<italic><color><param>0000,0000,0000</param>> It just boggles my mind the kind
of comments we see popping up on the this
> reflector. I hope you have an elmer at the radio club and I hope your
> elmer has read the ARRL handbook. I think that reading and understanding
> the handbook should be mandatory to obtain an amateur license. The
> handbook is not perfect but it gives you a good start down the road.
>
> 73 es gl with your other discoveries and revelations Steve
</italic></color>This might be time to tell what happened with the fellow on
the next
road over.
He used a meat thermometer in his well house to push on the
pressure switch contacts to run the pump because the switch was
bad. It happened so often he left the cover off the switch, and the
thermometer in the pump house.
That worked fine, until one day he ran out of water while taking a
shower.
He walked outside soaking wet, leaned over the water tank, pushed
the switch contacts with the metal meat thermometer, and
promptly electrocuted himself.
The fire department had a fit and threatened to have me arrested
because I ignored them and went in the pump house and cut the
mains off. They were waiting for the power company to arrive, to
turn off the power before removing the fellow and trying CPR!
His wife sued the meat thermometer company for not having a
warning label saying the thermometer shouldn't be used on
electrical appliances, and sued the pump manufacturer for having a
defective switch. One of the complaints was a normal hand-tool
removed the cover, and the other was the moving contacts had no
protective insulation over them.
She became angry with me, because I wouldn't go to court and
testify in her behalf.
Anyone who leaves a device connected to power mains, and
messes around inside for any reason, is asking for trouble.
Now if a PA has HV on exposed leads, like say a cable from a
power supply to a PA, without an interlock that's one thing. If it has
a chassis that isn't grounded, allowing the chassis to have HV if a
component fails, that's a similar situation. It's easy to grab the
wrong cable.
But anyone who removes twenty screws and still fails to remove a
plug from the outlet, reaches inside the PA plugged into an outlet,
turns the main power switch on, and expects one more level of
protection on another switch to save his life is being silly.
You shouldn't use a metal file to check car batteries for charge
level (I watched someone do that at the race track), and you
shouldn't use a metal meat thermometer while naked and wet to
start a well pump.
My guess is we have interfered with the natural selection process
far too long.
<nofill>
73, Tom W8JI
w8ji@contesting.com
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