Entropy

Relax in southern comfort on the east bank of the Mississippi. You're just around the corner from Beale Street and Sun Records. Watch the ducks, throw back a few and tell us what's on your mind.
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

Nice improvised chop saw!

I have a clip lead repair story cued up: I found some "heavy duty" leads measuring around 100 Ohms and spent a few hours soldering them. They were "crimped." Pics to follow for dramatic effect.

These bogus clip leads may have made me come to some wrong grounding conclusions from time-to-time since I used them occasionally to strap equipment together.

Then I started measuring the shield resistance of some RCA cables and found a few that were open on one channel of a stereo pair. I opened another can of worms. Time to throw away or repair some cables.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

Yup test equipment has always been a trust but verify situation....

When my old rat shack VOM got squirrely I ended up buy two new VOMs a good one and a cheap one... The rat shack VOM only needed a fuse, so now I have 3 and can take 2 out of three votes. :lol:

JR
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Gold
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Re: Entropy

Post by Gold »

I bought a Fluke 287 about seven years ago when I thought I needed the best of everything. It never worked right and I bought it new. It would shut down without warning. At first infrequently so I thought it was a fluke (ha!) but the frequency of shut downs increased until it wouldn't power up. This was a few years in so I figured the warrantee was long over. I didn't really want to deal with it then so I bought a used Fluke 179 which is what I use today. I like the 179 better. I never actually used the fancy features of the 287 so I didn't miss it.

All the unused tools and equipment have been bugging me lately. I figured maybe Fluke has a flat rate service charge. If it was low enough I could get it repaired and sell it without loosing my shirt. So I called up Fluke and it turns out there is a limited lifetime warrantee for manufacturers defects. If they deem it not a manufacturers defect they will give a repair estimate and ship it back if I decline the repair. I didn't abuse the meter so hopefully it will be a free repair.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

I bought a Fluke 107 and a cheaper no-name VOM as back up. I recall how blind I felt trying to troubleshoot my squirrelly rat shack VOM without a working VOM. :oops:

JR
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

I have finally decided that the bee nest that stung me was yellow jackets (actually wasps), despite the stinger left in my arm. I also resolved to terminate the nest... yellow jackets kill honey bees and steal their honey, so bad guys all around.

The strategy for attacking yellow jacket nests is to do it at night, so they can't see you to counter attack. The problem with that as I can't see that well in the dark (despite military training to that end).

First night, back scatter of the flash light in the water/poison spray obscured the nest holes, but nest population was somewhat reduced.

Next poisoning was done before it was completely dark and again population reduced but not zero.

Last night after seeing a few bees around dusk returning to the nest I sprayed again...

Still TBD if they are completely wiped out.
=========
Perhaps Karma or mother nature trying to balance the scales, on saturday when cutting my grass I noticed that the worthless water meter reader (kids) left the heavy cast iron cover off my water meter box again. I stopped my mower and picked up the cover to replace it, not realizing it was sitting upside down on top of a very angry fire ant mound. :o I got stings on fingers of both hands before I could realize what was going on and drop the lid. I immediately washed both hands vigorously with rubbing alcohol, but alas before late that night, my fingers started swelling and by the next morning i had pustules on fingers of both hands.

I have already ordered a plastic replacement water meter box ($13), that I can swap out myself, and won't have such a heavy awkward lid... admittedly that heavy cast iron lid is a finger eater. I'd pay several times that to avoid future fire ant encounters.

I told one of the town workers I know to punch the kids for me. :lol: I don't think they were smart enough to do that on purpose as payback for me reporting them once already, but who knows. I blame mother nature who can be a mean biotch.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

OK yellow jackets appear to be gone... but fire ants around my water meter are still alive and kicking after being poisoned 3x (with acephate).

Since I am expecting the replacement plastic box Saturday, I may throw some more/different insect poisons at them, I have a bunch.

JR
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

I've found a slurry if baking soda works pretty good at drawing out fire ant toxin.
You have to let it dry so it pulls. Kinda like K2R spot remover on stains.

I found my water meter cover upside-down a couple of months ago after a read as well.
After lifting it up I knew why: Garter snake.
Harmless guy so I left him alone and he left.

Once I got the bill I noticed it was low - figured he estimated.
The next bill after some heavy watering for the summer showed zero usage.
The meter got stock.
So I got free water for part of one month and all of a second month.
After I called them to replace it they reverse averaged the portion of the month the meter was replaced in but not the other two. (So far.)
Fingers crossed.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

mediatechnology wrote: Thu Oct 04, 2018 11:07 am I've found a slurry if baking soda works pretty good at drawing out fire ant toxin.
You have to let it dry so it pulls. Kinda like K2R spot remover on stains.
Thanks for the tip... I hope I don't get to try it anytime soon. 8-)

I actually have a box on my bathroom sink... I will occasionally brush my teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

After 30 years in the deep south I am pretty good at avoiding fire ant bites, but stuff happens. Relative high ground looks attractive to fire ants in a swampy yard like mine. That water meter box is prime real estate in their view (they also like tree stumps).
I found my water meter cover upside-down a couple of months ago after a read as well.
After lifting it up I knew why: Garter snake.
Harmless guy so I left him alone and he left.

Once I got the bill I noticed it was low - figured he estimated.
The next bill after some heavy watering for the summer showed zero usage.
The meter got stock.
So I got free water for part of one month and all of a second month.
After I called them to replace it they reverse averaged the portion of the month the meter was replaced in but not the other two. (So far.)
Fingers crossed.
I had a crazy high water bill when my water main sprung a leak several years back. The guy reading my meter then actually knocked on my door and said the meter pointer was spinning like crazy, so I shut my water valve at the meter. I could have petitioned the town for a partial refund, but didn't. My town is poor enough.

JR

PS: I have an amusing (to me) anecdote about my recent fire ant assault.(Stop reading now if hypersensitive to modern politics.) This is a true story and quick witted actual response from an old friend).

Years ago a younger friend of mine was driving through MS so stopped to visit me with his wife and young daughter. They asked if she could play in my yard and I said OK as long as she wasn't barefoot... They assured me she wasn't barefoot and I said no problem. In fact she was wearing sandals with no socks, so as bad as barefoot when fire ants are concerned, but I didn't check her feet myself. :oops:

Within a few minutes we could hear her shrieks all the way inside the house after she encountered some of my ubiquitous fire ants.

FF to now, years later, knowing how humans are perversely cheered up by hearing about other's pain and suffering, I emailed my friend to cheer up his now older daughter with the account about my recent bites on both hands (I still feel a little guilty for not protecting her better back then).

The totally unexpected answer I got was that she laughed but did not remember the event. The trauma from the fire ant bites caused her to suppress the memory, but if I get nominated to the supreme court she'll try to remember. :lol:
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Gold
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Re: Entropy

Post by Gold »

mediatechnology wrote: Thu Oct 04, 2018 11:07 am I've found a slurry if baking soda works pretty good at drawing out fire ant toxin.
It also works great to settle sensitive stomachs. My GF has a very sensitive stomach. Since she has been drinking baking soda water it's been much better.
Gold
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Re: Entropy

Post by Gold »

I got some T-slot framing to make a rack for the test bench. It should clean everything up nicely and I can incorporate tool holders and test cable holders into the design. I just love that T-slot framing. I should be able to get it done this weekend.
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