Hijack!

[Tpt life]

It takes only rudimentary safety precautions, but also the understanding to properly apply them. Most take short cuts. No pun intended. 

[drzaius]

3 hours ago, JohnG said:

Yes, 12v won’t make long tracks like are desired. 
We used to pull flyback transformers out of old CRT monitors and TVs to get ~30k volt arcs to zap things. Probably lucky that none of us got hurt.

Yes. I got a 25,000V jolt from the back of a color TV I was working on in high school electronics class. If the wall hadn't been there to stop my I'd have been thrown across the room. So I just picked myself up and carried on with a lesson well learned.

[wtnhighlander]

I once worked in a TV repair shop, when such things existed. I was using a 36" long nut driver to re-attach the tuner assembly to the front of the cabinet, from the rear. When the nut suddenly cinched up, the driver slipped off, and the tip flopped right onto the CRT anode lead. Of course, the unit was still powered on. I watched, in slow motion, a writhing blue snake of electric arc travel up the shank of the driver to bite me on the hand. At which time, I magically levitated about 3' from the floor, and hurled the driver across the room. I wasn't right for the rest of the day. Those flyback transformers are no joke. Neither are ignition coils, DAMHIK.

[treeslayer]

2 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Neither are ignition coils, DAMHIK.

yeah and magnetos on drag cars DMHAIK 

[drzaius]

1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said:

I once worked in a TV repair shop, when such things existed. I was using a 36" long nut driver to re-attach the tuner assembly to the front of the cabinet, from the rear. When the nut suddenly cinched up, the driver slipped off, and the tip flopped right onto the CRT anode lead. Of course, the unit was still powered on. I watched, in slow motion, a writhing blue snake of electric arc travel up the shank of the driver to bite me on the hand. At which time, I magically levitated about 3' from the floor, and hurled the driver across the room. I wasn't right for the rest of the day. Those flyback transformers are no joke. Neither are ignition coils, DAMHIK.

It makes me shudder a bit to think of the 'safety' practices we used (or not) back in the day. when I was about 12 I had the brilliant idea that just pulling the bare spark plug connector off the plug would be a fine way to turn off the lawn mower. I'm sure anyone who might have witness this would have given my dance performance, with its steadily decreasing tempo, at least a 10. I couldn't let go until the motor came to a full stop.

[wtnhighlander]

I once knew of a guy that urinated on one of the old-time, non-pulsing electric fences.

Talk about not letting go ....

[drzaius]

Can't remember the name of the song, but an unforgettable line was "don't whiz on the electric fence"

[legenddc]

It's been a looooong week over here. My wife was traveling for work so I had our two kids all by myself for the 4 days she was gone. She came home and took a covid test just to be safe since our son is too young for the vaccine and she tested positive. Fortunately she's not feeling too sick, just like a sinus infection. My 4 days as a "single dad of 2" is now extended. Plus now I offer room service.

Thankfully my parents are going to get the kids for a little this afternoon and some tomorrow so I can try and catch up on work and house chores.

[Mark J]

That sucks.  I tested positive last weekend and just finished the 5 day isolation period.  It's a real challenge to isolate from other members of the same household, but miraculously my wife didn't catch it.

[legenddc]

On 4/29/2022 at 1:20 PM, Mark J said:

That sucks.  I tested positive last weekend and just finished the 5 day isolation period.  It's a real challenge to isolate from other members of the same household, but miraculously my wife didn't catch it.

Yeah, I'm glad we realized before she saw the kids and they would need to be home from school. I think she'll be in for a log weekend without work to distract her for part of the day. I suggested pulling weeds can be done in isolation but that didn't go over too well. 

Glad you're okay and your wife didn't catch it!

[drzaius]

My daughter, who's been vaxed 3 times and is a very fit ultra-marathon runner got it a few weeks ago and it laid her pretty low. She is still really tired & has a headache most of the day.

[Robby W]

I learned something today: apparently, I am not fat. I just have tactical love handles!

[Mark J]

4 hours ago, Robby W said:

I learned something today: apparently, I am not fat. I just have tactical love handles!

I prefer to think of myself as aerodynamically shaped. 

[Tom King]

Some call it a layer of prosperity.

In some countries they would look at you and ask "How did you do that?"

[BonPacific]

I guess I'm working hard to reduce my prosperity then.

[drzaius]

15 hours ago, Mark J said:

I prefer to think of myself as aerodynamically shaped. 

And I suppose I could be described as slightly 'Rubenesque'

[Coop]

Has anyone used a drop down hinge/support thing that you would recommend?  It will be used on .a small glass panel cabinet door

[Coop]

I’m contemplating a video security system for the exterior of my house. Does anyone have pros and cons experience on a particular item? 

[wtnhighlander]

@Coop,  I am in the same boat.  I currently have a set of wired, analog cameras and a recorder. The recorder died, and I want to move on to IP (network) cameras.

I haven't picked a solution yet, but there are many factors to consider. For me, self-containment is a must. I don't mind having the ability to connect over the internet and view the images, but I don't want a system that requires an online recording service. There is no such thing as privacy on the internet. So, for security it comes down to managing it yourself (better systems can alert you directly from the cameras), or you can depend on a service like ADT, SimplySafe, etc.., knowing that your footage might show up on YouTube or AFV one day.

If you want, I can share what I know about commercial security cams as well, since I manage the system at work. Shoot me a PM.

[Chestnut]

1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said:

AFV

This is still a thing?

9 hours ago, Coop said:

I’m contemplating a video security system for the exterior of my house. Does anyone have pros and cons experience on a particular item? 

I've always heard good things about Ubiquiti Unifi products. A good friend of mine uses them for hotels and commercial applications though so they are a bit more complicated. He is very security and privacy minded and I believe most of their products can be set up to run on a standalone network that doesn't have internet access....

The big benefit is almost all of their cameras run on power over Ethernet, this allows you to run 1 cored, cat 6, instead of needing to supply separate power.

[drzaius]

I'm going through the research phase for the same thing right now. I want wired cameras both for security of the signal (harder to jam) and for not having to charge batteries. So many review sites just copy and paste the marketing blurbs from the manufacturers and then seemingly arbitrarily give them ratings. The most informative reviews I've found are from The Hook Up YouTube channel . The guy really seams to know his stuff and his testing methods are solid.

I'm leaning toward a Reolink system with an NVR that records locally, but can also be accessed from a PC or mobile device. I don't believe there is any of the video that is recorded on the cloud. It is at the economy end of the scale, but he rates it as being a great value. I expect to pay between $750 and $850 for a package that has an NVR and 4 4K cameras, depending on which cameras I choose. Because it's wired, installation is a lot more work, but being an electrician, I've got lots of experience at getting cables just about anywhere with minimal damage.

[Mark J]

I put in an Arlo system about a year ago, and I'm somewhat dissatisfied.  Thing is I don't think Ring or Simply Safe would be any better, so if I were doing it again I'd at least look at more serious systems like wtnhighlander mentions.  If you want more info on my experience you can drop me a pm.

[legenddc]

On 5/12/2022 at 9:19 AM, Mark J said:

I put in an Arlo system about a year ago, and I'm somewhat dissatisfied.  Thing is I don't think Ring or Simply Safe would be any better, so if I were doing it again I'd at least look at more serious systems like wtnhighlander mentions.  If you want more info on my experience you can drop me a pm.

What don't you like? I haven't had a chance to do any research but I've heard about Arlo and Eufy security cameras. I don't want Ring. I'd prefer something without a monthly subscription cost.

[drzaius]

Having the camera in the doorbell button is not really optimal and the cameras are not generally great. They are quick and easy to implement though. And to get more than the most basic functionality, you have to pay a subscription.

[Coop]

The reason for asking at this time, a young man stopped by yesterday evening selling these. As I was busy outside in the yard, I put him off until this afternoon. He won’t sell me today but I would like to see what he has to offer so that I can compare. Yesterday it was “ I only have two of these special offers left but I can save one for you”. He’ll still have one left after he leaves!