
> Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver.

we bought the UK versions with UK instruction manuals.
https://www.lucas-nuelle.com/316/apg/15828/UniTrain-System.htm

>
> We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.

All our Dells have IEC sockets on the back.

> >> >> > Well the FGs, PSUs, scopes and anything else we buy from our supplies does.
> >> >> > I've not put a plug on a lead for over 6 years now, not even at home.
> >> >> I put one on my hair trimmer the other day, a parrot had got hold of it and chewed the wire, which I replaced. Moulded plugs are stupid, you can't move them to another wire.
> >> >
> >> > Never really needed to do that.
> >> Nobody has ever melted a wire with a soldering iron?
> > Not recently and if they do we replace it,
> Aha, so you do replace wires.

Cables not the individual live/earth/neutral wires.
But the PSUs on the irons up up on a shelf only the iron lead is at desk level.
we have about 30 of these, ordered another 3 last week.
https://onecall.farnell.com/antex/690d/soldering-station-digital/dp/SD01910?ost=690d-digital-soldering-station&cfm=true

> > all our irons have silicon leads so don;t melt easily, not had one for years.
> > All irons have stands and we train them to use them.
> Yeah but the wire always gets in the way when you're using it.

Ours don't

> >> >> >> > I've over 200 IEC leads and if we put a plug on anything college says it needs a PAT test cert which is £1.39
> >> >> >> So don't tell them you did it.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > What about the pass/fail stickers the sig on the lable and the date of next test ?
> >> >> Eh? They come round every x years, if something doesn't have a label they test it, what's the problem?
> >> >
> >> > Cost £7k last time they came to check our department.
> >> > They only found about 6 they failed mostly in admin offices.
> >> Wow, just do it yourself.
> >
> > We did have someone that did that but he left and they didn't replace him.
> > If they want it done they'll have to replace him .
> > There's no way I'm checking nearly 5000 items, all get recorded etc...
> Seriously it doesn't take long. Do it on overtime and get more beer money..

We don't get overtime and if we do we get time off inlue so no point.
So checking just my lab would take about 3 weeks. working 7 hours a day.

> >> Some twat did our place once. Failed a PSU I had which had bare wires, at FIVE VOLTS! I just pulled the red sticker off and kept using it.
> >
> > We had that they failed 3 of the 24V irons because they said they were were showing the earth lead that had been exposed.
> Yes earth is well known to be dangerous, zero volts can be fatal.
Well any lead that isn't double insulated is an instant fail according to PAT testing.
Its the visual checks we do without needing the actual tester unit.
They didn't realise they were 24V irons they thought they were mains I suppose.
Of you've done testing you should know that is a fail if it ws a mains lead..

> >> >> >> > but have to wait until someone comes and does the test, it;s been 4 years since the last tests
> >> >> >> Fuck that, I did that PAT testing myself. £80 for a PAT test machine. Takes you a couple of minutes to do it, less if you just put the sticker on it and assume it's fine.

Any fool can stick a sticker on, but they still need writing or printing out with the date (s) added.

> >> >> >
> >> >> > Wanna come and do my lab with over 4500 and that's just what's on my oldish stock list.
> >> >> I'll do it for a lot less than them.
> >> >
> >> > They do it out of hours so start about 6pm.
> >> > We use them because they takes responsibility and have insurance so no-one in the college does should something go wrong.
> >> Fuck responsibility, just make it work. A colleague used an overhead projector (before digital, the acetate ones) where the bulb kept blowing for some unknown reason. He attached a big resistor inline with the power cord without even taping it up. It worked fine. If anyone was stupid enough to touch bare ires that's heir problem.

Not in a teaching environment.

> >
> > Unfortunately the law doesn't see it that way.
> The law never gets involved with things like that.

It does if I get killed at work next of kin get £100k it's in our contract of employment.

On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 02:02:07 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
> >> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
> >> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
> >> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
> >> >> Block?
> >> >
> >> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
> >> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.
> >
> > He must park to load and off load,
> There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.

Who gives a shit , are you now claiming that rules need to be followed.

> > and then there's traffic lights .
> You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?

No but if he can;t get his vehicle moving because it's overloaded then you can.

> >> >> >> >> > I wished we'd kept some of that stuff would be worth quite a bit now.
> >> >> >> >> > I wanted to keep the jabobs ladder that was lent out to the film set for young frankiestien the one that sting was in.
> >> >> >> >> > Loads of old meters dating from the 60s in bakolite cases.
> >> >> >> >> I got a few old meters dating back to 1930 form Ebay, for as little as £15. One is electrostatic.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > I did take a standard vairac and something else that I don;t know exacly what it is I just like the look of of.
> >> >> >> > Think it test HV transformers , somewhere in my loft now along with a couple of AVOs.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > 3 phases varaics with control wheels the size of car stearing wheels.
> >> >> >> >> Have you ever watched the Youtube channel from photonic induction? He loves to play with stuff like that.
> >> >> >> > Not recently did a few years back.
> >> >> >> He's back, and has made more videos. Or for more serious things, Big Clive.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Yes I've watch big clive taking apart some of the dodgy chinese stuff from ebay.
> >> >> I like dodgy Chinese stuff, cheap and simple. Like the shower head with a live heating coil in it. I'm not a girl, I'm not scared of dangerous stuff.
> >> >
> >> > OK when you know it's dangerous that's what warning labels are for.
> >> No that's what common sense is for.
> >
> > Common sense would mean you should be able to adjust the shower head without risking electrocution.
> It says in the instructions not to put your head closer than 2 feet from it.

So how to you adjust it ? most showers I;ve seen you can adjust the head even remove it so yuo can direct it where you want.

> >> >
> >> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
> >> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?
> >
> > Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .
> Or if you have gold fillings.
> >> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
> >> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain.
> >> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
> >> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
> >> >
> >> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
> >> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
> > Unless you crash .
> She did, into a rock in the middle of a field. AFTER landing. The chute took off again due to her clumsiness and she went flying backwards. It was funny for me to watch from above.

So who paid for the damage ?

> >> >> >> > well not until I win the lottery, well I did a could of weeks ago but as usually I spent the lot on a can
> >> >> >> > in the club £5.50 !
> >> >> >> FFS, my home brew is a lot cheaper.
> >
> >> >> > Local pub is £4.35 for a nice pint of adnams .
> >> >> Far too expensive. For £20 I can make 50 litres of 23% alcohol..
> >> >
> >> > Well if it tastes OK but I;ve tried others home brew even the local pub and that's quite rough hardly worth drinking.
> >> I just brew ethanol. I add the flavouring afterwards. You can brew it by feeding it apples, whatever, I just feed it sugar. And you don't need expensive brewing sugar either. Tate and Lyle from Tesco works fine.
> >
> > Can't be bothered , I don;t really drink much now anyway I also perfer to decide what I feel like drinking
> > sometimes ale sometimes lager sometimes I just have a few spirits.
> But you're called Whisky Dave. You mean you've abandoned the drink? WTF?

Well it was the way people ID'd me in the club a nickname but when they got a bar friends said hi whisky dave I said yeah cheers but no ice thanks. They sort of stopped using that name in pubs and clubs and reverted to just dave.

> >> >> >> > almost double my euro millions £2.40 win.
> >> >> >> You can actually win as little as £2.40?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Yeah won £30 a couple of times over the years.
> >> >> And how much did you spend on tickets to achieve that?
> >> >
> >> > No idea but IO don;t buy coffees from shops as some do everyday on their way to work,
> >> > so I guess I spend up to about £50 a month via online tickets.
> >> > Depends how I feel and how much I've spent, so don;t really miss the money.
> >> What a waste.
> >
> > I won £65 on the 17th july, my highest ever :-)
> > Be nice to win a few million then I can buy my own brewery
> The chances of that are 1 in a few million. So er.... buy a few million tickets and oh wait.

People have won large amounts I don;t expect to but then again I don;t expect to be hit by lightning either,
360 people became millionaires via the lottery in 2021.
I think there's more chance of me winning a million than you dating Miley Cyrus but nothing wrong with having a fantasy is there.

On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 02:52:19 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 03:55:47 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail..com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
>> >> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
>> >> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
>> >> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
>> >> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
>> >> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
>> >> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
>> >> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
>> >> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
>> >> >
>> >> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
>> >> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
>> >
>> > Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,
>> 230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.
>
> people have died from electric shocks.

Not often. Weeds out the weak from the gene pool anyway.

>> And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.
>
> around 241V at work, I've seen it as low as 235.

Has anyone ever seen 230 or less? I asked for mine to be reduced as sometime it's over the 10% or whatever it is allowed, but they said if they adjusted the transformer tap, the other end of the street would be far too low, so I guess someone gets low voltage. I guess I should be happy with high voltage, it means I can draw more power through the same cable. Maybe this is why Merkins have a transformer pole per house, sounds an expensive method though.

>> > but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
>> > we have a box of old mice and keyboards.
>> A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.
>
> Our computers tend to come with mice and keyboards , the PC's get replaced about every 4 years.

Mice and keyboards can wear out faster than that. And I keep PCs going for 10 years. Shoving more memory and an SSD in can work wonders.

>> >> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
>> >> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
>> >> >
>> >> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
>> >> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think.. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.
>> >
>> > yep.
>> >
>> > But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
>> > unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.
>> Those were invented in 1966, WTF was worth that much?
>
> Look up the price of 74HC series. Most are at least 40p each. we buy them in 100s of each type,
> mostly 00, 04, 32, 74, 86 .

So you had a box of decent hips with bent legs nobody bothered using?

>> >> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
>> >> >
>> >> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
>> >> What?
>> >
>> > A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.
>> Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver.
>
> we bought the UK versions with UK instruction manuals.
> https://www.lucas-nuelle.com/316/apg/15828/UniTrain-System.htm

The Germans came in with 7 staff, 8 servers, and countless other stuff, we're not going to replace all that just for the sake of plugs. At least they don't use the pansy American voltage which made me blow up a printer (literally).

>> We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.
>
> All our Dells have IEC sockets on the back.

They (used to) make smaller desktops with the PSU outside them. The desktop actually hung on the back of the monitor. Stupid clumsy looking things. And too small to put a normal graphics card in etc.

>> >> >> > Well the FGs, PSUs, scopes and anything else we buy from our supplies does.
>> >> >> > I've not put a plug on a lead for over 6 years now, not even at home.
>> >> >> I put one on my hair trimmer the other day, a parrot had got hold of it and chewed the wire, which I replaced. Moulded plugs are stupid, you can't move them to another wire.
>> >> >
>> >> > Never really needed to do that.
>> >> Nobody has ever melted a wire with a soldering iron?
>> > Not recently and if they do we replace it,
>> Aha, so you do replace wires.
>
> Cables not the individual live/earth/neutral wires.

That's what I meant, but if you change the cable, you need to change the plug if it's moulded crap.

> But the PSUs on the irons up up on a shelf only the iron lead is at desk level.
> we have about 30 of these, ordered another 3 last week.
> https://onecall.farnell.com/antex/690d/soldering-station-digital/dp/SD01910?ost=690d-digital-soldering-station&cfm=true

Expensive bullshit. I've got a digitally controlled soldering iron, 80W, tiny thing the size of an 18W iron. Control is on the side. Heats up in seconds. Only cost about £15.

>> > all our irons have silicon leads so don;t melt easily, not had one for years.
>> > All irons have stands and we train them to use them.
>> Yeah but the wire always gets in the way when you're using it.
>
> Ours don't

They must be magic wires.

>> >> >> >> > I've over 200 IEC leads and if we put a plug on anything college says it needs a PAT test cert which is £1.39
>> >> >> >> So don't tell them you did it.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > What about the pass/fail stickers the sig on the lable and the date of next test ?
>> >> >> Eh? They come round every x years, if something doesn't have a label they test it, what's the problem?
>> >> >
>> >> > Cost £7k last time they came to check our department.
>> >> > They only found about 6 they failed mostly in admin offices.
>> >> Wow, just do it yourself.
>> >
>> > We did have someone that did that but he left and they didn't replace him.
>> > If they want it done they'll have to replace him .
>> > There's no way I'm checking nearly 5000 items, all get recorded etc....
>> Seriously it doesn't take long. Do it on overtime and get more beer money.
>
> We don't get overtime and if we do we get time off inlue so no point.
> So checking just my lab would take about 3 weeks. working 7 hours a day.

No overtime? Arseholes. For 2 years I did about 30 hours overtime a week. Earned a bloody fortune. The place was being extended and renovated, so I kept volunteering for things nobody wanted or knew how to do. If I got bored I gave some cash to the kids and they helped out. Oops, no, that's illegal, they're not allowed to employ underage kids, they must have done it as a favour or work experience or something :-)

>> >> Some twat did our place once. Failed a PSU I had which had bare wires, at FIVE VOLTS! I just pulled the red sticker off and kept using it.
>> >
>> > We had that they failed 3 of the 24V irons because they said they were were showing the earth lead that had been exposed.
>> Yes earth is well known to be dangerous, zero volts can be fatal.
> Well any lead that isn't double insulated is an instant fail according to PAT testing.
> Its the visual checks we do without needing the actual tester unit.
> They didn't realise they were 24V irons they thought they were mains I suppose.
> Of you've done testing you should know that is a fail if it ws a mains lead.

Not if it was the earth or neutral, why would I fail that? If it was the live I put a bit of tape round it.

>> >> >> >> > but have to wait until someone comes and does the test, it;s been 4 years since the last tests
>> >> >> >> Fuck that, I did that PAT testing myself. £80 for a PAT test machine. Takes you a couple of minutes to do it, less if you just put the sticker on it and assume it's fine.
>
> Any fool can stick a sticker on, but they still need writing or printing out with the date (s) added.

Doesn't take long, using cut and paste.

>> >> >> > Wanna come and do my lab with over 4500 and that's just what's on my oldish stock list.
>> >> >> I'll do it for a lot less than them.
>> >> >
>> >> > They do it out of hours so start about 6pm.
>> >> > We use them because they takes responsibility and have insurance so no-one in the college does should something go wrong.
>> >> Fuck responsibility, just make it work. A colleague used an overhead projector (before digital, the acetate ones) where the bulb kept blowing for some unknown reason. He attached a big resistor inline with the power cord without even taping it up. It worked fine. If anyone was stupid enough to touch bare ires that's heir problem.
>
> Not in a teaching environment.

this was a teaching environment.

>> > Unfortunately the law doesn't see it that way.
>> The law never gets involved with things like that.
>
> It does if I get killed at work next of kin get £100k it's in our contract of employment.

The chance of that are minimal.

>> >> >> > Wanna remove all the from pan;es from under the desks to get to the plugs and scokets , and you won't get paid for doing these you have to do them in your spare time.
>> >> >> > Plus your name will go on as the resposible person if something goes wrong you'll need to prove it.
>> >> >> Never happens.
>> >> >> > One tech. said they'd only do equipment they or their students make , provided the dept buy the tester. Well that was before covid .
>> >> >> > Not heard anything since then.
>> >> >> Seriously, you actually bother testing home made stuff?
>> >> >
>> >> > yes and student made stuff.
>> >> Why?! Do you have severe OCD?
>> >
>> > I don't the lawyers do.
>> Never happens.
>
> Never heard of compensation then , via duty of care .

Very rare, nothing to worry about.

On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:08:41 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 02:02:07 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail..com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
>> >> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
>> >> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
>> >> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
>> >> >> Block?
>> >> >
>> >> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
>> >> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.
>> >
>> > He must park to load and off load,
>> There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.
>
> Who gives a shit , are you now claiming that rules need to be followed..

No, nobody should be restricted from parking anywhere, but the streets should be big enough. Where I park in the town centre blocks a bus, I find it amusing watching him try not to scratch my car, or more likely his bus.

>> > and then there's traffic lights .
>> You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?
>
> No but if he can;t get his vehicle moving because it's overloaded then you can.

Just how much weight would it take to stop a vehicle moving? The tyres would burst before that weight.

>> >> >> >> >> > I wished we'd kept some of that stuff would be worth quite a bit now.
>> >> >> >> >> > I wanted to keep the jabobs ladder that was lent out to the film set for young frankiestien the one that sting was in.
>> >> >> >> >> > Loads of old meters dating from the 60s in bakolite cases.
>> >> >> >> >> I got a few old meters dating back to 1930 form Ebay, for as little as £15. One is electrostatic.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > I did take a standard vairac and something else that I don;t know exacly what it is I just like the look of of.
>> >> >> >> > Think it test HV transformers , somewhere in my loft now along with a couple of AVOs.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > 3 phases varaics with control wheels the size of car stearing wheels.
>> >> >> >> >> Have you ever watched the Youtube channel from photonic induction? He loves to play with stuff like that.
>> >> >> >> > Not recently did a few years back.
>> >> >> >> He's back, and has made more videos. Or for more serious things, Big Clive.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Yes I've watch big clive taking apart some of the dodgy chinese stuff from ebay.
>> >> >> I like dodgy Chinese stuff, cheap and simple. Like the shower head with a live heating coil in it. I'm not a girl, I'm not scared of dangerous stuff.
>> >> >
>> >> > OK when you know it's dangerous that's what warning labels are for.
>> >> No that's what common sense is for.
>> >
>> > Common sense would mean you should be able to adjust the shower head without risking electrocution.
>> It says in the instructions not to put your head closer than 2 feet from it.
>
> So how to you adjust it ? most showers I;ve seen you can adjust the head even remove it so yuo can direct it where you want.

No, this is a simple five quid thing. You leave it above your head, like the fixed ones you get in changing rooms.

>> >> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
>> >> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?
>> >
>> > Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .
>> Or if you have gold fillings.
>> >> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
>> >> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain..
>> >> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
>> >> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
>> >> >
>> >> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
>> >> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
>> > Unless you crash .
>> She did, into a rock in the middle of a field. AFTER landing. The chute took off again due to her clumsiness and she went flying backwards. It was funny for me to watch from above.
>
> So who paid for the damage ?

What damage? She busted a few cabbages in the field, we didn't tell the farmer.

>> >> >> >> > well not until I win the lottery, well I did a could of weeks ago but as usually I spent the lot on a can
>> >> >> >> > in the club £5.50 !
>> >> >> >> FFS, my home brew is a lot cheaper.
>> >
>> >> >> > Local pub is £4.35 for a nice pint of adnams .
>> >> >> Far too expensive. For £20 I can make 50 litres of 23% alcohol.
>> >> >
>> >> > Well if it tastes OK but I;ve tried others home brew even the local pub and that's quite rough hardly worth drinking.
>> >> I just brew ethanol. I add the flavouring afterwards. You can brew it by feeding it apples, whatever, I just feed it sugar. And you don't need expensive brewing sugar either. Tate and Lyle from Tesco works fine..
>> >
>> > Can't be bothered , I don;t really drink much now anyway I also perfer to decide what I feel like drinking
>> > sometimes ale sometimes lager sometimes I just have a few spirits.
>> But you're called Whisky Dave. You mean you've abandoned the drink? WTF?
>
> Well it was the way people ID'd me in the club a nickname but when they got a bar friends said hi whisky dave I said yeah cheers but no ice thanks. They sort of stopped using that name in pubs and clubs and reverted to just dave.

There must have been a reason for that name.

>> >> >> >> > almost double my euro millions £2.40 win.
>> >> >> >> You can actually win as little as £2.40?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Yeah won £30 a couple of times over the years.
>> >> >> And how much did you spend on tickets to achieve that?
>> >> >
>> >> > No idea but IO don;t buy coffees from shops as some do everyday on their way to work,
>> >> > so I guess I spend up to about £50 a month via online tickets.
>> >> > Depends how I feel and how much I've spent, so don;t really miss the money.
>> >> What a waste.
>> >
>> > I won £65 on the 17th july, my highest ever :-)
>> > Be nice to win a few million then I can buy my own brewery
>> The chances of that are 1 in a few million. So er.... buy a few million tickets and oh wait.
>
> People have won large amounts I don;t expect to but then again I don;t expect to be hit by lightning either,

On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:12:39 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 02:52:19 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 03:55:47 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
> >> >> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
> >> >> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
> >> >> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
> >> >> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
> >> >> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
> >> >> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
> >> >> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
> >> >> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
> >> >> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
> >> >
> >> > Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,
> >> 230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.
> >
> > people have died from electric shocks.
> Not often. Weeds out the weak from the gene pool anyway.

Most of the weak have already bred.
It comes down to resistance and where your heart happens to be in in cycle and if yuo can let go .

> >> And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.
> >
> > around 241V at work, I've seen it as low as 235.
> Has anyone ever seen 230 or less? I asked for mine to be reduced as sometime it's over the 10% or whatever it is allowed, but they said if they adjusted the transformer tap, the other end of the street would be far too low, so I guess someone gets low voltage. I guess I should be happy with high voltage, it means I can draw more power through the same cable. Maybe this is why Merkins have a transformer pole per house, sounds an expensive method though.

No idea and of course it depends on how it's being measured and what with.
In the UK, the declared low voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%. This gives an allowed voltage range of 216.2 volts to 253.0 volts. However, throughout Europe the range is 230 volts -10%, +10%
> >> > but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
> >> > we have a box of old mice and keyboards.
> >> A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.
> >
> > Our computers tend to come with mice and keyboards , the PC's get replaced about every 4 years.
> Mice and keyboards can wear out faster than that. And I keep PCs going for 10 years. Shoving more memory and an SSD in can work wonders.

doesn't improve the processor or graphics card we put SSDs in ours .
When using programs that need high end graphics and processors it becomes a problem.
None of our lab PCS can run the 3D scanner we just bought , so we have one PC that it;s used on.

> >> >> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
> >> >> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
> >> >> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.
> >> >
> >> > yep.
> >> >
> >> > But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
> >> > unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.
> >> Those were invented in 1966, WTF was worth that much?
> >
> > Look up the price of 74HC series. Most are at least 40p each. we buy them in 100s of each type,
> > mostly 00, 04, 32, 74, 86 .
> So you had a box of decent hips with bent legs nobody bothered using?

well about 30% of them didn't work, when tested.

> >> >> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs.. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
> >> >> What?
> >> >
> >> > A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.
> >> Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver..
> >
> > we bought the UK versions with UK instruction manuals.
> > https://www.lucas-nuelle.com/316/apg/15828/UniTrain-System.htm
> The Germans came in with 7 staff, 8 servers, and countless other stuff, we're not going to replace all that just for the sake of plugs. At least they don't use the pansy American voltage which made me blow up a printer (literally).

Why did they need to bring in 7 staff why didn't you do it ?

> >> We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.
> >
> > All our Dells have IEC sockets on the back.
> They (used to) make smaller desktops with the PSU outside them. The desktop actually hung on the back of the monitor. Stupid clumsy looking things. And too small to put a normal graphics card in etc.

Yes but with modern chips they don't need as much power for most computing.

On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:12:44 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> > Well the FGs, PSUs, scopes and anything else we buy from our supplies does.
> >> >> >> > I've not put a plug on a lead for over 6 years now, not even at home.
> >> >> >> I put one on my hair trimmer the other day, a parrot had got hold of it and chewed the wire, which I replaced. Moulded plugs are stupid, you can't move them to another wire.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Never really needed to do that.
> >> >> Nobody has ever melted a wire with a soldering iron?
> >> > Not recently and if they do we replace it,
> >> Aha, so you do replace wires.
> >
> > Cables not the individual live/earth/neutral wires.
> That's what I meant, but if you change the cable, you need to change the plug if it's moulded crap.

Never had a problem with a moulded plug.

> > But the PSUs on the irons up up on a shelf only the iron lead is at desk level.
> > we have about 30 of these, ordered another 3 last week.
> > https://onecall.farnell.com/antex/690d/soldering-station-digital/dp/SD01910?ost=690d-digital-soldering-station&cfm=true
> Expensive bullshit. I've got a digitally controlled soldering iron, 80W, tiny thing the size of an 18W iron. Control is on the side. Heats up in seconds. Only cost about £15.

They're cheap for a reason bet they don't perform as well.

> >> > all our irons have silicon leads so don;t melt easily, not had one for years.
> >> > All irons have stands and we train them to use them.
> >> Yeah but the wire always gets in the way when you're using it.
> >
> > Ours don't
> They must be magic wires.

Not just better designed I guess.

> >> >> >> >> > I've over 200 IEC leads and if we put a plug on anything college says it needs a PAT test cert which is £1.39
> >> >> >> >> So don't tell them you did it.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > What about the pass/fail stickers the sig on the lable and the date of next test ?
> >> >> >> Eh? They come round every x years, if something doesn't have a label they test it, what's the problem?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Cost £7k last time they came to check our department.
> >> >> > They only found about 6 they failed mostly in admin offices.
> >> >> Wow, just do it yourself.
> >> >
> >> > We did have someone that did that but he left and they didn't replace him.
> >> > If they want it done they'll have to replace him .
> >> > There's no way I'm checking nearly 5000 items, all get recorded etc....
> >> Seriously it doesn't take long. Do it on overtime and get more beer money.
> >
> > We don't get overtime and if we do we get time off inlue so no point.
> > So checking just my lab would take about 3 weeks. working 7 hours a day..
> No overtime? Arseholes. For 2 years I did about 30 hours overtime a week. Earned a bloody fortune. The place was being extended and renovated, so I kept volunteering for things nobody wanted or knew how to do. If I got bored I gave some cash to the kids and they helped out. Oops, no, that's illegal, they're not allowed to employ underage kids, they must have done it as a favour or work experience or something :-)

Problem with overtime is that you could in theory sit about doing nothing and claim you haven't enough time so volunteer for overtime. Some go in saturdays for special events and you get 1.2x or 1.5x if it's after 6pm , and they give you extra holidays day(s) as 'payment'.

> >> >> Some twat did our place once. Failed a PSU I had which had bare wires, at FIVE VOLTS! I just pulled the red sticker off and kept using it.
> >> >
> >> > We had that they failed 3 of the 24V irons because they said they were were showing the earth lead that had been exposed.
> >> Yes earth is well known to be dangerous, zero volts can be fatal.
> > Well any lead that isn't double insulated is an instant fail according to PAT testing.
> > Its the visual checks we do without needing the actual tester unit.
> > They didn't realise they were 24V irons they thought they were mains I suppose.
> > Of you've done testing you should know that is a fail if it ws a mains lead.
> Not if it was the earth or neutral, why would I fail that? If it was the live I put a bit of tape round it.

It's part of the IEE 17th edition electrical book thingy, legally that has to be followed.
It's part of the PAT testing procedure.

> >> >> >> >> > but have to wait until someone comes and does the test, it;s been 4 years since the last tests
> >> >> >> >> Fuck that, I did that PAT testing myself. £80 for a PAT test machine. Takes you a couple of minutes to do it, less if you just put the sticker on it and assume it's fine.
> >
> > Any fool can stick a sticker on, but they still need writing or printing out with the date (s) added.
> Doesn't take long, using cut and paste.
But you need top record more than that in the speed sheet, have to add the serial No. of the device and other details.
> >> >> >> > Wanna come and do my lab with over 4500 and that's just what's on my oldish stock list.
> >> >> >> I'll do it for a lot less than them.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > They do it out of hours so start about 6pm.
> >> >> > We use them because they takes responsibility and have insurance so no-one in the college does should something go wrong.
> >> >> Fuck responsibility, just make it work. A colleague used an overhead projector (before digital, the acetate ones) where the bulb kept blowing for some unknown reason. He attached a big resistor inline with the power cord without even taping it up. It worked fine. If anyone was stupid enough to touch bare ires that's heir problem.
> >
> > Not in a teaching environment.
> this was a teaching environment.
> >> > Unfortunately the law doesn't see it that way.
> >> The law never gets involved with things like that.
> >
> > It does if I get killed at work next of kin get £100k it's in our contract of employment.
> The chance of that are minimal.

So is getting hit buy lightning but it happens .

> >> >> >> > Wanna remove all the from pan;es from under the desks to get to the plugs and scokets , and you won't get paid for doing these you have to do them in your spare time.
> >> >> >> > Plus your name will go on as the resposible person if something goes wrong you'll need to prove it.
> >> >> >> Never happens.
> >> >> >> > One tech. said they'd only do equipment they or their students make , provided the dept buy the tester. Well that was before covid .
> >> >> >> > Not heard anything since then.
> >> >> >> Seriously, you actually bother testing home made stuff?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > yes and student made stuff.
> >> >> Why?! Do you have severe OCD?
> >> >
> >> > I don't the lawyers do.
> >> Never happens.
> >
> > Never heard of compensation then , via duty of care .
> Very rare, nothing to worry about.

On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:38:59 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:08:41 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 02:02:07 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
> >> >> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
> >> >> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
> >> >> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
> >> >> >> Block?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
> >> >> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.
> >> >
> >> > He must park to load and off load,
> >> There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.
> >
> > Who gives a shit , are you now claiming that rules need to be followed.
> No, nobody should be restricted from parking anywhere, but the streets should be big enough.

Bit difficult in London.

Where I park in the town centre blocks a bus, I find it amusing watching him try not to scratch my car, or more likely his bus.
> >> > and then there's traffic lights .
> >> You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?
> >
> > No but if he can;t get his vehicle moving because it's overloaded then you can.
> Just how much weight would it take to stop a vehicle moving? The tyres would burst before that weight.

No idea but when I saw it leave it didnt look right one side was much lower than the other and black smoke came out of the exhaust and it made some strange noises.

> >> >> >> >> >> > I wished we'd kept some of that stuff would be worth quite a bit now.
> >> >> >> >> >> > I wanted to keep the jabobs ladder that was lent out to the film set for young frankiestien the one that sting was in.
> >> >> >> >> >> > Loads of old meters dating from the 60s in bakolite cases.
> >> >> >> >> >> I got a few old meters dating back to 1930 form Ebay, for as little as £15. One is electrostatic.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > I did take a standard vairac and something else that I don;t know exacly what it is I just like the look of of.
> >> >> >> >> > Think it test HV transformers , somewhere in my loft now along with a couple of AVOs.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >> > 3 phases varaics with control wheels the size of car stearing wheels.
> >> >> >> >> >> Have you ever watched the Youtube channel from photonic induction? He loves to play with stuff like that.
> >> >> >> >> > Not recently did a few years back.
> >> >> >> >> He's back, and has made more videos. Or for more serious things, Big Clive.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Yes I've watch big clive taking apart some of the dodgy chinese stuff from ebay.
> >> >> >> I like dodgy Chinese stuff, cheap and simple. Like the shower head with a live heating coil in it. I'm not a girl, I'm not scared of dangerous stuff.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > OK when you know it's dangerous that's what warning labels are for.
> >> >> No that's what common sense is for.
> >> >
> >> > Common sense would mean you should be able to adjust the shower head without risking electrocution.
> >> It says in the instructions not to put your head closer than 2 feet from it.
> >
> > So how to you adjust it ? most showers I;ve seen you can adjust the head even remove it so yuo can direct it where you want.
> No, this is a simple five quid thing. You leave it above your head, like the fixed ones you get in changing rooms.

Do they really have those shit ones in changing rooms.

> >> >> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
> >> >> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?
> >> >
> >> > Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .
> >> Or if you have gold fillings.
> >> >> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
> >> >> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain.
> >> >> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
> >> >> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
> >> >> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
> >> > Unless you crash .
> >> She did, into a rock in the middle of a field. AFTER landing. The chute took off again due to her clumsiness and she went flying backwards. It was funny for me to watch from above.
> >
> > So who paid for the damage ?
> What damage? She busted a few cabbages in the field, we didn't tell the farmer.

Guess yuo were lucky to have a field to land in.

> >> >> >> >> > well not until I win the lottery, well I did a could of weeks ago but as usually I spent the lot on a can
> >> >> >> >> > in the club £5.50 !
> >> >> >> >> FFS, my home brew is a lot cheaper.
> >> >
> >> >> >> > Local pub is £4.35 for a nice pint of adnams .
> >> >> >> Far too expensive. For £20 I can make 50 litres of 23% alcohol.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Well if it tastes OK but I;ve tried others home brew even the local pub and that's quite rough hardly worth drinking.
> >> >> I just brew ethanol. I add the flavouring afterwards. You can brew it by feeding it apples, whatever, I just feed it sugar. And you don't need expensive brewing sugar either. Tate and Lyle from Tesco works fine.
> >> >
> >> > Can't be bothered , I don;t really drink much now anyway I also perfer to decide what I feel like drinking
> >> > sometimes ale sometimes lager sometimes I just have a few spirits.
> >> But you're called Whisky Dave. You mean you've abandoned the drink? WTF?
> >
> > Well it was the way people ID'd me in the club a nickname but when they got a bar friends said hi whisky dave I said yeah cheers but no ice thanks.. They sort of stopped using that name in pubs and clubs and reverted to just dave.
> There must have been a reason for that name.

Yes, I was in a club and my flatmates friends who was a stripper came and sat on my lap chatting to me
she said she knew loads of daves there's smelly dave, DJ dave, arsehole dave and she mentioned a few other daves,
I just took a swig from my bottle of whisky and she said I'll call you whisky dave and that sort of stuck as her friends started calling me whisky dave, and I used that when I started my on-line club blog around 1996.
For years I went to the club with 1/2 bottle of whisky in one pocket and my cocktail in another pocket. (1988-2000)
People always offered drinks to each other most had wine or beers and we used to swap swigs.
My flatmate called me cocktail dave as was mixing a cocktail for the night before I left for the club and used to ask her to try it.
Most of my friends called me Dr. Dave (or just dave outside of clubs) as I used to fix their computers and help them with computer stuff back in the early 90s, I used Norton disc doctor for macs to repair disc problems .
A few from those days still call me dr. Dave, those that don;t go to clubs.

On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 01:25:52 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:12:39 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 02:52:19 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 03:55:47 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail..com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
>> >> >> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
>> >> >> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
>> >> >> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
>> >> >> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
>> >> >> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
>> >> >> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
>> >> >> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
>> >> >> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
>> >> >> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
>> >> >
>> >> > Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,
>> >> 230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.
>> >
>> > people have died from electric shocks.
>> Not often. Weeds out the weak from the gene pool anyway.
>
> Most of the weak have already bred.

And some have not.

> It comes down to resistance and where your heart happens to be in in cycle and if yuo can let go .

It also comes down to your heart being able to restart itself using one of the several mechanisms healthy people have.

>> >> And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.
>> >
>> > around 241V at work, I've seen it as low as 235.
>> Has anyone ever seen 230 or less? I asked for mine to be reduced as sometime it's over the 10% or whatever it is allowed, but they said if they adjusted the transformer tap, the other end of the street would be far too low, so I guess someone gets low voltage. I guess I should be happy with high voltage, it means I can draw more power through the same cable. Maybe this is why Merkins have a transformer pole per house, sounds an expensive method though.
>
> No idea and of course it depends on how it's being measured and what with.

Voltage can be measured very accurately with any multimeter. Current with my clamp meter seems to be unreliable though, even though the cheap thing I got to sense the current coming in to the house is spot on.

> In the UK, the declared low voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%. This gives an allowed voltage range of 216..2 volts to 253.0 volts.

They refused to fix my confirmed 256V as it would make the other end of the street under 216.2. Short of adding another transformer or thickening the cables, nothing they could do.

> However, throughout Europe the range is 230 volts -10%, +10%
>
>> >> > but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
>> >> > we have a box of old mice and keyboards.
>> >> A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.
>> >
>> > Our computers tend to come with mice and keyboards , the PC's get replaced about every 4 years.
>> Mice and keyboards can wear out faster than that. And I keep PCs going for 10 years. Shoving more memory and an SSD in can work wonders.
>
> doesn't improve the processor or graphics card we put SSDs in ours .

A graphics card is the easiest thing to replace.

> When using programs that need high end graphics and processors it becomes a problem.
> None of our lab PCS can run the 3D scanner we just bought , so we have one PC that it;s used on.
>
>> >> >> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
>> >> >> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
>> >> >> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.
>> >> >
>> >> > yep.
>> >> >
>> >> > But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
>> >> > unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.
>> >> Those were invented in 1966, WTF was worth that much?
>> >
>> > Look up the price of 74HC series. Most are at least 40p each. we buy them in 100s of each type,
>> > mostly 00, 04, 32, 74, 86 .
>> So you had a box of decent hips with bent legs

ROFL! That typo is funny.

> nobody bothered using?
>
> well about 30% of them didn't work, when tested.

Ah, she had more time on her hands than others?

>> >> >> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
>> >> >> What?
>> >> >
>> >> > A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.
>> >> Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver.
>> >
>> > we bought the UK versions with UK instruction manuals.
>> > https://www.lucas-nuelle.com/316/apg/15828/UniTrain-System.htm
>> The Germans came in with 7 staff, 8 servers, and countless other stuff, we're not going to replace all that just for the sake of plugs. At least they don't use the pansy American voltage which made me blow up a printer (literally).
>
> Why did they need to bring in 7 staff why didn't you do it ?

It was a group of researchers from Germany, they were already together. And they weren't just techs they were scientists with tech capabilities..

>> >> We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.
>> >
>> > All our Dells have IEC sockets on the back.
>> They (used to) make smaller desktops with the PSU outside them. The desktop actually hung on the back of the monitor. Stupid clumsy looking things. And too small to put a normal graphics card in etc.
>
> Yes but with modern chips they don't need as much power for most computing.

Never seems to happen. Power consumption keeps on going up.

On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 01:43:42 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:12:44 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> > Well the FGs, PSUs, scopes and anything else we buy from our supplies does.
>> >> >> >> > I've not put a plug on a lead for over 6 years now, not even at home.
>> >> >> >> I put one on my hair trimmer the other day, a parrot had got hold of it and chewed the wire, which I replaced. Moulded plugs are stupid, you can't move them to another wire.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Never really needed to do that.
>> >> >> Nobody has ever melted a wire with a soldering iron?
>> >> > Not recently and if they do we replace it,
>> >> Aha, so you do replace wires.
>> >
>> > Cables not the individual live/earth/neutral wires.
>> That's what I meant, but if you change the cable, you need to change the plug if it's moulded crap.
>
> Never had a problem with a moulded plug.

If the cable is fucked, how do you get the new cable into the moulded plug? Have you never damaged a lawnmower or vacuum cleaner or kettle cable?

>> > But the PSUs on the irons up up on a shelf only the iron lead is at desk level.
>> > we have about 30 of these, ordered another 3 last week.
>> > https://onecall.farnell.com/antex/690d/soldering-station-digital/dp/SD01910?ost=690d-digital-soldering-station&cfm=true
>> Expensive bullshit. I've got a digitally controlled soldering iron, 80W, tiny thing the size of an 18W iron. Control is on the side. Heats up in seconds. Only cost about £15.
>
> They're cheap for a reason bet they don't perform as well.

It works great. It uses 80W and heats from cold in seconds. The temperature is maintained precisely.

>> >> > all our irons have silicon leads so don;t melt easily, not had one for years.
>> >> > All irons have stands and we train them to use them.
>> >> Yeah but the wire always gets in the way when you're using it.
>> >
>> > Ours don't
>> They must be magic wires.
>
> Not just better designed I guess.

You cannot design a wire to stay out of the way.

>> >> >> >> >> > I've over 200 IEC leads and if we put a plug on anything college says it needs a PAT test cert which is £1.39
>> >> >> >> >> So don't tell them you did it.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > What about the pass/fail stickers the sig on the lable and the date of next test ?
>> >> >> >> Eh? They come round every x years, if something doesn't have a label they test it, what's the problem?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Cost £7k last time they came to check our department.
>> >> >> > They only found about 6 they failed mostly in admin offices.
>> >> >> Wow, just do it yourself.
>> >> >
>> >> > We did have someone that did that but he left and they didn't replace him.
>> >> > If they want it done they'll have to replace him .
>> >> > There's no way I'm checking nearly 5000 items, all get recorded etc...
>> >> Seriously it doesn't take long. Do it on overtime and get more beer money.
>> >
>> > We don't get overtime and if we do we get time off inlue so no point.
>> > So checking just my lab would take about 3 weeks. working 7 hours a day.
>> No overtime? Arseholes. For 2 years I did about 30 hours overtime a week. Earned a bloody fortune. The place was being extended and renovated, so I kept volunteering for things nobody wanted or knew how to do. If I got bored I gave some cash to the kids and they helped out. Oops, no, that's illegal, they're not allowed to employ underage kids, they must have done it as a favour or work experience or something :-)
>
> Problem with overtime is that you could in theory sit about doing nothing and claim you haven't enough time so volunteer for overtime. Some go in saturdays for special events and you get 1.2x or 1.5x if it's after 6pm , and they give you extra holidays day(s) as 'payment'.

People would tend to notice you sitting about doing nothing. And that problem isn't limited to overtime. Stopping overtime just means the work isn't done because you "don't have enough time". Another way to get overtime is to volunteer for jobs that cannot be done when there are people in the way.

>> >> >> Some twat did our place once. Failed a PSU I had which had bare wires, at FIVE VOLTS! I just pulled the red sticker off and kept using it.
>> >> >
>> >> > We had that they failed 3 of the 24V irons because they said they were were showing the earth lead that had been exposed.
>> >> Yes earth is well known to be dangerous, zero volts can be fatal.
>> > Well any lead that isn't double insulated is an instant fail according to PAT testing.
>> > Its the visual checks we do without needing the actual tester unit.
>> > They didn't realise they were 24V irons they thought they were mains I suppose.
>> > Of you've done testing you should know that is a fail if it ws a mains lead.
>> Not if it was the earth or neutral, why would I fail that? If it was the live I put a bit of tape round it.
>
> It's part of the IEE 17th edition electrical book thingy, legally that has to be followed.
> It's part of the PAT testing procedure.

It's utter bullshit. How does zero volts harm you?

>> >> >> >> >> > but have to wait until someone comes and does the test, it;s been 4 years since the last tests
>> >> >> >> >> Fuck that, I did that PAT testing myself. £80 for a PAT test machine. Takes you a couple of minutes to do it, less if you just put the sticker on it and assume it's fine.
>> >
>> > Any fool can stick a sticker on, but they still need writing or printing out with the date (s) added.
>> Doesn't take long, using cut and paste.
> But you need top record more than that in the speed sheet, have to add the serial No. of the device and other details.

Doesn't take long to write in a serial number. I could probably test things properly one every 2 minutes. 1 minute if I cheated.

>> >> >> >> > Wanna come and do my lab with over 4500 and that's just what's on my oldish stock list.
>> >> >> >> I'll do it for a lot less than them.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > They do it out of hours so start about 6pm.
>> >> >> > We use them because they takes responsibility and have insurance so no-one in the college does should something go wrong.
>> >> >> Fuck responsibility, just make it work. A colleague used an overhead projector (before digital, the acetate ones) where the bulb kept blowing for some unknown reason. He attached a big resistor inline with the power cord without even taping it up. It worked fine. If anyone was stupid enough to touch bare ires that's heir problem.
>> >
>> > Not in a teaching environment.
>> this was a teaching environment.
>> >> > Unfortunately the law doesn't see it that way.
>> >> The law never gets involved with things like that.
>> >
>> > It does if I get killed at work next of kin get £100k it's in our contract of employment.
>> The chance of that are minimal.
>
> So is getting hit buy lightning but it happens .

But people don't concern themselves with it. We also don't all have nuclear bunkers.

On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 02:18:22 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:38:59 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:08:41 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 02:02:07 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail..com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
>> >> >> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
>> >> >> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
>> >> >> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
>> >> >> >> Block?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
>> >> >> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.
>> >> >
>> >> > He must park to load and off load,
>> >> There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.
>> >
>> > Who gives a shit , are you now claiming that rules need to be followed.
>> No, nobody should be restricted from parking anywhere, but the streets should be big enough.
>
> Bit difficult in London.

The council should make roads fit for purpose in the first place. Why put buildings so close together? But then your mayor is a Muslim.

>> Where I park in the town centre blocks a bus, I find it amusing watching him try not to scratch my car, or more likely his bus.
>> >> > and then there's traffic lights .
>> >> You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?
>> >
>> > No but if he can;t get his vehicle moving because it's overloaded then you can.
>> Just how much weight would it take to stop a vehicle moving? The tyres would burst before that weight.
>
> No idea but when I saw it leave it didnt look right one side was much lower than the other and black smoke came out of the exhaust and it made some strange noises.

Maybe his wife was in the passenger seat. I used to have a colleague who was so fat she was officially classed as disabled. She walked no more than 1mph. Her hefty BMW X5 or whatever their big 4x4 is tipped to one side when she got in. She would have flattened a Fiat Panda.

>> >> >> >> >> >> > I wished we'd kept some of that stuff would be worth quite a bit now.
>> >> >> >> >> >> > I wanted to keep the jabobs ladder that was lent out to the film set for young frankiestien the one that sting was in.
>> >> >> >> >> >> > Loads of old meters dating from the 60s in bakolite cases.
>> >> >> >> >> >> I got a few old meters dating back to 1930 form Ebay, for as little as £15. One is electrostatic.
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > I did take a standard vairac and something else that I don;t know exacly what it is I just like the look of of.
>> >> >> >> >> > Think it test HV transformers , somewhere in my loft now along with a couple of AVOs.
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >> > 3 phases varaics with control wheels the size of car stearing wheels.
>> >> >> >> >> >> Have you ever watched the Youtube channel from photonic induction? He loves to play with stuff like that.
>> >> >> >> >> > Not recently did a few years back.
>> >> >> >> >> He's back, and has made more videos. Or for more serious things, Big Clive.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Yes I've watch big clive taking apart some of the dodgy chinese stuff from ebay.
>> >> >> >> I like dodgy Chinese stuff, cheap and simple. Like the shower head with a live heating coil in it. I'm not a girl, I'm not scared of dangerous stuff.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > OK when you know it's dangerous that's what warning labels are for.
>> >> >> No that's what common sense is for.
>> >> >
>> >> > Common sense would mean you should be able to adjust the shower head without risking electrocution.
>> >> It says in the instructions not to put your head closer than 2 feet from it.
>> >
>> > So how to you adjust it ? most showers I;ve seen you can adjust the head even remove it so yuo can direct it where you want.
>> No, this is a simple five quid thing. You leave it above your head, like the fixed ones you get in changing rooms.
>
> Do they really have those shit ones in changing rooms.

Dunno, I haven't been in many changing rooms, I can only remember high school and the rugby club near "race the train" in Wales (an off road running race chasing a steam train) where we got the mud off afterwards. It was so pathetic there was only enough water for one shower out of the 10. When they were all turned on, we got a dribble each. People were cupping their hands to collect enough water to do something with.

>> >> >> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
>> >> >> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?
>> >> >
>> >> > Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .
>> >> Or if you have gold fillings.
>> >> >> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
>> >> >> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain.
>> >> >> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
>> >> >> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
>> >> >> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
>> >> > Unless you crash .
>> >> She did, into a rock in the middle of a field. AFTER landing. The chute took off again due to her clumsiness and she went flying backwards.. It was funny for me to watch from above.
>> >
>> > So who paid for the damage ?
>> What damage? She busted a few cabbages in the field, we didn't tell the farmer.
>
> Guess yuo were lucky to have a field to land in.

They tend to do parachute jumps over flat areas, not heavy traffic on motorways.

>> >> >> >> >> > well not until I win the lottery, well I did a could of weeks ago but as usually I spent the lot on a can
>> >> >> >> >> > in the club £5.50 !
>> >> >> >> >> FFS, my home brew is a lot cheaper.
>> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Local pub is £4.35 for a nice pint of adnams .
>> >> >> >> Far too expensive. For £20 I can make 50 litres of 23% alcohol.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Well if it tastes OK but I;ve tried others home brew even the local pub and that's quite rough hardly worth drinking.
>> >> >> I just brew ethanol. I add the flavouring afterwards. You can brew it by feeding it apples, whatever, I just feed it sugar. And you don't need expensive brewing sugar either. Tate and Lyle from Tesco works fine.
>> >> >
>> >> > Can't be bothered , I don;t really drink much now anyway I also perfer to decide what I feel like drinking
>> >> > sometimes ale sometimes lager sometimes I just have a few spirits.
>> >> But you're called Whisky Dave. You mean you've abandoned the drink? WTF?
>> >
>> > Well it was the way people ID'd me in the club a nickname but when they got a bar friends said hi whisky dave I said yeah cheers but no ice thanks. They sort of stopped using that name in pubs and clubs and reverted to just dave.
>> There must have been a reason for that name.
>
> Yes, I was in a club and my flatmates friends who was a stripper came and sat on my lap chatting to me
> she said she knew loads of daves there's smelly dave, DJ dave, arsehole dave and she mentioned a few other daves,
> I just took a swig from my bottle of whisky and she said I'll call you whisky dave and that sort of stuck as her friends started calling me whisky dave, and I used that when I started my on-line club blog around 1996.

On Thursday, 21 July 2022 at 03:00:35 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 01:25:52 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:12:39 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 02:52:19 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 03:55:47 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
> >> >> >> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
> >> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
> >> >> >> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
> >> >> >> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
> >> >> >> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,
> >> >> 230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.
> >> >
> >> > people have died from electric shocks.
> >> Not often. Weeds out the weak from the gene pool anyway.
> >
> > Most of the weak have already bred.
> And some have not.

So shows it doesn;t work like that.

> > It comes down to resistance and where your heart happens to be in in cycle and if yuo can let go .
> It also comes down to your heart being able to restart itself using one of the several mechanisms healthy people have.
If that were true then healthy people would be immortal

> >> >> And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.
> >> >
> >> > around 241V at work, I've seen it as low as 235.
> >> Has anyone ever seen 230 or less? I asked for mine to be reduced as sometime it's over the 10% or whatever it is allowed, but they said if they adjusted the transformer tap, the other end of the street would be far too low, so I guess someone gets low voltage. I guess I should be happy with high voltage, it means I can draw more power through the same cable. Maybe this is why Merkins have a transformer pole per house, sounds an expensive method though.
> >
> > No idea and of course it depends on how it's being measured and what with.
> Voltage can be measured very accurately with any multimeter.

No it can;t I''ve tried it with various meters and you could get up to 3V differnce between a cheap plug-in power meter and our True RMS meters.
We bought True RMS meters because normal meters aren't true RMS and can give strange reading that don't come out right when you compare calculations with practice.

> Current with my clamp meter seems to be unreliable though, even though the cheap thing I got to sense the current coming in to the house is spot on.

you can't tell whther something is spot on without a good sample rate.
Which is also the trouble with cheap meters that only sample the sine wave perhaps once every 1/3rd of a second.
Sample rate theory states that sampling rate should be 3 x the frequency of the wave you're measuring.

> > In the UK, the declared low voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%. This gives an allowed voltage range of 216.2 volts to 253.0 volts.
> They refused to fix my confirmed 256V as it would make the other end of the street under 216.2. Short of adding another transformer or thickening the cables, nothing they could do.

you mean nothing they wanted to do, mostly due to costs.

> > However, throughout Europe the range is 230 volts -10%, +10%
> >
> >> >> > but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
> >> >> > we have a box of old mice and keyboards.
> >> >> A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.
> >> >
> >> > Our computers tend to come with mice and keyboards , the PC's get replaced about every 4 years.
> >> Mice and keyboards can wear out faster than that. And I keep PCs going for 10 years. Shoving more memory and an SSD in can work wonders.
> >
> > doesn't improve the processor or graphics card we put SSDs in ours .
> A graphics card is the easiest thing to replace.

I don't think they can in our dell PC's and even then it;s not really worth it a couple of then have had screens die
the optiplex-7460-all-in-one

by the time your replace the graphics card, memerey and drive it;s cheaper to get a new PC.
Especailly as they are on a contract term of 4 years or so.

> > When using programs that need high end graphics and processors it becomes a problem.
> > None of our lab PCS can run the 3D scanner we just bought , so we have one PC that it;s used on.
> >
> >> >> >> >> > and a Euro plug too, which we recyle .
> >> >> >> >> I wasn't aware you can recycle plugs.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Not sure what happens they get put into a electrical equipment recycle bin or cage and collected .
> >> >> >> Copper and other metals extraction would be the main thing I think. I guess there's a fair bit in the plug prongs. It amazes me it's worth recycling a circuit board.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > yep.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > But we did have awork experience girl in the other week and she checked through out box of old 74 series chips
> >> >> > unbent the legs etc.. and found about £300 quids worth of working chips.
> >> >> Those were invented in 1966, WTF was worth that much?
> >> >
> >> > Look up the price of 74HC series. Most are at least 40p each. we buy them in 100s of each type,
> >> > mostly 00, 04, 32, 74, 86 .
> >> So you had a box of decent hips with bent legs
> ROFL! That typo is funny.

Yeah I missed that first time :-)

> > nobody bothered using?
> >
> > well about 30% of them didn't work, when tested.
> Ah, she had more time on her hands than others?

'others' a 6th form school girl on worked experience for about 3 days, took her most of the afternoon, but she learnt how to use the chip tester
and what gates are in chips

> >> >> >> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
> >> >> >> What?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.
> >> >> Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver.
> >> >
> >> > we bought the UK versions with UK instruction manuals.
> >> > https://www.lucas-nuelle.com/316/apg/15828/UniTrain-System.htm
> >> The Germans came in with 7 staff, 8 servers, and countless other stuff, we're not going to replace all that just for the sake of plugs. At least they don't use the pansy American voltage which made me blow up a printer (literally).
> >
> > Why did they need to bring in 7 staff why didn't you do it ?
> It was a group of researchers from Germany, they were already together. And they weren't just techs they were scientists with tech capabilities.
> >> >> We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.
> >> >
> >> > All our Dells have IEC sockets on the back.
> >> They (used to) make smaller desktops with the PSU outside them. The desktop actually hung on the back of the monitor. Stupid clumsy looking things. And too small to put a normal graphics card in etc.
> >
> > Yes but with modern chips they don't need as much power for most computing.
> Never seems to happen. Power consumption keeps on going up.

On Friday, 22 July 2022 at 03:08:56 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 02:18:22 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:38:59 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:08:41 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 02:02:07 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 02:49:54 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:54 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 03:38:22 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:15:56 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 21:21:36 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
> >> >> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:59:17 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >> >> > That's handy we used to have someone an any old iron bloke called Tom the Tutt he used to collect all our scape stuff.
> >> >> >> >> >> >> There's a van round here with a megaphone that shouts "any old scrap metal?" He doesn't even have a recording, as he changes what he says if he spots someone. He took a chest freezer off me.
> >> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >> > Ours disapeared years ago he kept getting tiuckets for his unsafe lorry loads , he seemd to over load it and broke down many times in the main road.
> >> >> >> >> >> > Maybe the police got his licence revoked or something, he sort of disapeard one day couldnt; contact him or anything.
> >> >> >> >> >> The pigs aren't so mean around here. They do have an obsession with seatbelts though.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > well he used to block part of Mile End road which is normally very busy .
> >> >> >> >> Block?
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Yes one lane couldn't be used until it was towed away.
> >> >> >> Ours just drives about, he doesn't park.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > He must park to load and off load,
> >> >> There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.
> >> >
> >> > Who gives a shit , are you now claiming that rules need to be followed.
> >> No, nobody should be restricted from parking anywhere, but the streets should be big enough.
> >
> > Bit difficult in London.
> The council should make roads fit for purpose in the first place.

Mile end road where I work was mentioned in the doomsday book I think first mention in 1277
And it would be a bit difficult to move tower bridge or make it wider.

Why put buildings so close together? But then your mayor is a Muslim.
They were built like that since roman times.
They didn;t have many large lorries in shakespeare day well he never wrote about them
or having problems parking outside the globe theatre.

> >> Where I park in the town centre blocks a bus, I find it amusing watching him try not to scratch my car, or more likely his bus.
> >> >> > and then there's traffic lights .
> >> >> You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?
> >> >
> >> > No but if he can;t get his vehicle moving because it's overloaded then you can.
> >> Just how much weight would it take to stop a vehicle moving? The tyres would burst before that weight.
> >
> > No idea but when I saw it leave it didnt look right one side was much lower than the other and black smoke came out of the exhaust and it made some strange noises.
> Maybe his wife was in the passenger seat.

No but he did have a large fat 'retarded' teenager that did all the lifting and he handed him some sweets and he was well happy
I often wondered if he was actually paid or just given treats like a well behaved dog.

> I used to have a colleague who was so fat she was officially classed as disabled. She walked no more than 1mph. Her hefty BMW X5 or whatever their big 4x4 is tipped to one side when she got in. She would have flattened a Fiat Panda.

I't amazing just how large some people can get.

> >> >
> >> > So how to you adjust it ? most showers I;ve seen you can adjust the head even remove it so yuo can direct it where you want.
> >> No, this is a simple five quid thing. You leave it above your head, like the fixed ones you get in changing rooms.
> >
> > Do they really have those shit ones in changing rooms.
> Dunno, I haven't been in many changing rooms, I can only remember high school and the rugby club near "race the train" in Wales (an off road running race chasing a steam train) where we got the mud off afterwards. It was so pathetic there was only enough water for one shower out of the 10. When they were all turned on, we got a dribble each. People were cupping their hands to collect enough water to do something with.

Ah those were the days when knights were bold
and toilet paper wasn;t invented ,
they;d wipe their arse on blades of grass
and walk away contented.
Where we did our sports was dug up hackney marches and is now part of teh olympic village in stratford.

> >> >> >> > Yes that was the old way of testing gold now they use fancy spectral analyses and can tell exactly what something is made from.
> >> >> >> You mean you aren't meant to bite it?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Can do but it's not a good test especially with silver .
> >> >> Or if you have gold fillings.
> >> >> >> >> >> I've been in a plane three times. Once was a Boeing 737 to Wales to buy a car off my girlfriend's husband, the other two were Cessnas I jumped out of.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > I've been in a Cessna think that what it was on a 10min joy ride around yarmouth.
> >> >> >> >> > been on a couple of commercial flights sweden, greece & spain.
> >> >> >> >> > Never jumped out of any though,
> >> >> >> >> It's a lot more fun than you'd think, you can steer it.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > I'll stick with simulators :-)
> >> >> >> Oh come on. I've done it twice. My friend broke her ankle one time, and I got my lines tangled up one time. No big deal.
> >> >> > Unless you crash .
> >> >> She did, into a rock in the middle of a field. AFTER landing. The chute took off again due to her clumsiness and she went flying backwards. It was funny for me to watch from above.
> >> >
> >> > So who paid for the damage ?
> >> What damage? She busted a few cabbages in the field, we didn't tell the farmer.
> >
> > Guess yuo were lucky to have a field to land in.
> They tend to do parachute jumps over flat areas, not heavy traffic on motorways.

Isn't that a bit health and softly surely if you land in front of a lorry doing 60 it's you fault
for not steering the chut properly.

> >> > Well it was the way people ID'd me in the club a nickname but when they got a bar friends said hi whisky dave I said yeah cheers but no ice thanks. They sort of stopped using that name in pubs and clubs and reverted to just dave.
> >> There must have been a reason for that name.
> >
> > Yes, I was in a club and my flatmates friends who was a stripper came and sat on my lap chatting to me
> > she said she knew loads of daves there's smelly dave, DJ dave, arsehole dave and she mentioned a few other daves,
> > I just took a swig from my bottle of whisky and she said I'll call you whisky dave and that sort of stuck as her friends started calling me whisky dave, and I used that when I started my on-line club blog around 1996.
> ROTFPMSL!
>
> So you're not the drunk I thought you were?

thought is a dangeous thing .
One thing I always stae to peoloe that try to get me into a drinking compition is that
I regard drinking as an art NOT a sport I don't do sport.
An amateur piss artist perhaps.

> >> >> >> >> >> > almost double my euro millions £2.40 win.
> >> >> >> >> >> You can actually win as little as £2.40?
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > Yeah won £30 a couple of times over the years.
> >> >> >> >> And how much did you spend on tickets to achieve that?
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > No idea but IO don;t buy coffees from shops as some do everyday on their way to work,
> >> >> >> > so I guess I spend up to about £50 a month via online tickets.
> >> >> >> > Depends how I feel and how much I've spent, so don;t really miss the money.
> >> >> >> What a waste.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I won £65 on the 17th july, my highest ever :-)
> >> >> > Be nice to win a few million then I can buy my own brewery
> >> >> The chances of that are 1 in a few million. So er.... buy a few million tickets and oh wait.
> >> >
> >> > People have won large amounts I don;t expect to but then again I don;t expect to be hit by lightning either,
> >> Exactly, no point in trying to do what will never happen.
> >
> > It happens to some.
> Very few.

On Friday, 22 July 2022 at 03:08:56 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:

regarding qhat we teach just got this email. in our dept.

Congratulations to xxxxxxx for passing his PhD viva with a dissertation in which he revisited traditional assumptions about polysemy at the light of recent developments in cognitive science and the development of context-sensitive language models:
Word Sense Distance and Similarity Patterns in Regular Polysemy.

simple innnit

but dont; ask me I haven't a clue what this has to do with computer science or electronic engineering

Hopefully the next one Phd pass will make more sense

On Fri, 22 Jul 2022 13:39:20 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thursday, 21 July 2022 at 03:00:35 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 01:25:52 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:12:39 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 02:52:19 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 03:55:47 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Tue, 19 Jul 2022 03:08:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail..com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> > On Monday, 18 July 2022 at 19:34:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> On Mon, 18 Jul 2022 03:03:37 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> > On Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 23:14:20 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> >> >> On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:39:40 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > We buy quite a bit of Elegoo stuff
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > we are going to try these even cheaper as we really only want just black and red (maybe green if we had to) to encourage the students to colour code.
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > (most DMM probes come in red and black)
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > https://www.rapidonline.com/r-tech-524603-pk-of-20-croc-leads-10-red-10-black-460mm-52-4603
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > £5.63 and free P&P
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> > if we order today they'll be here on Monday
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> Yes I used Rapid and CPC/Farnell a lot, much cheaper than RS. I just used RS for difficult to get things. I got mains plugs from CPC for 20p each!
>> >> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >> > Mains plugs who buys them
>> >> >> >> >> >> Me. Things have to be plugged in.
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > Everything we buy comes with a moulded IEC plug,
>> >> >> >> >> Until it breaks, or you want to make your own stuff or modify something.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > We don't need to do that, I have over 200 IEC leads spare one breaks just replace it.
>> >> >> >> Wow. A throw away society. I used to replace the microswitches in mice!
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Mice don;t work at 230V , so there's no risk there,
>> >> >> 230V isn't a risk. I've had 6 shocks from it, it just makes you jump.
>> >> >
>> >> > people have died from electric shocks.
>> >> Not often. Weeds out the weak from the gene pool anyway.
>> >
>> > Most of the weak have already bred.
>> And some have not.
>
> So shows it doesn;t work like that.

It's semi effective. The weakest don't make it to breeding age. It's how we've evolved to be what we are and not still be amoebas.

>> > It comes down to resistance and where your heart happens to be in in cycle and if yuo can let go .
>> It also comes down to your heart being able to restart itself using one of the several mechanisms healthy people have.
> If that were true then healthy people would be immortal

We are to electric shock.

>> >> >> And I've yet to see 230V. I get 246V to my house. 230V is just some bullshit from the EU.
>> >> >
>> >> > around 241V at work, I've seen it as low as 235.
>> >> Has anyone ever seen 230 or less? I asked for mine to be reduced as sometime it's over the 10% or whatever it is allowed, but they said if they adjusted the transformer tap, the other end of the street would be far too low, so I guess someone gets low voltage. I guess I should be happy with high voltage, it means I can draw more power through the same cable. Maybe this is why Merkins have a transformer pole per house, sounds an expensive method though.
>> >
>> > No idea and of course it depends on how it's being measured and what with.
>> Voltage can be measured very accurately with any multimeter.
>
> No it can;t I''ve tried it with various meters and you could get up to 3V differnce between a cheap plug-in power meter and our True RMS meters.
> We bought True RMS meters because normal meters aren't true RMS and can give strange reading that don't come out right when you compare calculations with practice.

I've never found an inaccurate meter. I have a true RMS meter, a £100 multimeter from 1990, a £5 multimeter from a few years ago, and a couple of plug in power meters. Very accurate on voltage and they all agree.

>> Current with my clamp meter seems to be unreliable though, even though the cheap thing I got to sense the current coming in to the house is spot on.

Ignore the above, the clamp meter is spot on. I was only irritated by it a few weeks ago, I think something was wrong with the circuit and more current was flowing back through the return than should have been.

> you can't tell whther something is spot on without a good sample rate.
> Which is also the trouble with cheap meters that only sample the sine wave perhaps once every 1/3rd of a second.
> Sample rate theory states that sampling rate should be 3 x the frequency of the wave you're measuring.

Why do they have to sample it? Why not just connect it to a capacitor and diode to charge it up and measure it? I bet they do, because often you have to wait a few seconds for the reading to stabilise.

>> > In the UK, the declared low voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%. This gives an allowed voltage range of 216.2 volts to 253.0 volts.
>> They refused to fix my confirmed 256V as it would make the other end of the street under 216.2. Short of adding another transformer or thickening the cables, nothing they could do.
>
> you mean nothing they wanted to do, mostly due to costs.

It was not possible without digging up the whole street to lay more wires, or adding another substation. Ridiculous since I was probably the only one that noticed. Technically I could have taken them to court but why bother? My friend did once get his TV and a few other things paid for by the power company when a massive surge blew them up.

>> > However, throughout Europe the range is 230 volts -10%, +10%
>> >
>> >> >> > but mice are a fiver hardly worth the time,
>> >> >> > we have a box of old mice and keyboards.
>> >> >> A switch costs less. Takes 2 minutes to open the mouse and solder a switch in. Very quick if you're doing a load at once.
>> >> >
>> >> > Our computers tend to come with mice and keyboards , the PC's get replaced about every 4 years.
>> >> Mice and keyboards can wear out faster than that. And I keep PCs going for 10 years. Shoving more memory and an SSD in can work wonders.
>> >
>> > doesn't improve the processor or graphics card we put SSDs in ours ..
>> A graphics card is the easiest thing to replace.
>
> I don't think they can in our dell PC's

Yip, Dell redesign everything so it's a mess and difficult to put in standard parts. I avoid them like the plague.

> and even then it;s not really worth it a couple of then have had screens die
> the optiplex-7460-all-in-one

A monitor should be a seperate device which you replace seperately.

> by the time your replace the graphics card, memerey and drive it;s cheaper to get a new PC.

No, it's often one that's a far bigger bottleneck than the others. I made computers boot 5 times faster by doubling the RAM.

> Especailly as they are on a contract term of 4 years or so.

WTF does that mean?

>> >> >> >> >> We had German students who brought a load of kit with euro plugs. I asked if they needed adapters but they said if you stick a screwdriver in the earth hole you can get a euro plug to fit in a UK socket.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Our £144k euro kit came with IEC brick PSUs .
>> >> >> >> What?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > A kit of bits to teach power electronics at the desktop level 15 kits in total they are powered from a 12V PSU a bit like the ones you get with laptops, the have IEC sockets on them.
>> >> >> Yeah most stuff was IEC at my uni, but the Germans came in with loads of equipment, and their IEC leads had Euro plugs. Sometimes they'd come and swap them for some UK ones I had a huge box of, sometimes I'd give them an extension strip with Euro sockets, sometimes they'd just use a screwdriver.
>> >> >
>> >> > we bought the UK versions with UK instruction manuals.
>> >> > https://www.lucas-nuelle.com/316/apg/15828/UniTrain-System.htm
>> >> The Germans came in with 7 staff, 8 servers, and countless other stuff, we're not going to replace all that just for the sake of plugs. At least they don't use the pansy American voltage which made me blow up a printer (literally).
>> >
>> > Why did they need to bring in 7 staff why didn't you do it ?
>> It was a group of researchers from Germany, they were already together. And they weren't just techs they were scientists with tech capabilities.
>> >> >> We got Dell computers once with bricks, for a desktop! They were huge, with a very thick 12V cable to the computer. Trust Dell to do something differently for no reason.
>> >> >
>> >> > All our Dells have IEC sockets on the back.
>> >> They (used to) make smaller desktops with the PSU outside them. The desktop actually hung on the back of the monitor. Stupid clumsy looking things. And too small to put a normal graphics card in etc.
>> >
>> > Yes but with modern chips they don't need as much power for most computing.
>> Never seems to happen. Power consumption keeps on going up.
>
> Mostly down for same computing power, otherwse we wouldn't have laptops.
> We don;t have many PC towers now hardly worth it just get an all in one like a laptop.
> even a phone has more computing power of a 486 with HD and 256 colour monitor.

Depends how much power you want. Laptops are nowhere near as good as desktops for games and CAD work. Also, I and many others detest their tiny size. A lot of the professors at the uni had laptops so they could take them home and continue working, but they had a monitor, keyboard, mouse at each end so they could use it like a desktop.

On Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:12:55 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Friday, 22 July 2022 at 03:08:56 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 02:18:22 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 03:38:59 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:08:41 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > On Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 02:02:07 UTC+1, Commander Kinsey wrote:
>> >> >> On Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:53:32 +0100, Whisky-dave <whisk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> > He must park to load and off load,
>> >> >> There should be adequate space for parking for commercial vehicles, or the streets aren't fit for purpose.
>> >> >
>> >> > Who gives a shit , are you now claiming that rules need to be followed.
>> >> No, nobody should be restricted from parking anywhere, but the streets should be big enough.
>> >
>> > Bit difficult in London.
>> The council should make roads fit for purpose in the first place.
>
> Mile end road where I work was mentioned in the doomsday book I think first mention in 1277
> And it would be a bit difficult to move tower bridge or make it wider.

Every so often buildings are knocked down and rebuilt. Don't rebuild them in the same place.

> Why put buildings so close together? But then your mayor is a Muslim.
> They were built like that since roman times.
> They didn;t have many large lorries in shakespeare day well he never wrote about them
> or having problems parking outside the globe theatre.

Shakespeare wrote works of fiction, of course they had lorries.

>> >> Where I park in the town centre blocks a bus, I find it amusing watching him try not to scratch my car, or more likely his bus.
>> >> >> > and then there's traffic lights .
>> >> >> You can't get him into trouble for stopping at lights? WTF?
>> >> >
>> >> > No but if he can;t get his vehicle moving because it's overloaded then you can.
>> >> Just how much weight would it take to stop a vehicle moving? The tyres would burst before that weight.
>> >
>> > No idea but when I saw it leave it didnt look right one side was much lower than the other and black smoke came out of the exhaust and it made some strange noises.
>> Maybe his wife was in the passenger seat.
>
> No but he did have a large fat 'retarded' teenager that did all the lifting and he handed him some sweets and he was well happy
> I often wondered if he was actually paid or just given treats like a well behaved dog.

Who cares if he's happy?

>> I used to have a colleague who was so fat she was officially classed as disabled. She walked no more than 1mph. Her hefty BMW X5 or whatever their big 4x4 is tipped to one side when she got in. She would have flattened a Fiat Panda.
>
> I't amazing just how large some people can get.

It's amazing these people reproduce. Why would anyone fuck a fat person?

M'colleague got a special chair free under some disability law, he openly said "I'm not disabled, I'm fat, the normal chairs break". It's not a disability if you bring it on yourself.

>> >> > So how to you adjust it ? most showers I;ve seen you can adjust the head even remove it so yuo can direct it where you want.
>> >> No, this is a simple five quid thing. You leave it above your head, like the fixed ones you get in changing rooms.
>> >
>> > Do they really have those shit ones in changing rooms.
>> Dunno, I haven't been in many changing rooms, I can only remember high school and the rugby club near "race the train" in Wales (an off road running race chasing a steam train) where we got the mud off afterwards. It was so pathetic there was only enough water for one shower out of the 10. When they were all turned on, we got a dribble each. People were cupping their hands to collect enough water to do something with.
>
> Ah those were the days when knights were bold
> and toilet paper wasn;t invented ,
> they;d wipe their arse on blades of grass
> and walk away contented.

P.E. classes used to be done naked. In the middle of my high school they actually introduced a rule where the teacher couldn't make you be on the skins side of shirts and skins football because you might be too cold. So he just asked for volunteers. Of course nobody refused as they'd be seen as a girl.

> Where we did our sports was dug up hackney marches and is now part of teh olympic village in stratford.

I did cross country which was out of the school grounds and along a track and a B road. Probably considered too dangerous nowadays (rolls eyes). My friend won the race. He cheated by getting a lift on the back of the bin lorry since his dad's mate was working on it.