sci.electronics.repair@googlegroups.com

Google Groups

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Aug 01 08:54AM -0700 On Tue, 31 Jul 2018 17:57:48 -0500, Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net> wrote: >new station. >After I got home, I fixed the TCP. it still works and is the "other" >back up iron that's home in the garage now rather than in the shop.   In about 1975, I bought a large box full of Weller WTCPT, WTCPL, TC-201, etc soldering irons, bases, cords, parts, and goodies. I think I paid about $20 for everything. I've never bothered to count, but I think I've rebuilt about 10 irons out of the pile, and probably have parts for 5-10 more. A big irritation is that I have buy tips and sponges. I have at least one iron on every workbench, including the kitchen table. These are not the best irons available, but they seem to last forever and are fairly easy to fix when they decide its time to break.   Along the way, I've purchased a few imported soldering irons. They're much cheaper than Weller and do work well enough. Rather than give my friends one of my good Weller irons, I give them the imported irons.   As for the original problem, I can't tell what's broken from here. An ohmmeter will tell if it's a broken cable, bad switch contacts, or blown heater. The little plastic twist locks sometimes fall apart. Check for intermittent connectors where the cord enters the base.   My guess(tm) would be the contacts. Unwrap the yellow kapton tape. The plastic shell will fall apart. Clean the contacts. If the contacts are badly pitted, file down the peaks. Re-silver if necessary. Replace the tape, reassemble, check for continuity, and you're done.   <http://bama.edebris.com/download/weller/wtcpl/WTCPL%20Tech%20Sheet.pdf>     -- 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

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Aug 01 09:13AM -0700 >Do you happen to know what the oily or slimy stuff is, that coats old >very flexible cables such as telephone movable extension cables, a >bio-film or plasticiser like chemical ?   It depends on the age. Today, most PVC and rubber cables use phthalates or ortho-phthalates as a plasticizer to soften the plastic and make it flexible. Before about 1930, it was castor oil or vegetable oil. Yech. <http://wwwcourses.sens.buffalo.edu/ce435/2001ZGu/Phthalate_Plasticizers/PhthalatePlasticizersReport.htm> (Yes, I know the formatting sucks, but the info looks good).   There are also non-phthalate plasticizers introduced: <https://www.eastman.com/Pages/ProductHome.aspx?product=71072819> The SDS data says it's 98% bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate which makes me wonder why they claim it's non-phthalate.         -- 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

tabbypurr@gmail.com: Aug 01 11:55AM -0700 On Wednesday, 1 August 2018 16:55:03 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > necessary. Replace the tape, reassemble, check for continuity, and > you're done.   > <http://bama.edebris.com/download/weller/wtcpl/WTCPL%20Tech%20Sheet.pdf>   Soldering iron cleaning sponges cost about nothing. I can go to the kitchenware department & pick up a pack of 3 cellulose sponges (packed damp to keep them soft until sold) for less than a buck. They cut up into I forget but maybe 20 soldering iron cleaning pads. The one trivial difference is the colours.   If even that's too much, wet denim also makes a good iron cleaner.     NT

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Aug 01 12:29PM -0700 Just make sure they are the cellulose sponges, not the plastic ones - the latter melt rather spectacularly and will foul the tip.   Note that the ones with the Scotch Brite surface are good for tip cleaning at the beginning of a session - but use with care and only when very wet as the material also will melt if exposed until dry.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Aug 01 03:29PM -0500 What is the fascination everyone has with insisting on NOT using original parts on anything?   Over the years I have built up a stock pile of original parts and accessories for everything I own.     -- "I am a river to my people." Jeff-1.0 WA6FWi http:foxsmercantile.com

N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk>: Aug 01 09:59PM +0100 > Huh, I always wondered where the 'haze' on the inside of my car window > came from. Thanks.   > George H.   I worked out the source of periodic greasy grime on the outside of our cars parked over night, well balance of probability. By logging wind direction, seems it was a local hospital half a mile away, incinerating human body parts at night so people don't see the black smoke from the chimney.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Aug 01 02:49PM -0700 >sponges (packed damp to keep them soft until sold) for less >than a buck. They cut up into I forget but maybe 20 soldering >iron cleaning pads. The one trivial difference is the colours.   Thanks. I wasn't certain that the sponge was made from cellulose. <https://patents.google.com/patent/US4118821> <https://patents.google.com/patent/US7870990B2> I've tried that a few times, and the sponge usually just melted and charred. I probably was using plastic sponges.   If I can find some melamine sponge, it should work without water: <https://patents.google.com/patent/US8109430> Same with a brass or stainless scrubber.   A wet folded paper towel sorta works, but not very well.   >If even that's too much, wet denim also makes a good iron cleaner.   Good idea. I'll give it a try. Anything to avoid paying $5 for a TC205 sponge. <https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tc205+sponge>   Do it thyself tip cleaner: <https://pcbsmoke.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/diy-soldering-iron-tip-cleaning-sponge/>   -- 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

Ralph Mowery <rmowery28146@earthlink.net>: Aug 01 06:13PM -0400 In article <a6fd63d9-c094-4896-91b2-5aaa4c60033a@googlegroups.com>, tabbypurr@gmail.com says...   > Soldering iron cleaning sponges cost about nothing. I can go to the kitchenware department & pick up a pack of 3 cellulose sponges (packed damp to keep them soft until sold) for less than a buck. They cut up into I forget but maybe 20 soldering iron cleaning pads. The one trivial difference is the colours.   I quit the wet sponge years ago and went with the dry 'pot cleaner' thing. They can be had for about $ 3.50 from china. That is holder and the insert.   https://www.ebay.com/itm/Welding-Soldering-Solder-Iron-Tip-Cleaner- Cleaning-Steel-Wire-With-Stand-Set-HX/112673113703?epid=1970698966 &hash=item1a3bd74667%3Ag%3ArJYAAOSwvApaHhYw&_sacat=0 &_nkw=soldering+iron+tip+cleaner&_from=R40 &rt=nc&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1311.R8.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xsoldering+iron+.T RS0.TSS0

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>: Aug 01 11:18PM +0100 Ralph Mowery wrote:   > &_nkw=soldering+iron+tip+cleaner&_from=R40 > &rt=nc&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1311.R8.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xsoldering+iron+.T > RS0.TSS0   And this is a sensible URL for that item   <https://www.ebay.com/itm/112673113703>

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Aug 01 03:36PM -0700 On Wed, 1 Aug 2018 15:29:59 -0500, Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net> wrote:   >What is the fascination everyone has with insisting on NOT >using original parts on anything?   I'll stop insisting when the prices on genuine OEM parts drop sufficiently: <https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=soldering+sponges&productId=32411300965> $0.65/ea is a long way from $5.00/ea.   >Over the years I have built up a stock pile of original >parts and accessories for everything I own.   You must be a Prepper. I spent the first half century of my life collecting all that. My next half century will be dedicated to selling or recycling most of that junk.   Your purpose in life is to consume, pollute, and overpopulate.   -- 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

Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Aug 01 10:19PM -0500 On 8/1/18 5:36 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > You must be a Prepper.   Now that's funny. Preppers are a special type of stupid because they think THEY are the ones that will survive the (hoped for) apocalypse. Wait until your neighbors figure out you're the only one with food. Good luck with that. Or you "bug out" like you planned, get to your secret hidey hole stocked with survival stuff. Then you find out how much of your survival stuff requires gasoline, or electricity or manufactured stuff (like ammunition) to work.   No, I grew up in Los Angeles, all of my stock pile of OEM spare parts was acquired at surplus stores, swapmeets, garage and estate sales And the occasion "Score!" on eBay the Free Cycle mailing lists or Craig's list.       -- "I am a river to my people." Jeff-1.0 WA6FWi http:foxsmercantile.com

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Aug 02 04:22AM -0700 On Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at 5:49:59 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:   > If I can find some melamine sponge, it should work without water: > <https://patents.google.com/patent/US8109430> > Same with a brass or stainless scrubber.   Melamine, when exposed to heat, breaks down into its original components. They are: cyanamide & formaldehyde. The one is a respiratory irritant and suspected carcinogen, the other highly toxic and a definite carcinogen. Magic Erasers are largely made of Melamine, you might consider slicing one of those for the purposes. But, DO remember what happens to them when heated.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Aug 02 07:15AM -0700 One day a few years ago when I was waiting for parts for my last working Weller station and using my road kit soldering iron, I ordered two of these on ebay:   https://www.ebay.com/itm/60W-Pencil-Type-Adjustable-Electric-Temperature-Welding-Soldering-Iron-Tool-110V/323356776835?hash=item4b4990d983:g:2jMAAOSwcVZbUAzf   These have been pretty much all I've been using since. Except for a needle point iron (EC4000) for very fine work or for anti-static considerations, I've retired the Wellers. These cheap irons are 60W heads and adjustable, although turning them all the way up is way too hot.   These never break. Never. Not the heaters nor the wire. I don't have to worry about changing the expensive heaters or therm sensors in the Wellers anymore, or have them go cold/hot during a job because the of another intermittent wire break. There are two cons to these. The first is that the tips are not the greatest, but they're good enough and you get 5 included. The second is that the iron is not regulated. This has never been a problem as the unit's ceramic heater gets the heat to the tip quite quickly. I also use a tiny schmear of neverseize at the tip collar where it contacts the barrel.   I bought these to keep strictly for emergency backup to the Wellers, but now I use them every day and bought another for my road kit.

Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Aug 02 09:48AM -0500 On 8/2/18 9:15 AM, John-Del wrote: > One day a few years ago when I was waiting for parts for my > last working Weller station   I don't understand John. Is there some special ordering code for defective Weller equipment?   My first Weller was the soldering gun in 1968. Still have it, it still works. Shortly after getting hired at TRW in 1973, I was introduced to the TCP magnastat series. I've owned and used them up until 2001 when I bought the WES51 style. I have a pair of the DS600 desoldering stations.   In all this time, other than tips, I've had to replace the cord on a TCP twice (two different units) and a heating element once. I haven't had any problems with the desoldering stations, nor have I had any problems with the WES stations that are now 17 years old.     -- "I am a river to my people." Jeff-1.0 WA6FWi http:foxsmercantile.com

John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Aug 02 08:45AM -0700 On Thursday, August 2, 2018 at 10:48:13 AM UTC-4, Fox's Mercantile wrote: > Jeff-1.0 > WA6FWi > http:foxsmercantile.com   I have no answers Jeff, only my personal experience. Maybe I'm just tough on soldering equipment.   I've had many Weller heaters and sensors fail over the years as well as breaks in the wires, and was spending more to keep these things running than I was my truck (okay, hyperbole but still..), and I don't think I ever visited a repair shop that didn't have a Weller pencil handle with tape folding the wire back over itself to keep it in contact.   The last straw was the handle for the EC4000 that quit after about a year with minimal bench usage. I forgot what I paid for that but it wasn't cheap.   I replaced it again because there are times when I need an exceptionally fine tip but I use it maybe two or three times a year at most to preserve it.   Otherwise, it's the cheap Chinese ebay 60W pencils that I've been using every day, most of the day. Not one has crapped out in almost three years, and even if one did, I have another $8 one brand new on the wall still in it's little baggie. I spent less for these than the shipping cost of getting Weller parts to my shop.   You know what else I've gone cheap on? Shaving razors. I now buy Trac II generic blades:   https://www.amazon.com/Personna-Twin-TWIN-Razor-blades/dp/B003MFXWUA/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1533224471&sr=8-1&keywords=tracii   If I replaced the blade once per week, I get two years for $15. Since I replace them once every two weeks, I get four years for $15 (that's just $4 per year), and I can't tell much difference between the generics and the Gillette.

jaugustine@verizon.net: Aug 02 09:38AM -0400 >Yes. Bad capacitor. Replacing it fixed it.   There is more than one capacitor in this unit.   WHICH CAPCACITOR?   John

Ying Yang <uzenho@gmail.com>: Aug 01 10:41PM -0700 hi i have a panasonic 60w dc motor for air conditioner that i wanna use this motor for an AC system so i need redraw wiring of DC motor for using it on AC system so i need help cuz i dont know how must done this job?

Rheilly Phoull <rheilly@bigslong.com>: Aug 02 03:30PM +0800 On 2/08/2018 1:41 PM, Ying Yang wrote: > hi > i have a panasonic 60w dc motor for air conditioner that i wanna use this motor for an AC system so i need redraw wiring of DC motor for using it on AC system so i need help cuz i dont know how must done this job?   Depends on the type of motor and the operating voltage. What are they ??

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Aug 02 04:35AM -0700 On Thursday, August 2, 2018 at 1:41:41 AM UTC-4, Ying Yang wrote: > hi > i have a panasonic 60w dc motor for air conditioner that i wanna use this motor for an AC system so i need redraw wiring of DC motor for using it on AC system so i need help cuz i dont know how must done this job?   Pretty basic: Rectify the AC at the motor. You will need a heavy-duty bridge rectifier capable of handling the current required, you may need small motor caps to reduce motor heating and rF noise and you may need to reduce the voltage to the motor after rectification.   There are a variety of small motor-rated SCR drives (not cheap) that will handle the voltage reduction, and a few 0.01 uF, 600V mica-dipped caps will handle the noise.   What voltage do you need for the motor? And what is the current required? That would be your starting point.   https://www.kb-controls.com/product.sc;jsessionid=423F2ACD56C60A666B94D0E558A2C1FD.p3plqscsfapp004?productId=135   http://www.galco.com/buy/Hubbell/HBL7810D?source=googleshopping&gclid=CjwKCAjw14rbBRB3EiwAKeoG_4PcsB97q2g8MdxV_kLxR42Rax9nA_TpMer9aqxcyB7y_fh_aWvW0BoCVk4QAvD_BwE   These two items you would put on the AC side and trim until the DC voltage from the rectifier was correct for the motor. Where this gets dicey is if you need AC for the electronics and DC for the motor - then whatever kluge you design will need to be inside the system at the motor feed. Still-and-all, it should all fit into a standard 1900-box when done.   https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/10c445d8-7bac-4207-a938-9afa64be4a13/svn/raco-boxes-brackets-8192-64_1000.jpg   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Aug 01 08:27AM -0700 On Wed, 1 Aug 2018 05:13:48 -0700 (PDT), "pfjw@aol.com" >a tech replacing a piece of equipment and dropping a jumper into the >wrong jack. 10 minutes later - after the phones started ringing off >the hook - it got fixed.   I doubt if more than few listeners heard the problem. In order to hear both transmitters switching back and forth, the listener would need to be: 1. Roughly equal distant from both stations or in an area where the signal strengths are about the same. 2. In a moving vehicle, train, bus, or whatever. 3. Have a cell phone handy with which to phone the station. 4. Have a web browser handy to lookup the phone number: <http://www.wypr.org/contact-us> 5. Be sufficiently experienced with such problems to be able to explain the problem to the low technical level person who answers the phone, and at a high level should someone be available that understands the problem. 6. Be able to explain why the various OTA station monitors show that everything is just fine and both transmitters are on the air. 7. Be able to explain why so few other people have called in the problem. I've found that stations do not act on such things unless there are a large number of calls, or they get a call from a sponsor.   >William of Occam suggested that we eschew needless complexity.   He was wrong. Todays fashion is to target one's writing to the lowest level of intelligence and expertise that one might expect the document to be read. If someone is writing for a engineers with FM broadcast experience, it would look very different if they were writing for the GUM (great unwashed masses). The best advice I've seen is to write for those that are competent in their field of expertise, not necessarily in yours.   In this case, the problem isn't very complicated to understand if one has some experience with FM capture effect, simulcast techniques, FM simulcast, repeaters, translators, FCC FM 60dBu contours, digital vs analog FM receivers, and possibly how HD Radio works.   I didn't mention the possible HD RADIO problem because I thought it was unlikely. Yet the symptoms are similar. WYPR broadcasts on 88.1 (main FM channel), 88.1-1 (HD1 news and talk), 88.1-2 (HD2 BBC world news), and 88.1-3 (HD3 classical music). During commercial breaks and other interruptions, stations sometime fill in the dead air with audio from one of the digital sub-channels. There is a delay between the main analog FM audio and the delayed digital version, in this case on HD1. Stations with this arrangement usually have some way to adjust this delay so that switching between the analog audio and HD1 does not result in an obvious delay. If the listener is in a moving vehicle, and has the radio switched to HD1, the signal will drop out on HD1 in fringe areas causing the receiver to revert back to the main FM audio. This is particularly irritating because many HD Radio receivers do not have a setting that forces the receiver to stay on HD1 and not switch to the main analog channel. It's possible that this might have been the problem, but I can't tell from here without more details.   So, what have we learned here? 1. Simple explanations are fine for the GUM but not so useful if you want to understand what had happened and how it works. 2. If you want to understand something, you have to dig deep, really deep. 3. RF is magic. 4. Nothing is simple. 5. If something seems too complicated, ask questions or Google for understanding. Don't just complain that it's too complexicated.   -- 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

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Aug 01 03:20PM -0700 On Wed, 1 Aug 2018 09:28:04 -0700 (PDT), "pfjw@aol.com" >due to some wild concatenation of unusual forces. The entire premise >of a complicated answer requiring vast research is that it ain't >necessarily so.   You really should read past the first line of my previous posting. Included are a list of conditions necessary for a listener to actually hear the problem and to produce a sane a report. The first item on the list is that the listener must be: Roughly equal distant from both stations or in an area where the signal strengths are about the same.   If the signals from both stations on 88.1 were NOT within 2dB, capture effect would cause one FM station to "capture" the other. All a listener would hear is the strongest station. Therefore, the only locations where listeners might have their receivers switch back and forth between the two stations would be in locations roughly equal distant from both stations. That represents a fairly small percentage of the service area and prospective listeners for both stations.   Do you have a problem with this, or do you prefer to continue suggesting that there is a simpler explanation, which incidentally you didn't bother providing?   Incidentally, please note that the OP met all the requirements on my list, yet didn't call the station to report a problem. This should offer a clue as to how many listeners called the station.   >What I am suggesting is that an acorn falling from a tree does >not require the sky to be falling, Chicken Little notwithstanding. >Sometimes, it is simply (and merely) an acorn.   Quite profound, but since a falling acorn makes no sound when nobody is listening, it doesn't matter.   -- 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

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Aug 02 04:15AM -0700 On Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at 6:20:46 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:   > Incidentally, please note that the OP met all the requirements on my > list, yet didn't call the station to report a problem. This should > offer a clue as to how many listeners called the station.   He was in his car - I do not initiate calls when driving, even hands-free, voice-activated calls. I will take calls (very briefly) on rare occasion when I know the caller and know the call is actually immediately important - and then I will pull over. And I will certainly NOT go through searching for a number while driving.   Come on!   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Bill Martin <wwm@wwmartin.net>: Aug 01 01:57PM -0700 On 07/25/2018 07:22 AM, Fox's Mercantile wrote: > I need to find the BIOS settings that will recognize the hard drive.   > Is there a news group or forum to look for as well?   > Thankies   Found this with a quick search, don't know if it addresses your issue, but it seems promising: http://pdub.net/projects/agilent-recovery-cd/ Good Luck!

Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Aug 01 06:46PM -0500 On 8/1/18 3:57 PM, Bill Martin wrote:   > Found this with a quick search, don't know if it addresses your issue, > but it seems promising: http://pdub.net/projects/agilent-recovery-cd/ > Good Luck!   It's an interesting article, but it does NOT address how to set the BIOS up to see the hard drive.   But thanks for looking.       -- "I am a river to my people." Jeff-1.0 WA6FWi http:foxsmercantile.com

"Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toylet.toylet@gmail.com>: Aug 01 11:09PM +0800 >> glass/helmet ...oh well... Um....   > http://www.lasersafetyfacts.com/resources/Spreadsheet---laser-classes.pdf   > Some useful information on laser classes.   Thanks   > And, yes, there are safety standards for VR glasses.   > https://www.fi.edu/virtual-reality/product-safety-information   Thanks.   -- @~@ Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch! Live long and prosper!! / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! /( _ )\ May the Force and farces be with you! ^ ^ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.39.3 不借貸! 不詐騙! 不賭錢! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 不求神! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA): http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa

You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this group. You can change your settings on the group membership page. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an email to sci.electronics.repair+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.