Electrickery!!!

[SToL]

So, a friend wants to stay in our travel trailer because a bunch of thieves have been coming to her house in the night. Just wanted to use it until the cops ran them off or whatever.

So I plug it in, it's immediately clear the AC isn't running right. Haven't used it in 6 months, getting the bugs worked out was something I expected.

I tear into it and find I've got a voltage drop and the amps are creeping up until it eventually trips the breaker in the basement.

While I was inside it diagnosing that it, started to rain. I step outside and WHAM, I get the pee shocked out of me. The entire exterior of my aluminum sided camper has 90+ volts on it!

I'm done until dryer weather.

You lot have any funny, painful or scary electrical stories?

I just want to know where you can find a travel trailer with a basement.

 

[FastEddieB]

Both my dog, Jake, and one of my grandkids got shocked by our travel trailer.

Jake yelped a bit as he climbed in. One of the grandkids asked, “Why is the trailer shocking me?”

I checked, and had an honest 120v between the frame and ground. Enough to light up an incandescent bulb! Enough to potentially injure or even kill.

Culprit was a short between neutral and ground in the wiring of the trailer*, and something funky going on with the outlet in our pump house, possibly a bad ground there.

There’s a whole website focused on the things that can go horribly wrong with travel trailers, musician’s equipment, generators, and electrical circuits in general. I think I linked to it in my post about running power from a temp pole to our RV yard. The fellow, Mike Sokol, was very quick to respond to my inquiries.

http://noshockzone.org/


*Two different shorts at two different times, actually. Both difficult to track down. First was the insulation of a neutral wire cut through and shorting to a jagged hole drilled in an aluminum bulkhead. The second was too much insulation stripped from a neutral wire where it ran into a terminal block, which was rubbing against a bare ground wire. Main symptom was ground-fault outlets tripping when the trailer was plugged in. I hear trailer and RV wiring is notoriously sloppy across the industry.

 

[Fallsrider]

....I hear trailer and RV wiring is notoriously sloppy across the industry.

I haven't really had any problems in the three trailers I've owned, but I have read many stories on online forums of people having problems. I think that wiring in a trailer for many manufacturers is all about how fast they can wire it during production. It's not really about wiring it correctly. They use quick-splice connectors, etc., because they are fast to install. Your stick-built house has connections wire nutted together. Takes more time, but is a more secure connection.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Ref the beginning of my lifelong fascination with the mysteries of electricity...


When I was 5 years old, this had already been invented.



This, however, had not:



That is all.


.

 

[Zeldman]

I just want to know where you can find a travel trailer with a basement.

I have a basement model 5th wheel. It is just storage space under the floor of the trailer ranging from about 12 inches to 24 inches, with doors on the side. Really good place to store too much stuff.

 

[FastEddieB]

I just stumbled upon this while searching for something else:

That’s the jagged hole that cut through the insulation and let the white neutral wire short to ground.

Leaving that hole like that is really careless. And this was from a manufacturer - LivinLite - that had a reputation of better quality control than most.

And this one shows (yellow circle) where the “over-stripped” neutral wire was shorting against a bare ground wire:

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

And this one shows (yellow circle) where the “over-stripped” neutral wire was shorting against a bare ground wire:

Eddie, aren't those two wires going the same place anyway? Can't tell from the pic.

 

[FastEddieB]

Eddie, aren't those two wires going the same place anyway? Can't tell from the pic.

It may look that way, but no. When the problem first appeared - tripping GFCI outlets because neutral and ground were bonded - the company tried to say that was normal. It’s not. As far as I know, the only place neutral and ground are bonded is at the main panel for the power source. I found the problem with a multimeter hooked up to the ground bus and neutral bus and showing continuity, then disconnecting neutrals until the continuity went away. What made it hard to isolate was the wires were barely touching, and jiggling them made a difference. A short piece of shrink wrap over the exposed neutral conductor did the trick.

 

[Fallsrider]

I just stumbled upon this while searching for something else:

That’s the jagged hole that cut through the insulation and let the white neutral wire short to ground.

Leaving that hole like that is really careless. And this was from a manufacturer - LivinLite - that had a reputation of better quality control than most.

And this one shows (yellow circle) where the “over-stripped” neutral wire was shorting against a bare ground wire:

LivinLite does have a better reputation than many, but this goes to show that even the better ones don't always do everything the best way.

 

[FastEddieB]

LivinLite does have a better reputation than many, but this goes to show that even the better ones don't always do everything the best way.

Agreed.

My fix to the first problem (using a scrap of garden hose):

 

[redtail]

I took an electricity class in high school. We were learning volt/ohm multimeters that day, we were going to measure a battery. This is back in the late 70s so no digital sets yet. Anyway, I look at my friend next to me and say "I know how to use this!" while the teacher is teaching. I grab the probes, stick them in the 110vac socket and KABOOM!!!, there was a bright flash, like a basketball sized ball, then I pull back the probes, which had instantaneously burned into little balls. As a mini mushroom cloud was rising, the teacher, Mr Spillane, who was about 60 years old comes running over, holding his chest, saying over and over, "Christ, what'd you do, what'd you do?" I told him I was showing John how to use the meter, he asked if I was all right, I was, and he told me "Please don't do that again." That was the day I learned to look at what the meter was set to measure before measuring.

Ha, how did I miss this?
1983, junior in a New Jersey Vo/Tech high school, electrical shop class (third year). Mr. Clark, an old former Navy Electrician. Excellent teacher, who didn't tolerate the nonsense from any knuckleheads, who were only taking his class because they just had to choose a shop class. I was one of the top three students and by now, we were working 3-phase motor controls and going into PLCs. Anyhow, I decided to buy my own digital multimeter from Radio Shack and bring it to shop class. One day during circuit testing, the buss fuse blew (probably 1 amp). Not having a spare fuse, I decided to "make my own" out of a very thin piece of wire, lol.

Mr. Clark comes over to check my circuit diagram (you were required to draw it before wiring it) and test my circuit. He grabs my fancy digital meter and starts testing and BAMM! Meter blows up in a big puff of smoke, he jumps back, gathers his composure and ask what happened. He opens the battery compartment to check/change the blown "fuse" and discovers the charred wire of my homemade fuse!

Uh-oh......

Mr. Clark..."What the hell is this?"

Me..."Uh, I ran out of fuses and made my own" or something like that.

Mr. Clark..."YOU SO AND SO, ******N IDIOT, SO AND SO"

I'm sure he wanted to kick my ass

Learned a good lesson that day! Went on to become one of his top two students and graduates, as well as Salutatorian of the class of '84.
Now in my third decade of a successful electrical career, thanks to the old man.
RIP Mr. Clark.

 

[FastEddieB]

In A&P school magneto class, we had a classmate that liked to feel the output of a Bendix mag. He could hold the end of a spark plug lead while the magneto was running on the test bench. It was funny...his eyes would blink when the mag fired.

In High School I took a class call “Elec Tech”. Over the door was a sign that said “Joe’s Bar and Grid*”

Anyway, we would wrap large high voltage capacitors with two wires in a spiral pattern, charge them up and then toss them to some unsuspecting victim. Great fun!


*That’s a vacuum tube joke. Remember those?

 

[Crashnburn]

Let's talk real electricity... lightning and thunder.

First encounter was when I was a 10 yr. old kid riding horseback herding cattle. I was herding a cow and her calf near a water tank and windmill. I felt the hair on my head stand straight up, I could see the hair of my horses mane standing straight up. Mind you this is all happening in milliseconds. About the time I felt my hair stand straight up, a bolt of lighting hit the windmill vanes and traveled in a fireball down the sucker rod and through the water pipe and then bounced across the water and struck the calf not more than 20 ft in front of me. The calf instantly bloated up and was dead. I remember smelling burning hair. I could literally hear the air sizzling as the lightning bolt hit the calf. Again, this is all happening in milliseconds. No later did I hear the air sizzling and seeing the fireball strike the calf dead did I hear the most massive explosion I had ever heard. It sounded like 5 tons of dynamite going off as the sound and concussion of the thunder literally smashed into my chest and I'm sure my horses chest as he reared up and tossed me off like I was a rag doll. My Dad saw the entire ordeal from about 50 yards away and literally ****ed his pants as he thought I was dead. I ended up on the ground dazed and confused not knowing if I was hit by lightning or not. I got up trembling and shaking wondering WTF just happened.

Second encounter was when my Dad, little brother and I were heading from town back to our ranch during a heavy rain storm. We were in our pickup topping a hill when a bolt of lightning hit our front grill guard. Naturally being in a vehicle we weren't electrocuted or anything, but seeing the massive flash and hearing the sound and crack of the thunder was enough to scare the living sh*t out of all of us. We all just looked at each other and went WOW that was scary and awesome at the same time.

Third encounter was when my girlfriend and I were sitting on the 2nd floor balcony of our apartment having drinks and watching the rain and lightning. Across the alley way from us was a Holiday Inn not more than 100 yards away. All of sudden we saw a huge flash on the corner of the hotel and again I could hear the air literally sizzling. Milliseconds later a huge thunder explosion. Not more than a couple seconds later I could see that a huge section of the corner of the building was missing and was charred like somebody took a blowtorch to it. Needless to say we immediately went inside. Scared the hell out of both of us.

Fourth encounter my girlfriend and I were looking out our patio doors in the kitchen at the storm brewing overhead. These are huge sliding glass doors. All of a sudden we see a huge flash of light and milliseconds later a massive thunder boom not more than 10 ft. in front from where we were standing inside the kitchen. I could literally see and feel the windows of the sliding glass doors bow in for a fraction of a second. Once again... scared the living hell out of us. Next morning I go outside and see that one of our huge sagebrush type bushes is totally dried out like it hadn't been watered for years. I go to touch it and it instantly crumbled to dust. I go to pull it out and as I pull the root I see a foot long piece of rusted angle iron that was buried under the root. I put 2+2 together and deduced that the lightning must have traveled through the bush and grounded itself on the piece of angle iron.

I've never been struck directly, but have sure had some close calls. I still enjoy watching lighting and thunder, but from a safe distance. I've been shocked by 220 a few times here and there. It feels like somebody is sawing on your bones.

Remind me to leave town if you ever come to my area!

 

[-KLB-]

Dads Omega D2 photo enlarger had a woven cloth insulated power cord. At one point, going to turn it off in the dark, feeling for the inline power switch, I found a whisker of wire that had broken, and managed to poke its way through the insulation.

I was helping my brother do some wiring, and for some reason, we only had one chicken stick with us. And it was in the crawl space with him. After stripping out one box and getting it ready to pull the tarpaper insulated wire down, I asked which box was next. He told me, but forgot to tell me it wasn’t off yet.

Had been wiring up additional phone lines to a house we were renting as students. I had been wearing sandals while working outside at the demarc, but things were wet, and almost muddy, so I left them at the front door while I was working inside. Went back to the demarc, and forgot to put the sandals back on. I think the line must have rung while I was working on it, because that was the worst of the three, and even barefoot, I don’t think 48VDC should have felt like that.

I’ve seen, and repaired much worse stuff, but I’m pretty sure those are the only ones that bit me.

 

[PaulS]

Dads Omega D2 photo enlarger had a woven cloth insulated power cord. At one point, going to turn it off in the dark, feeling for the inline power switch, I found a whisker of wire that had broken, and managed to poke its way through the insulation.

I was helping my brother do some wiring, and for some reason, we only had one chicken stick with us. And it was in the crawl space with him. After stripping out one box and getting it ready to pull the tarpaper insulated wire down, I asked which box was next. He told me, but forgot to tell me it wasn’t off yet.

Had been wiring up additional phone lines to a house we were renting as students. I had been wearing sandals while working outside at the demarc, but things were wet, and almost muddy, so I left them at the front door while I was working inside. Went back to the demarc, and forgot to put the sandals back on. I think the line must have rung while I was working on it, because that was the worst of the three, and even barefoot, I don’t think 48VDC should have felt like that.

I’ve seen, and repaired much worse stuff, but I’m pretty sure those are the only ones that bit me.

High voltage DC is bad news, it contracts your muscles and you can't let go.

 

[SToL]

A long, long time ago I was just a little tyke not even in school yet. I was the youngest of 7 siblings. We lived on Altus AFB in Oklahoma and storms and tornados where not uncommon.

One evening there was a storm with lots of thunder and lightening. Our parents were out and all of us kids went into the kitchen to better see the storm through the kitchen window. Of course being so small, I couldn’t see and began climbing up onto the kitchen sink. With the help of someone, I finally made it and could see the bright flashes and clouds.

Very interested, and a little scared, I leaned forward to peer out the window, holding onto the faucet for support. The next thing I knew, I saw a flash, felt a tremendous ZAP and then heard a thunderous boom while I was lying on the kitchen floor!

My sisters scooped me up and rushed me to the base hospital. After a thorough examination, the doctor deemed me fit to return to duty, and suggested my sisters take me for some ice cream.

My sisters, being thrilled that they wouldn’t have to explain my death to our parents, again scooped me up and rushed me to the local ice cream joint, where they proceeded to slam the car door on my hand while getting out of the car.

Moral of the story; The next time you’re in a car with a girl, keep your hands in your pockets.

 

[EppyGA]

In another life I worked for the power company up in Illinois. One day we were doing an underground house service install. There is a trough on the side of the house the hold the meter base. It has two covers. You put the cable up in it and then put the bottom cover in place to hold the cable while backfill some dirt in the trench. Then you measure, cut and strip the neutral and two legs. We used Aluminum cable. Then you terminated the three cables into the lugs and tightened them down.

Next you headed out to the pedestal, run the cable up into the pedestal and get ready to hook up the service. In the pedestal the incoming buss was very simple. The neutral had a spade lug on it and it came up bent over in a 180 and bolted to the pedestal. The two 110 legs came straight up and had long hoods that slid over them. To connect you first skinned some insulation from the neutral, cut the neutral to the house to length and it connects with a parallel grove connector. Nice and simple. Next you slide the hood of one hot leg and measure up where you need to cut the house service leg and slide the hood back on. Cut and strip the end of the cable and pull the hood back off and use the same type of connector. Now you're two thirds done with one leg to go. Process for the last leg is the same. So I have it measured, cut, stripped and ready to bolt on. I slide the hood off put the connector on and go to slide the house leg in. Next thing I know, aluminum is flying. I pull it loose and head up to the house. The bottom cover has a chrome strip that goes on the bottom to keep the bottom from being sharp and cutting into the cable. I notice that piece is missing and lo and behold there it sits up where the meter socket is, laying right smack across the two 110 busses.

It was the middle of summer and of course I had my long sleeve shirt on and my rubber gloves.

 

[Fiveslide]

I've been dicking around with a little electric car for over a year. It's like a kids power wheels, but a lesser known manufacturer.

I'm no electrical engineer, but whoever designed this thing obviously wasn't one either. I've replaced, with bigger, better components pretty much all wiring, switches and buttons. It still never performed well, would absolutely not climb any kind of Hill and never went faster than a slow walk.

So I added another battery, doubling up on the voltage. Crossing my fingers it doesn't catch on fire when my kid drives it!

 

[Dan Thomas]

Wow, compared to you, I guess I was lucky when I got zapped messing around in the back of an open TV. I was probably 16 or 17 years old and electronics was my hobby. We had a TV that stopped working (blank screen, audio only). I decided to open it up and "troubleshoot". Poking around in there and BAM! Several thousand volts went up my arm and caused it to snap back like a catapult. One of the most physically painful experiences of my life. Took me a few minutes to gather my composure and realize that I wasn't dead.

I, too, was fixing TVs starting at around 14 years old. Not too difficult once you understood the basic principles and had access to a tube tester and a boxful of tubes of diverse ancestry. Touched the CRT anode once in a while by mistake, getting the 20KV voltage (minimal current though) that had an awful kick, made worse by the 15,000 Hz frequency. It would toss you a little ways. Muscles everywhere would be sore for awhile, not being used to such violent contractions. Color TVs were worse, having a higher anode voltage.

I imagine the most dangerous part of the modern flat-screen TV would be the power cord.

 

[Shepherd]

We discovered a guy was sneaking into offices at the Lab, copying our "scientific notebooks", then presenting the work as his own.
That's a Bozo no no.
We went to our management.
My manager was livid. My manager's manager was livid, The perps manager refused to do anything because they had already given the guy an award, and it would look bad for the company. Besides, what evidence did we have, (besides he was writing papers on subjects outside his field). No one had ever caught him in the act.

Everyone started talking about the great new ebeam technology I was working on. It was all over the Lab.
I wired up a VERY high voltage Tesla coil to my desk drawer. Then we waited 2 weeks.
Pulling the drawer open turned on the coil and launched the perp across the room.
I was "counseled" by my manager about leaving test equipment plugged in.
Then we all went out and celebrated.
Problem solved.

 

[Salty]

My dad asked me to wire up a phone line for him. So I’m standing on the top of a 6 foot ladder hooking up the wires to the terminal and BAM! I get thrown off the ladder and land flat on my back. Not sure if the shock or the fall knocked the wind out of me, but my dad is freaking out thinking I’m dying, and it did rather think I was. He had dialed the number from another phone as a joke thinking it would be a mild shock. Only 50 volts DC for a second, but Not funny.

 

[flyingron]

Many years ago I was working for the US Army Ballistic Research Laboratory. We had an old-style computer room with raised floors and all. The power came off this thing called a power distribution unit which was a 480V to 208v stepdown transformer with three circuit breaker panels in it. I had been involved in its purchase and installation. Around the room at strategic locations were emergency shutoff buttons that glowed red. This control circuit was powered by its own little transformer ahead of the main breaker on the PDU.

Anyway one evening all my coworkers are up in their offices slugging away on their terminals. I've got a new computer coming in so I'm feeding some more liquid-tight conduit under the floor from where the computer is going to be up to the PDU. What I've not realized is that I'm pushing it along the top of other such conduits and it is riding up into the bottom of the PDU where it eventually contacts the tabs on the transformer within.

BANG

The room suddenly gets real quiet. I look over at the red buttons and their off. About a minute later my coworkers show up. "You, OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go over to the main building and sign out the master key. I've tripped the breaker on the substation."

I pull the conduit back out from under the floor. The nut on the end of the fitting is welded in place.

The next day I come in to find the door sign changed on the machine room:

Ron's Welding Service
Arc Welding a Specialty.

Of course, that wasn't as bad as the time I was working with another guy and my security badge snagged on the conduit as he is pulling it from accross the room. "STOP PULLING."

We also had a guy drive a truck across our compound and run into a power pole guy wire. It snapped under tension and popped up and wrapped around a 13KV feeder. There were electrical workers at the substation. I suspect that made a big noise when it tripped.

 

[chartbundle]

Only 50 volts DC for a second, but Not funny.

Actually ringing is about 90V AC 20Hz, that's how the bells actually rung(back when they had actual, physical bells)

 

[Skip Miller]

Well it did ring @Salty ‘s bell for sure!

-Skip

 

[denverpilot]

My dad asked me to wire up a phone line for him. So I’m standing on the top of a 6 foot ladder hooking up the wires to the terminal and BAM! I get thrown off the ladder and land flat on my back. Not sure if the shock or the fall knocked the wind out of me, but my dad is freaking out thinking I’m dying, and it did rather think I was. He had dialed the number from another phone as a joke thinking it would be a mild shock. Only 50 volts DC for a second, but Not funny.

Actually ringing is about 90V AC 20Hz, that's how the bells actually rung(back when they had actual, physical bells)

We used to lick our fingers and run them down the 66 block to find a mid-labeled or mid-documented POTS line. Ring it and you’d find it during the ring cycle eventually. LOL.

For those wondering what a 66 block is... these things might take up a whole wall in a telecom closet for a large install. And this one is damn messy for Bell standards but you can’t find anyone doing this sort of work properly much anymore.

 

[IK04]

My mom claimed I was born with a screwdriver in my hand, butt first...

One of my first Christmas gifts was a blue-handled screwdriver from the little blue metal tool kits that were popular in the '60s. I kept that screwdriver with me every minute of the day and slept with it by my head.

Unbeknown to my parents, there was a switch plate and an AC outlet located adjacent to my crib within reach through the vertical bars.

You can imagine the horror and shock when my mother discovered I had removed both the electrical receptacle and the switch and put them back in reverse locations!
I somehow used my trusty blue-handled screwdriver to remove the face plates and all the HOT wires on the sides of the devices and successfully switch them and reconnect all the wires without being shocked or killed.

Of course I was too young to know this story actually happened, but I was reminded of it by my father for the next twenty-plus years, so I know it is true!

...Then there was the time I wanted my slot car to go faster by wiring it to a fork and inserting it in the hallway AC outlet. Pop!

 

[Salty]

Actually ringing is about 90V AC 20Hz, that's how the bells actually rung(back when they had actual, physical bells)

That’s right. The tone is 50 volts. I think the ring is higher than that even, but obviously my memory is fading.

 

[denverpilot]

That’s right. The tone is 50 volts. I think the ring is higher than that even, but obviously my memory is fading.

I don’t have my trusty ITU spec login anymore but wiki says 60-105 RMS. So peak ... 1.414 * 105 = 148-ish.

Which seems too high to me.

Newton’s Telecom Dictionary — yes it’s still in my credenza at work — 16th Edition — yes I’m behind — says “generally 70 to 90 volts at 17 Hz to 20 Hz” and doesn’t specify RMS or peak.

He also only says “AC” under “Ringing” and not “Ring Voltage”. Harry is slacking! LOL.

Maybe it’s fixed in the current (31st) Edition. LOL. I don’t think I’ll spend any money at Amazon to find out. Harry is doing fine with his investment website. LOL.

 

[Fiveslide]

I've been dicking around with a little electric car for over a year. It's like a kids power wheels, but a lesser known manufacturer.

I'm no electrical engineer, but whoever designed this thing obviously wasn't one either. I've replaced, with bigger, better components pretty much all wiring, switches and buttons. It still never performed well, would absolutely not climb any kind of Hill and never went faster than a slow walk.

So I added another battery, doubling up on the voltage. Crossing my fingers it doesn't catch on fire when my kid drives it!

Update...

No fire, but it got close. It stopped going forward and I smelled that unmistakable melted wire odor. I believe this has revealed the last weak point in the electrical system. I'll it's probably between the hi-lo-reverse switch and the motors since that is the only place I haven't beefed up. All the other stuff I redid seemed to stay cool like it should. Reverse still works.

That thing is quick, he loves it, wife is scared, it must be just right.

 

[jsstevens]

I don’t have my trusty ITU spec login anymore but wiki says 60-105 RMS. So peak ... 1.414 * 105 = 148-ish.

Which seems too high to me.

Newton’s Telecom Dictionary — yes it’s still in my credenza at work — 16th Edition — yes I’m behind — says “generally 70 to 90 volts at 17 Hz to 20 Hz” and doesn’t specify RMS or peak.

He also only says “AC” under “Ringing” and not “Ring Voltage”. Harry is slacking! LOL.

Maybe it’s fixed in the current (31st) Edition. LOL. I don’t think I’ll spend any money at Amazon to find out. Harry is doing fine with his investment website. LOL.

And it will jar you if you get hit with it solidly. Your muscles can almost keep up with 17-20Hz.

Many years ago I dug a trench across a woman's backyard to install electrical conduit. She came out while we were working and said "My phone's quit working!". My dad sent me down the trench and mid way I found the wire I'd cut-buried almost 2 inches deep. (Bad words mumbled under breath. How do they get away with putting something that shallow?!?) I sat down on the edge with my feet down in the trench to splice in a repair. I had my legs resting on damp dirt which turned out to be a pretty good ground. Somebody called her. 3 times.

John

 

[PaulS]

Update...

No fire, but it got close. It stopped going forward and I smelled that unmistakable melted wire odor. I believe this has revealed the last weak point in the electrical system. I'll it's probably between the hi-lo-reverse switch and the motors since that is the only place I haven't beefed up. All the other stuff I redid seemed to stay cool like it should. Reverse still works.

That thing is quick, he loves it, wife is scared, it must be just right.

No amount of wires or batteries will correct an undersized motor. I would not let my kid near that thing with your modifications. Those things are a couple hundred bucks for a good one, go out and buy one.

 

[Fiveslide]

No amount of wires or batteries will correct an undersized motor. I would not let my kid near that thing with your modifications. Those things are a couple hundred bucks for a good one, go out and buy one.

That's the thing, I don't think the motors are undersized. The motors "look" exactly the same as the power wheels ATV he has, that's something I should investigate. Every other wire on the thing, the wiring is all half the size or smaller than his electric ATV.

The little car is actually pretty sweet, and it wasn't cheap. Amazon refunded the money for it after I sent them a video of how it was performing. I've just been tinkering with it the past year to get it to work.

It has working suspension and actual rubber tires, the wires just won't carry the current.

I'm sure I can make it safe, I just have to replace everything that someone else thought would be good enough, and that may include the two motors.

 

[Fiveslide]

 

[Fiveslide]

The red car is severely undersized

 

[redtail]

...Then there was the time I wanted my slot car to go faster by wiring it to a fork and inserting it in the hallway AC outlet. Pop!

When we were kids, my younger brother's friend did that with his radio controlled car. He said... "It will only use all the power it needs", or something stupid like that. Boy was he in for a rude awakening! LOL

 

[RJM62]

My mom claimed I was born with a screwdriver in my hand, butt first...

One of my first Christmas gifts was a blue-handled screwdriver from the little blue metal tool kits that were popular in the '60s. I kept that screwdriver with me every minute of the day and slept with it by my head.

Unbeknown to my parents, there was a switch plate and an AC outlet located adjacent to my crib within reach through the vertical bars.

You can imagine the horror and shock when my mother discovered I had removed both the electrical receptacle and the switch and put them back in reverse locations!
I somehow used my trusty blue-handled screwdriver to remove the face plates and all the HOT wires on the sides of the devices and successfully switch them and reconnect all the wires without being shocked or killed.

Of course I was too young to know this story actually happened, but I was reminded of it by my father for the next twenty-plus years, so I know it is true!

...Then there was the time I wanted my slot car to go faster by wiring it to a fork and inserting it in the hallway AC outlet. Pop!

I was that kind of kid, too. My parents used to tell relatives who asked what they should get me for my birthday or Christmas to just make sure it had a wire or battery, could be taken apart, or was potentially explosive. (Chemistry sets were a blast back then -- literally.)

This tendency to tinker with things was helped along by my uncle, who was whatever the Navy called electronics technicians during WWII; a semi-retired TV repairman named Nick who lived next store and who would sit me on his lap while fixing televisions in his kitchen, starting when I was an infant, explaining everything he did; and a car mechanic named Keirnan (who also holds the distinction of being the only black guy named Keirnan I've ever known) whom I pestered helped fix cars on the weekends from age 6 on.

It was Nick who taught me about flyback transformers, the old-school way. When he lifted me off his lap to use the head, he pointed to the second anode lead and said "Don't touch that." And when he heard the chair knocked over and the back of my head hitting the wall, he yelled "I told you not to touch that" from the bathroom.

With my uncle's encouragement, I built my first radio when I was 6. By the time I was 10, I was fixing TV's for neighbors. It was usually a matter of either cleaning tuners, adjusting pots to correct drift, or tracking down errant vacuum tubes and replacing them. When I was stumped, Nick would help me out. And when I was 14, I was doing tune-ups on neighbors' cars (and "test-driving" them). Keirnan had already taught me to drive down by the docks on weekends starting when I was about 10.

Which reminds me of my road test when I was 16 or 17. The examiner gave me a sideways glance and asked me how long I'd been driving. I answered honestly and told him since I was 10. Amazingly, he passed me anyway.

I wouldn't change any of it. Between what those three men taught me about electricity and cars, what my father taught me about carpentry, and what I learned in high school shop classes, there are very few things I can't fix myself. There are things that I choose to pay others to fix because I don't have the tools or because they're unpleasant jobs that I don't care to do myself; but in almost all cases, it's a choice.

Rich

 

[IK04]

I was that kind of kid, too. My parents used to tell relatives who asked what they should get me for my birthday or Christmas to just make sure it had a wire or battery, could be taken apart, or was potentially explosive. (Chemistry sets were a blast back then -- literally.)

This tendency to tinker with things was helped along by my uncle, who was whatever the Navy called electronics technicians during WWII; a semi-retired TV repairman named Nick who lived next store and who would sit me on his lap while fixing televisions in his kitchen, starting when I was an infant, explaining everything he did; and a car mechanic named Keirnan (who also holds the distinction of being the only black guy named Keirnan I've ever known) whom I pestered helped fix cars on the weekends from age 6 on.

It was Nick who taught me about flyback transformers, the old-school way. When he lifted me off his lap to use the head, he pointed to the second anode lead and said "Don't touch that." And when he heard the chair knocked over and the back of my head hitting the wall, he yelled "I told you not to touch that" from the bathroom.

With my uncle's encouragement, I built my first radio when I was 6. By the time I was 10, I was fixing TV's for neighbors. It was usually a matter of either cleaning tuners, adjusting pots to correct drift, or tracking down errant vacuum tubes and replacing them. When I was stumped, Nick would help me out. And when I was 14, I was doing tune-ups on neighbors' cars (and "test-driving" them). Kiernan had already taught me to drive down by the docks on weekends starting when I was about 10.

Which reminds me of my road test when I was 17. The examiner gave me a sideways glance and asked me how long I'd been driving. I answered honestly and told him since I was 10. Amazingly, he passed me anyway.

I wouldn't change any of it. Between what those three men taught me about electricity and cars, what my father taught me about carpentry, and what I learned in high school shop classes, there are very few things I can't fix myself. There are things that I choose to pay others to fix because I don't have the tools or because they're unpleasant jobs that I don't care to do myself; but in almost all cases, it's a choice.

Rich

Wow. We have nearly identical stories. My favorite uncle had old cars in his garage and would let me play on them for hours while everyone else listened to the Beach Boys new record or played cards or went outside and goofed off. There were no shopping malls back then, so we made our own entertainment at home.

I built the Cub Scout crystal radio when I was seven or eight years old and "repurposed" a few discarded radios and phonographs for fun...

I was introduced to electronics repair when my Mom's little black and white TV developed a bad picture and I rode my bike down to a place called Doc Holliday's and bought the associated Sam's schematic for that exact TV and was able to find the problem. I couldn't fix it without an oscilloscope and my next door neighbor gave me one of his older HP scopes as repayment for doing a valve job on his truck. With that scope, I was able to determine the bad component and replace it. I was just as amazed as my parents that I was able to repair a TV!

Yeah, I carried a four foot long jumper wire to hot wire my Dad's Volkswagen Bus and I'd "test drive" it at night for fun. I think I was 13 or so then...

Speaking of carpentry, My Dad worked for Stan Hiller in Palo Alto at the helicopter plant when I was born, but he was also a journeyman carpenter and built the massive ceiling beam roof for the Sunset magazine building. You can probably look that up for pictures of the inside of that beautiful room!

I wish my kids could have had all that experience when they were little, but instead they got computers, video games and cell phones. They are just now learning valuable life skills as adults...

Thanks for that reply. It gave me the feels for sure!

 

[IK04]

Here's a photo of the former Sunset Magazine building in Menlo Park. It is available for sale now, since the TIME management bastidges left all that history behind to move into a crappy building in Jack London Square...



Isn't that a beautiful space? My Dad built that. Our house was also an Eichler design and we had the massive center beam running the full length of the house.

It makes me miss the good old days when we would stop by there just to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere and natural lighting... I miss my Dad.

 

[luvflyin]

Ref the beginning of my lifelong fascination with the mysteries of electricity...


When I was 5 years old, this had already been invented.

View attachment 75313

This, however, had not:

View attachment 75314

That is all.


.

It was tweezers with me. I don’t remember it but Mom still tells the story.

 

[RJM62]

Wow. We have nearly identical stories. My favorite uncle had old cars in his garage and would let me play on them for hours while everyone else listened to the Beach Boys new record or played cards or went outside and goofed off. There were no shopping malls back then, so we made our own entertainment at home.

I built the Cub Scout crystal radio when I was seven or eight years old and "repurposed" a few discarded radios and phonographs for fun...

I was introduced to electronics repair when my Mom's little black and white TV developed a bad picture and I rode my bike down to a place called Doc Holliday's and bought the associated Sam's schematic for that exact TV and was able to find the problem. I couldn't fix it without an oscilloscope and my next door neighbor gave me one of his older HP scopes as repayment for doing a valve job on his truck. With that scope, I was able to determine the bad component and replace it. I was just as amazed as my parents that I was able to repair a TV!

Yeah, I carried a four foot long jumper wire to hot wire my Dad's Volkswagen Bus and I'd "test drive" it at night for fun. I think I was 13 or so then...

Speaking of carpentry, My Dad worked for Stan Hiller in Palo Alto at the helicopter plant when I was born, but he was also a journeyman carpenter and built the massive ceiling beam roof for the Sunset magazine building. You can probably look that up for pictures of the inside of that beautiful room!

I wish my kids could have had all that experience when they were little, but instead they got computers, video games and cell phones. They are just now learning valuable life skills as adults...

Thanks for that reply. It gave me the feels for sure!

My Uncle Frank gave me an old oscilloscope when I was about 8. I would sit for hours on end poking at every electrical or electronic device I could find, often making myself part of the circuit. It's amazing I'm still alive. But I think I got more of a "feel" for electronics that way than in the classes I eventually took.

About the same time, my grandfather bought me an educational toy called "Lectron" that Raytheon put out. It consisted of various semiconductors and such encased in plastic cubes, with magnets on the bottom. By moving them around on a metal grounding plate, you could create all kinds of circuits. I actually was a bit more advanced than the target range for the toy by then, but I still enjoyed it and learned a few things without having to breadboard the projects.

My favorite reading material was the Edmund Scientific catalog. That's where most of the money I made doing after-school jobs went. And my favorite school event was the science fair, which either my friend Bobby or I won every year.

Bobby and I also did a lot of projects together, most of which had something to do with Estes model rockets (which were illegal in New York City -- we'd take the LIRR to Nassau County to buy them) and probably would land us on some sort of watch list today.

It was a lot of fun.

Rich