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John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Nov 18 04:47AM -0800 A few years ago I changed all the exterior light fixtures around my house to motion/light cell type fixtures, and they worked well for several years. Last year they became a bit numb. I replaced the photocells that had water damage, resealed them and they worked another year, but are crapping out again or are killing bulbs in two weeks (guessing they're running at low voltage?).   Reviews on these fixtures are hit or miss at best (more misses than hits) and I don't want to go through the expense of changing 10 fixtures in exchange for questionable service life or erratic performance.   So what I'd like to do is hard wire the fixtures and replace the 4 wall switches that control the 10 outdoor fixtures to an automated type and have a single light sensor control them at one shot. I don't need the motion aspect; I'd rather have them come on at dusk and stay on till morning.   I used to use X10s and had pretty good luck with them, but that was many years ago. Does anyone know of a reliable system or pieces I can put together that will get me what I want?

"pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Nov 18 05:42AM -0800 A few things:   a) From a purely practical view, all outside lights do is give burglars light to see by. They give zero/nil/no/none additional security or safety. b) They contribute to light pollution. c) They burn power needlessly.   If *you* are looking for outside lights to see by, put them on a switch. If you want lights that allow you to leave the house and then go off, put them on a timer switch. Some are sophisticated enough that you can set a 'come-back' time so it will also light your way in.   But, to get directly to your question, Intermatic makes any number of astronomical time clocks with daily, weekly or monthly (the latter is actually 365/366 capable) that you set your dawn, dusk and date and it does the rest automagically. No need for a light sensor to add complexity.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

amdx <nojunk@knology.net>: Nov 18 07:42AM -0600 On 11/18/2017 6:47 AM, John-Del wrote:   > Reviews on these fixtures are hit or miss at best (more misses than hits) and I don't want to go through the expense of changing 10 fixtures in exchange for questionable service life or erratic performance.   > So what I'd like to do is hard wire the fixtures and replace the 4 wall switches that control the 10 outdoor fixtures to an automated type and have a single light sensor control them at one shot. I don't need the motion aspect; I'd rather have them come on at dusk and stay on till morning.   > I used to use X10s and had pretty good luck with them, but that was many years ago. Does anyone know of a reliable system or pieces I can put together that will get me what I want?   I don't know, but two days ago I found the source of a bad Buzz on my radio, it is an outdoor light with IR sensor AND slow turn on to extend bulb life. So I'm either on a search to quiet what I have or buy lights that don't produce RFI. Mikek

tabbypurr@gmail.com: Nov 18 05:56AM -0800 > But, to get directly to your question, Intermatic makes any number of astronomical time clocks with daily, weekly or monthly (the latter is actually 365/366 capable) that you set your dawn, dusk and date and it does the rest automagically. No need for a light sensor to add complexity.   > Peter Wieck > Melrose Park, PA   The simplest option is plug-in timers.   And outdoor lighting enables burglars to be seen.     NT

N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk>: Nov 18 02:17PM On 18/11/2017 12:47, John-Del wrote:   > Reviews on these fixtures are hit or miss at best (more misses than hits) and I don't want to go through the expense of changing 10 fixtures in exchange for questionable service life or erratic performance.   > So what I'd like to do is hard wire the fixtures and replace the 4 wall switches that control the 10 outdoor fixtures to an automated type and have a single light sensor control them at one shot. I don't need the motion aspect; I'd rather have them come on at dusk and stay on till morning.   > I used to use X10s and had pretty good luck with them, but that was many years ago. Does anyone know of a reliable system or pieces I can put together that will get me what I want?   If its the security aspect of lighting, rather than likes of going going to an outside bog in the middle of the night, these things are excellent http://www.redlinesecurity.co.uk/simulated-tv next to no power used, just direct the very convincing (mixture of random and quasi-static) dancing/flickering/colour-changing light output towards , but not at, a curtained window. In a real lifetime-burglar test , it came out tops of deterrance kit.

tabbypurr@gmail.com: Nov 18 06:26AM -0800 On Saturday, 18 November 2017 14:17:14 UTC, N_Cook wrote:   > random and quasi-static) dancing/flickering/colour-changing light output > towards , but not at, a curtained window. > In a real lifetime-burglar test , it came out tops of deterrance kit.   £18:35. Real TV: free.

Bill Gill <billnews2@cox.net>: Nov 18 08:28AM -0600 On 11/18/2017 6:47 AM, John-Del wrote:   > Reviews on these fixtures are hit or miss at best (more misses than hits) and I don't want to go through the expense of changing 10 fixtures in exchange for questionable service life or erratic performance.   > So what I'd like to do is hard wire the fixtures and replace the 4 wall switches that control the 10 outdoor fixtures to an automated type and have a single light sensor control them at one shot. I don't need the motion aspect; I'd rather have them come on at dusk and stay on till morning.   > I used to use X10s and had pretty good luck with them, but that was many years ago. Does anyone know of a reliable system or pieces I can put together that will get me what I want?   A number of years ago I saw something about security lighting. In that article the author said that motion detection lighting is better security. The idea is that if the light is on all the time a burglar can see where the shadows are and stick to them. If the light doesn't come on until it senses the burglars movement they get caught in the light when it comes on.   Bill

N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk>: Nov 18 02:47PM >> towards , but not at, a curtained window. >> In a real lifetime-burglar test , it came out tops of deterrance kit.   > £18:35. Real TV: free.   We don't get free lecky,about 10hour x 365 days x 0.12 KW otherwise just for 1 year. These LED gizmos something like 0.005 KW consumption. I suppose these days much less likelihood of a TV catching fire , that seems to be the province of fridges and freezers these days.

"pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Nov 18 07:56AM -0800 > And outdoor lighting enables burglars to be seen.   Do you have light(s) in your back yard? Burglars seldom go in the front door.   Yep. Those few burglars that still operate at night around here tend to wear bright uniforms with reflective stripes and drive panel vans with magnetic signs of one sort of emergency response group or another.   The best deterrent of all is a nosy neighbor - and our neighborhood is full of those. Next best is a loud dog. Similarly, including two of our own.

bruce2bowser@gmail.com: Nov 18 08:05AM -0800 hide quoted text - On 18/11/2017 12:47, John-Del wrote:   > Reviews on these fixtures are hit or miss at best (more misses than hits) and I don't want to go through the expense of changing 10 fixtures in exchange for questionable service life or erratic performance.   > So what I'd like to do is hard wire the fixtures and replace the 4 wall switches that control the 10 outdoor fixtures to an automated type and have a single light sensor control them at one shot. I don't need the motion aspect; I'd rather have them come on at dusk and stay on till morning.   > I used to use X10s and had pretty good luck with them, but that was many years ago. Does anyone know of a reliable system or pieces I can put together that will get me what I want?   Google this: 'solar outdoor lighting'   Don't install yourself because you could nullify your property's insurance. Get an approved installer to install the lighting for you.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Nov 17 10:47AM -0800 On Thu, 16 Nov 2017 04:29:12 -0800 (PST), Phil Allison   >** By all accounts, bouncing a IR laser off a widow is not >practical. The beam has to be precisely aligned *square on* >to the window and the resulting sound quality is abysmal.   This might help: "Laser Bounce Listening Device" <http://gbppr.dyndns.org/~gbpprorg/mil/laserl/index.html> See Fig 9 and associated text, which discusses the angles of incidence and reflection.   In my never humble opinion, there are several reasons why it is better to use a laser source and detector at the same location. 1. Any common mode vibration of the laser and detector mounting would cancel if they are mounted on a common surface. 2. It's much easier to build a small interferometer than one with a large baseline. 3. Coated   On the other foot, there is a good reason to use a large reflection angle: 1. Reflections are limited by Brewster's angle. Beyond some angle, al the light is reflected. Below this angle, little is reflected and the laser beam ends up going through the glass and bouncing around the room. 2. Since the reflected light becomes polarized, a polarized filter will reduce optical "noise" pickup from the sun and other sources of light pollution.   I've tried this a few time, but never bothered to try it with dual or triple pane windows. I don't think it will make much difference because I can hear street noises through my double pane windows with little difference over a nearby single pane window. Both panes probably move together.   >OTOH this simple Soviet invention worked well and had no such issues: ><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)>   Yeah, that was really clever. However, I'm told that RF reflections off of anything moving and metallic in the room made listening difficult. At 330MHz, the transmit antenna beamwidth would have covered the entire room and possibly much of the building. Later models worked at microwave frequencies, which offered a narrower beamwidth.     -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

bruce2bowser@gmail.com: Nov 18 06:21AM -0800 >On Thu, 16 Nov 2017 04:29:12 -0800 (PST), Phil Allison <palli...@gmail.com> wrote: >covered the entire room and possibly much of the building. Later >models worked at microwave frequencies, which offered a narrower >beamwidth.   That is a good question: can ground-penetrating-emitted waves be bent or corrupted easier than waves within a laser beam?   Anywho, with a hard-wire connection (on the other hand) like with high-speed internet, isn't interference more easily detected (and less possible to apply)? Here, electrodes would have to be applied to the window or some other part of both the transmitting and receiving locations. Electrodes (I guess) like the ones doctors use to attach to the skull to determine brain signals, like if they wanted to merely create the sensation of smoking, drinking, doing drugs, etc..) without it actually being done.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Nov 17 10:13AM -0800 On Wed, 15 Nov 2017 19:56:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:   >My ESR meter is in my office so I can't measure the resistance of the >battery right now. I'll try to remember to check tomorrow.   I don't think there's a problem with pushing current through the magnet if there is enough spring pressure on the contacts.   The 6mm dia x 1mm thick magnets show about 0.02 ohms measured with the original Bob Parker ESR meter. It was fairly difficult getting a good connection which required using two strips of nickel flat wire to get a decent connection. I also had to apply some pressure to get a reliable connection to the meter probes. Even so, the resistance never climbed over about 0.30 ohms.   >solder a wire or put a clip on it. Works for charging all types >of batteries with magnet-attractive connection points. And the current >doesn't go through the magnet or depend on the surface plating.   I don't have any square magnets and most everything that I could find in the right size on eBay is round, but I'm sure they exist.   I'm (slowly) building a better spot welder suitable for welding tabs onto batteries. I plan to buy some flat nickel wire at about 10 mm width, and make replacement button tops in a small bench press, which would then be spot welded to the top of recycled batteries.   Or, I could be crude, and just spot weld one end of a nickel strip to the battery, and zig-zag the strip to simulate the button top. With luck, it might act as a spring.   Sigh... yet another project.   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

mike <ham789@netzero.net>: Nov 17 12:18PM -0800 On 11/17/2017 10:13 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > a decent connection. I also had to apply some pressure to get a > reliable connection to the meter probes. Even so, the resistance > never climbed over about 0.30 ohms.   That was my concern. I could not get a reliable connection, as mesured by a VOM, with casual contact to the magnet. I had to use pointy probes and press very hard.   >> doesn't go through the magnet or depend on the surface plating.   > I don't have any square magnets and most everything that I could find > in the right size on eBay is round, but I'm sure they exist.   I'm not recommending square magnets for contact extenders in use. Problem I solved was the lack of battery holders for charging cells. If you wrap battery tab strips around the magnet, you can stick it on any cell connection that's magnetic. The square magnet self-centers in the rectangular cavity you created in the tab material. Also works on most of the power tool batteries that I have.     > I'm (slowly) building a better spot welder suitable for welding tabs > onto batteries.   I'd be interested in your welder experiments. I have a small arbor press with a 1/2" arbor. Turns out that a 1/2" copper pipe cap fits nicely over the end. I soldered a circuit board to it that holds spring-loaded contacts made from square brass tubing and tips made of big copper wire. Gives some consistency to applied pressure.   Bigger problem was consistency of applied energy. I tried to use a microwave transformer. I have some tips for dramatically increasing the reliability of the weld from "useless" to marginally acceptable...sometimes, if anybody's interested.   I tried discharging caps. I could get some very nice welds, but the consistency was abysmal. Don't think I ever built a battery pack with 100% good welds. The voltage was just too low. Tiny variations in contact resistance created MAJOR variations in weld quality.   I tripped over a small CD spot welder on ebay for cheap. The thing delivers a pulse of energy, so it's much more tolerant of contact resistance. It can put 7000 amps into a milliohm. That terminated my work on the microwave transformer welder.   There are some relatively cheap CD spot welders on ebay. I looked into a few of them. Although I never got any real info, I surmised that they're still trying to switch relatively low voltages. A real CD spot welder switches 600V or so into a stepdown transformer. I think the magic is in the design of the transformer.   I plan to buy some flat nickel wire at about 10 mm   > Or, I could be crude, and just spot weld one end of a nickel strip to > the battery, and zig-zag the strip to simulate the button top. With > luck, it might act as a spring.   That's what I do. If the cell was removed from a pack, there's already enough tab left to fold over for a tip. You don't really need to zig-zag it, just fold it over once and put a blob of solder underneath to raise it to the desired height. Soldering the blob on both sides reduces the resistance, but risks overheating the cell top.   Zig-zag just gives it more opportunity to fold to the side and cause problems. If you need a spring, it's often part of the battery holder.   Hobby stores sell sheets of brass that can be cut to any size/shape. Very easy to weld. I wouldn't use 'em in high current applications, but they can work well at low current.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Nov 18 12:32AM -0800 >That was my concern. I could not get a reliable connection, as mesured >by a VOM, with casual contact to the magnet. I had to use pointy probes >and press very hard.   I did ok with points, the for higher currents, a flat surface with many points of contact is better. This is my test fixture for discharge testing various cells. The clamp is plastic so insulation is not a problem: <http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/LiPo/Ultrafire%2018650%20test.jpg>   >If you wrap battery tab strips around the magnet, you can stick it >on any cell connection that's magnetic. The square magnet self-centers >in the rectangular cavity you created in the tab material.   Ok, that should work. Where did you find a small enough square shaped magnet?   >Also works on most of the >power tool batteries that I have.   For power tools, I use the spot welder. I tried battery holders only once. The vibration from the tool caused are rather interesting form of intermittent connection.   >> I'm (slowly) building a better spot welder suitable for welding tabs >> onto batteries.   >I'd be interested in your welder experiments.   It's nothing special. Cazapitor discharge systems are ok, but I think I can do as well with a LiIon (or LiPo) battery for power storage. My big worry is that as the battery discharges, the energy delivered to the weld will decrease. So, I'm trying to measure the current and adjust the duration accordingly. I don't have this part working yet.   Another nice thing about using a battery instead of CD is that I can spot weld as fast as I can push the foot switch. I don't need to wait for the cazapitor to charge. At this time, it's just a simple eBay timer board driving a automobile starter relay controlled by a foot switch. <https://www.ebay.com/itm//111983136980> It took about 3 weeks to arrive. The starter relays I bought surplus many years ago. Get the biggest you can find. I'll post photos when I get something that's reliable.   >that holds spring-loaded contacts made from square brass tubing >and tips made of big copper wire. Gives some consistency to applied >pressure.   I use two 1/4" copper rods mounted on drilled fiberglass insulators.   >voltages. >A real CD spot welder switches 600V or so into a stepdown transformer. >I think the magic is in the design of the transformer.   I think the secret is in the ESR or internal resistance of the power source. New quality LiIon cells run about 150-400 mohms (milli-ohms). Older cells and eBay crap batteries are much higher. The series connectors, switch, SCR, wire, probes, and relay all add to the series resistance.   >it to the desired height. Soldering the blob on both sides reduces the >resistance, >but risks overheating the cell top.   I do ok with soldering to NiCd and NiMH cells. However, LiIon cells are stainless steel and difficult solder. With enough flux, I can do a tolerable job. However, I tend to overheat the cell trying to get a decent connection, which is both dangerous and irritating when the battery pack eventually fails.     -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

hankvc@blackhole.lostwells.org (Hank): Nov 18 07:47AM In article <svci0dl94thtnfa8djvmi22dq2d4i31ad4@4ax.com>, >>need to be told how to restore a run-of-the mill AA5?   >I dont recall saying that. Maybe you need a reading comprehension >course.   Well, I've read your posts here for a while, and it's pretty clear that you want to argue with most of us who've mastered the mysteries of the AA5 design. Time was that when I interviewed people for EE positions, I had an AA5 schematic on the wall, and asked the prospect to talk me through parts of the design. For a more advanced interview, I had a schematic of an RCA 630-TS.   We started this newsgroup back in 1994 so that a few of us who had been working with these circuits since WWII could guide newer people, as well as swap some notes with each other.   You seem to want to flame people who say that restoration of 70-year-old electronics starts with wholesale replacement of R and C passives. Some of us learned that the hard way back in the 1950's and '60's.     >>First off, a 10,000 pf Micamold is a paper cap, not a mica. Most AA5's   >That's deceiving. It's called a MICAmold. That would tell me that it's a >MICA cap.   Oh, really!?? I'm glad you know that stuff. In the meantime, if you want to get that radio playing reliably, you'll round up a .01 mike 1000 volt cap and solder it in. >or early 60s.   >I'll likely use a ceramic disk for that one. I am curiuous, since the >radio likely works without that cap, what is the real purpose for it?   Parasitic prevention/suppression.   Hank

bruce2bowser@gmail.com: Nov 17 01:40PM -0800 >>Melrose Park, PA   >Cigarette lighter sockets which have been used to light cigs, always >make poor connections.   As does anything that's been around awhile. Wireless chargers are out now (for iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy 6 and later). You simply put the phone on its surface and its ready to go about an hour later.

Stephen <stephen_hope@xyzworld.com>: Nov 17 08:03PM On Wed, 15 Nov 2017 16:25:57 +0900, ATANARJUAT >> numbers that the GUI will accept).   >You could even have it ping a machine on your network somewhere that you >could take off-line when you wanted to reboot everything.   Or query the SNMP "time since restart" and force a rest when the monitored device has been restarted?   On a cisco router (and lots of other infrastructure tin) you can set "reboot after xxx minutes" - very useful when reconfiguring remotely something that may affect the in band link the control traffic arrives on - as long as you remember to cancel it when you are done......   however a timer with a real power cycle is going to catch "stuff" that a reset may not - some hardware lock ups have been known to need a physical power cycle to recover.....   -- Stephen

John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Nov 17 09:34AM -0800 > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9dF5xuJBbM   > Peter Wieck > Melrose Park, PA   Same with TV's campy Batman TV series. The villains didn't just kill the Caped Crusader (and his "ward"), they set up a Rube Goldberg contraption to off them, giving them enough time to use their batbrains to figure out what in Batman's unlimited utility belt would be useful to effect an escape.   But it's not just cartoons, most TV and movie bad guys miss the opportunity to simply kill the hero immediately and instead engage in some useless conversation or something allowing time for our hero to escape.

dplatt@coop.radagast.org (Dave Platt): Nov 17 10:22AM -0800 In article <BrsPB.4358$5k6.2113@fx25.iad>,   >There are Jackrabbits and other animals that are a lot slower, and >provide more food than a Roadrunner. Not only that, but the Coyote is a >self described 'Genius'. :)   "Super Genius", in fact.   Coyote is at one end of the curve: ranks high on clever, inventive, and cunning, but barely moves the needle on the wise-meter.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Nov 17 10:18AM -0800 >I hope I never end up so intolerant or crazy. >NT   Don't worry. If it does happen, you'll be the last person to notice.     -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

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