[NA] How do LEDs work?

SCCutler said:
That works in troubleshooting, too- if you keep blowing fuses, sometimes you just put in a bigger fuse so the defective component will fry, already.
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I know someone who believed that you should turn transmitters up to the max - if something blew, simply replace it with a larger component.
 
wsuffa said:
I know someone who believed that you should turn transmitters up to the max - if something blew, simply replace it with a larger component.
Click to expand...

Electrician I know used to work for UT in Austin, says that the boss got tired of replacing blown fuses in dishwashing equipment at Jester (massive megadorm), so he soldered in heavy-gauge wire in place of the fuses. Problem solved (they called them, "Lifetime Fuses").

You cannot make this stuff up.
 
SCCutler said:
Electrician I know used to work for UT in Austin, says that the boss got tired of replacing blown fuses in dishwashing equipment at Jester (massive megadorm), so he soldered in heavy-gauge wire in place of the fuses. Problem solved (they called them, "Lifetime Fuses").

You cannot make this stuff up.
Click to expand...

During my high school years I worked part time at a large marine & sporting goods store. One day the lights in the boat showroom went out and I volunteered to fix it being the electrical whiz that I was (plus that probably got me out of sweeping the floor or something equally fun). Unfortunately the fuse panel for the store had suffered significant water damage from a leaky roof and many of the fuses were completely shorted by corrosion. I quickly diagnosed the problem to a switch which I then proceeded to replace with the 277v circuit fully live. The replacement went well until I had trouble stuffing the switch back into the overfilled conduit box. I was packing the wires into the box with a large screwdriver when the blade of the tool cut through the insulation and shorted the wire to the metal box. This created a large shower of sparks which were prominently visible since the load on the main service was enough to drop the voltage low enough to extinguish all the other lights in the store. I remember a very loud hum coming from the transformer on the pole next to the building as well. By reflex I yanked the screwdriver out of the box and everything came back on without any blown fuses. Several inches of my screwdriver were missing apparently having been converted to the shower of sparks. I taped up the damaged wire and used a stick of wood to finish packing the wires in, and the new switch worked fine.
 
lancefisher said:
During my high school years I worked part time at a large marine & sporting goods store. One day the lights in the boat showroom went out and I volunteered to fix it being the electrical whiz that I was (plus that probably got me out of sweeping the floor or something equally fun). Unfortunately the fuse panel for the store had suffered significant water damage from a leaky roof and many of the fuses were completely shorted by corrosion. I quickly diagnosed the problem to a switch which I then proceeded to replace with the 277v circuit fully live. The replacement went well until I had trouble stuffing the switch back into the overfilled conduit box. I was packing the wires into the box with a large screwdriver when the blade of the tool cut through the insulation and shorted the wire to the metal box. This created a large shower of sparks which were prominently visible since the load on the main service was enough to drop the voltage low enough to extinguish all the other lights in the store. I remember a very loud hum coming from the transformer on the pole next to the building as well. By reflex I yanked the screwdriver out of the box and everything came back on without any blown fuses. Several inches of my screwdriver were missing apparently having been converted to the shower of sparks. I taped up the damaged wire and used a stick of wood to finish packing the wires in, and the new switch worked fine.
Click to expand...

It is said, "God protects drunks and fools."

Were you drunk? :rofl:
 
SCCutler said:
Electrician I know used to work for UT in Austin, says that the boss got tired of replacing blown fuses in dishwashing equipment at Jester (massive megadorm), so he soldered in heavy-gauge wire in place of the fuses. Problem solved (they called them, "Lifetime Fuses").

You cannot make this stuff up.
Click to expand...

You don't have to.

In college, I worked for a local radio station on a project to re-work their AM antenna system. An technician previous to the one I worked with bypassed the overload protection relays in the 5 KW transmitter (in the manner you described above) because when they played a tune with a heavy drum beat the transmitter it would trip off. Solution: bypass relay.

I have in my collection at home somewhere a 3CX2500F3 final tube from the transmitter that has the 3/8" outer cover for the cooling fins melted and deformed... similarly, the fins are melted and deformed.

Yeah, THAT was a good idea. :rofl:
 
Would insurance cover a business for the fire that resulted if the investigation showed fuses bypassed in the manner described in this thread?
 
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