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#138477 09/15/03 06:34 AM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,253
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djk Offline
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I don't actually think the "tick tick tick" noise on those ARF crossbar lines had anything to do with switching. As far as I know it was applied as a "progress tone" in the same way that the E10 digital switches apply http://www.eircomlab.com/audio/cpt.wav when there is any delay before a ring tone.

I would guess that the original reason for that tone's exsistance was to prevent phreaking of the system using MF tones in the days of in-band signaling.

When you were calling "digital - digital" the number usually just rang out immediately but when calling digital to ARF / ARK crossbar or to a mobile or abroad (e.g. to the UK to an old switch) the bebebebe tone was played down the line rather than letting you hear the actual signaling.

The switches still present that tone if there's any sort of delay in connecting the call which is almost exclusively when calling mobile phones while the network is hunting for the phone or occasionally if you're calling abroad, particularly to less developed countries.

Although, it can crop up if there's a major network problem or something weird like our local radio station gave out its reception number rather than it's competition line number and 40,000 callers all called a single local number.. lots of bebebebe tones [Linked Image]

In other countries if a switch is swamped it just won't give a dial tone at all. Here the switch will take the call, let you dial and then make you wait until it's ready to process the call.

#138478 09/15/03 08:29 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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As we're getting a little off the original subject of this thread, I've started a new Telephone Talk thread to continue the phone-based discussion.

Back to old appliances.....

Let's hear from some more of you about the selling of secondhand electrical equipment. Do you think there should be regulation of such sales?


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 09-15-2003).]

#138479 09/15/03 11:33 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Quote
A favorite trick for getting a proper grip on these cords with BS1363/BS546 15A plugs was to wrap several turns of insulation tape around the cord to increase its diameter.
Still widely used here to get zip cord or NISPT into a Schuko plug, sometimes the cord grips don't even grip 3x1mm2 round flex properly. I just had to do that trick on a trailing sockets a few months ago.
Quote
By the way, the fancy way to keep the trimmed cotton ends of these cords neat and tidy for termination is to apply heatshrink, but the average person just uses the tape trick again.
Actually there's an even more sophisticated (and much older) way to do that. (quote from my famous 1958 DIY book, covering everything, from painting, glazing, carpentry to plumbing, electrical and cleaning your gas boiler).
Quote
Take some black thread, wrap it nicely around the cord end and tie it into a knot. Then apply some glue.
I'll try to scan the picture that came along with it until tomorrow.
The new cloth flex matches the old one perfectly except for the color code. Well, the old one was usually pretty yellowed, but the black/white zigzag pattern looks perfectly the same. About 2 years ago I replaced the cord of my mom's infrared lamp, and you can't tell the difference, apart from the half dozen or so tape wraps being gone.
I'd really like to get hold of some of the old twisted cord for a reasonable price to build a small example knob&tube wiring. I already got a matching switch and light fixture (a huge wet rated porcelaine socket and a round white glass shade, I took it down when we rewired our basement).

#138480 09/15/03 12:32 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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Member
Ragnar,

Was it by any chance an "InfraPhil"? [Linked Image]

[Linked Image from elwins-radiopage.demon.nl]

Text from owner's website:

Quote
A Philips item that was in nearly every Dutch house some forty years ago. Philips convinced their customers that this lamp could relief sore and fatigued muscles because of its infrared rays and well I must say that the flood of warmth can be very relaxing after a hard day of work. However, this relaxing effect vanishes as soon as you recieve your electricity bill after some Infraphil sessions.

Years ago, when I was 12-going on 13, we were forced out of our apartment (house being torn down) and were moving into a one-room makeshift apartment (basically a cinderblock shack) behind a house next to a co-owned scrap-yard.

Before we moved in, my mom and I went to the place to clean it up and disinfect it - scrape clean the greasy kitchen floor and make it semi-livable.

There were two lamps (floor standing version) like that with red floodlights; infrared probably now that I think of it.

I thought they were kind of cool looking and wanted to keep them. But mom declared them a fire hazard and garbage -- they were sort of rusted and greasy -- so I tossed them out into the piles of scrap.

#138481 09/16/03 05:50 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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No, it isn't. It is a rectangular blue and grey box with alid that flips open and reveals infrared and UV tubes. My mom uses it every time we kids have problems with our ears, and there it works wonders, without jerking the electricity bill up into the sky.
Infrared heat dishes are a cool thing. I found one in a dumpster and it's still in pristine condition, even the cord. I used it a few days ago when it suddenly got cold and I was too lazy to go to the bathroom and fire up the gas central heating boiler (and the heat dish heats up faster than the radiators do, yeah, and starting the fancy all-electronic boiler after the summer break can be a bit tricky too, I liked the old ones better where you just light the pilot flame with a match).

#138482 09/16/03 06:22 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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Radiant heat such as from these lamps does give a nice cozy feeling.

I've always found a fan heater to be a useful device as well, especially for when you come back to a cold house and want to warm up a room quickly. The circulation helps to get all of the room warm quickly, especially with the 3kW models thats are common here.

Another nice thing when you've come in from a very cold winter's day is that you can just pull off your shoes and stick your feet in the air stream to thaw out! [Linked Image]

#138483 09/20/03 12:46 PM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Trumpy Offline OP
Member
Paul,
How do you present your test results after having repaired an appliance(say a TV set or a VCR)?. [Linked Image]

#138484 09/21/03 09:22 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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You mean as in a certificate?

I don't write up any sort of report or test certificate on appliance repairs, unless somebody specifically asks for one.

#138485 09/29/03 06:02 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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I stumbled upon this link while browsing.

This is how the local Trading Standards dept. of one particular British city explains the rules:
http://www.warrington.gov.uk/shopping/trading_standards/guidance_SPAS.htm

#138486 10/03/03 02:38 AM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Trumpy Offline OP
Member
Paul,
Over here if an appliance is repaired by a qualified technician, that technician, must affix an Electrical Safety Certificate to the appliance.
I can't find an example of one of these on the Net and I also can't use my Dcam to take a photo of one, that I have in front of me.
This is a self-adhesive label, about 50x 40mm and it requires the technician to give thier contact details and thier registration no., in case someting goes wrong with the appliance. [Linked Image]

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