Jeff B

I'm curious about specifics, I tried searching a bit, but did not find what I'm looking for.

I really prefer hardly ripe bananas that are still green, and find them to get more and more repulsive as they brown. There's a particular taste they build that also emits an odor that I find unappealing. I'm trying to understand what it is. Thanks.

I've never encountered this before and am having trouble finding definitive assurance of what to do about it...

I've been asked to run wires for temporary electric heaters in a Church, and they only come in 3 phase 208/240/480 volt options.

They do have 3 phase service, technically it's 240 volt Wye (neutral is not isolated, it's the middle leg)

Anyways, when I put a tester on the mains, I'm reading 260 volts between them.

I contacted the supplier of the heaters and asked for a technician to advise and he was certain that the units could be damaged by that difference... 20 volts over the rated. I figure that most devices running on 240 volts are rated for 250 volts max.

It's inductive heating so I can't imagine it hurting the elements but the thermostat might arc and start a fire.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has experience with this, who can tell me it's certainly fine and nothing to worry about, or that I need a voltage regulator or resistor to bring it down closer to 240.

The big problem is, they sprang this on me last minute this afternoon, not giving me nearly enough time to estimate and gather supplies, but need it done before Sunday morning's service...

No suppliers are open on the weekends. Home depot and Lowes really don't accommodate commercial work.

Any insight?

Can anyone offer me advise as to the process of finding and buying land to build a home on? What should I expect? What's the best way to go about locating personally idealistic property?

My goal is to acquire suitable land within the next 6 months.

Is there a special kind of Realtor who knows the most about this kind of ordeal?

Is all the land already owned by someone or is there still unclaimed property available to purchase from Uncle Sam?

Do you think about, lust for, fantasize about people other than your partner?

Do you consider this cheating/does it make you feel bad?

Are there special contingencies that make it okay? I.E. celebrities you'll never actually get anyways...

I strongly believe that all of this is bad for a healthy relationship. That while we may have 'stray thoughts' from time to time, it is our duty to renounce temptation and redirect our thoughts to where they belong.

In so doing we find greater trust, stronger intimacy, and more satisfying partnership.

But I want to know how other people look at things. How do you think it affects your lives? It is not my intention to judge you, live as you deem fit for you. Thank you for your thoughts.

More specifically, I want to know how they combine, how they stack, how their values change or multiply when many are wired in series together or parallel... what is possible to achieve with a large box full of varied capacitors salvaged from big screen CRT televisions? Sorry about my ignorance, I just don't know where to find accurate and useful information, but I know there are many here who can readily educate or direct me to good information... just like I spend a lot of time trying to do for others about the many subjects I am well educated about.

My intention is to achieve 1000 uf rated at 250 volts if possible, using a multitude of lesser caps. Otherwise I need to figure out how to accurately build my own. I am not allowed to purchase anything for this project. If I spend even 1 penny I am disqualified. I got the caps by desoldering circuit boards pulled from projection televisions people were giving away. I have collected a wide variety of components and resources this way. I'm sure I can find a way to construct my Hendershot inspired junkyard invention for a non-profit charity contest. If I win, 50,000 dollars will go to fund diabetes research for a cure (charity of my choosing). Sorry, entry period has closed.

Thank you for your help.

Anyone know about the name of and/or where I can find a kind of twist lock adapter set that holds together better than standard sets, for hanging from SJO cord like in a machine shop? So far all I can find are insulgrip special plugs with this plastic sleeve that latches. I thought there was a type out there that uses a metal latch mechanism to hold the adapters together... I hope someone here can help me out. These things keep taking abuse making them not work right anymore... I really need to find something that can hold up so I can stop paying to replace them (or duct taping them together- inspector doesn't like that)

So, CRT tubes are heavily leaded glass on the sides and back, the face is barium and phosphor rich.

It's basically lead oxide added to typical glass.

What would be the best way to extract the lead with the ultimate goal being highly purified lead for use in battery plates?

Will Nitric Acid work If I grind up the glass into powder? What level of concentration and dilution would be appropriate? Can I heat the solution to precipitate the lead or do I need to neutralize it first? I would like to keep the lead free to culminate, but I will accept further processing to reach that point. The long term goal is to do this readily with materials and chemicals that can be obtained from natural sources. Thanks for your help.

I've been reading for a while trying to find a safe way to extract and refine lead from CRT sources, for use in batteries. It is apparently not readily available knowledge.

I've read that it will leach into wine... is that because of acidity? Would vinegar also leach it out?

And if I were to use a liquid to pull it from the glass, how would I refine the lead from the liquid? Boil it?

Is there a safe temperature I can melt the glass to that will make it possible for the molten lead and molten glass to separate through centrifugal or vibrational force?

Can I heat the wine out to leave behind pure lead without vaporizing lead and causing health risks?

I really need to learn more about this potential because I have plenty of CRTs and could easily get more, and I would really like to build custom batteries for use in home energy management.

Any knowledge you could share, or direction to good sources for this information would be greatly appreciated and also, would come up on search results if someone else ever tried to find this answer like I did. You would be doing a great service.

Okay, so I fully understand that there is a natural bond and need to care for a young and fragile new life. Here's the problem from my limited perspective:

My wife is not taking care of herself. She is unwilling to take a shower or make herself something to eat... she is unwilling to find ways to accomplish what she needs to do during the day... Now, our son is 12 days old and very healthy, very good at communicating his needs.

I really feel like she is losing sight of reality a bit to be so unwilling to even put him down for fear he'll get fussy. I try to tell her, let him fuss a bit. If he's fed, and his diaper is dry, it's typically just discomfort for digestion and it passes rather quickly. I'm somewhat afraid that in time she will condition him to require her constant attention... she was unwilling to get a baby monitor (that was like the last thing on the list that she let go)

I tried to clarify how we could put a baby seat or rocker or something downstairs so she can carry him in her arms and put him in the chair while she makes some lunch for herself.... but she is unwilling to even consider it... thinks it is impossible for her.

I really feel like she is unreasonable and maybe needs a little encouragement and... advice from people besides me...

like taking a shower, I said she should put him in his car seat and set it in the bathroom while she bathes. And she got really worked up and said, "I'm not just going to let him fuss!"

I was like, "sometimes you have to... he won't be scarred for it..."

She called me an awful human being....

It's getting to be really frustrating because she literally has not been taking good care of herself and won't even ask for help where it is needed... I'm really surprised by this behavior because she was so confident and prepared. But it seems that lack of adequate sleep and nutrition and unwillingness to take meds for an increasingly severe headache... it's all just wearing her down to the point where her mood is terrible and reason is lost.

Please help us out. Give us some thoughtful answers that I can show her without making her feel worse for it. She just needs some encouragement and some reasonable solutions to these problems. Maybe some further resources to assure her that he will be fine to cry a bit here and there. Really he is so easy going and generally only fusses with cause.

Eh... thanks for reading all this. And thank you for responding.

I have a cheap 500 watt halogen work light which has a UV filtering glass lens.

The question I have is, how much UV is being filtered? If I were to take the lens out, how would the UV exposure compare to sunlight? (I am familiar with the UV index scale)

I'm looking for an alternative to going out in the sun because it's been raining nearly every day for weeks now, and my newborn son is jaundiced and requires some sunlight to help him clear it up.

Can I use my (500w quartz) shop light with or without the lens filter to get him some controlled, and safe UV exposure for limited time?

If you could direct me to a source of information that would be much appreciated. I've been looking online for 2 hours now and am finding it difficult to get a clear answer.

is this normal? My wife is really concerned because he's not being very interested in feeding... he indicates that it's feeding time, latches good, sucks for a minute or two and starts drifting asleep... every time. It's only been 5 days since he was born. She had a C-section, and was put on naproxin and percocet for the pain and inflammation. Does anyone know if this has affect on the baby through breast milk?

I'm thinking maybe he's just filling up. He seems to be quite satisfied, sleeps good for 2 hours then feeds again. To me it seems like everything is fine, but I do see why she is concerned.

Anyone have any experience or insight I can share with her to ease her mind?

The more information the better.

Thanks for your time

I'm having a hard time understanding why they can only be used once and aren't suitable to clean and reuse... are they porous and toxic? I mean... surely they could be sanitized and reused right? Or is my kid gonna have his lips rot off for my lack of resources to keep throwing them away?

Sorry to be cynical about it. I'm a very logical person and it dumbfounds me. I can't seem to find a clear reasoning for why the instructions and the nurses all said use once and toss. Thank you for your knowledge and potentially directing me to legitimate answer sources.

Please keep in mind the term 'scientific theory'

I have to find one where subsequent theories based upon it were also falsified as a result.

I'm thinking it might be a trick question to make us work hard for nothing...

How do we know what's in the center?

Is it possible that the core is plasma because of extremely high pressure and energy?

What are you giving to the cause?

If I wanted to increase the power of a metal detector AND increase the size of the field (to go deeper)

It already does a good job of controlling the sensitivity and generally functions to only detect worthwhile volume. Anyways. Most important question:

If I increase the voltage from 12v to 18v (I have 4 rechargeable NiCD that work good I can carry in my back pack up high to avoid the field). I want them still available to my drill and saw so no modification to the battery. I've already done that with one, because it had 2 bad cells anyways).

But I figure 18v would perform better than 12v in terms of creating a field right? Which components need to change? I know the caps have ratings printed on them. Most say 15V So I would change them to something higher than 18v

I assume that resisters should be fine except I would have to compensate for the intended current draw by viewing the schematic and calculating the resistance figures, to establish amperage against voltage, then convert with new voltage and desired amperage (It's a thick board with heavy lines. It should handle 2 amps max no problem. I'm willing to recreate the board entirely from scratch. The batteries are only 2.4Ah but I would consider a cart and car batteries if I could achieve 10 feet depth with a 2-box detector.

I'd love to figure out the pot range to make it adjustable. Which is probably what the sensitivity knob is. The dots may not work anymore if I change it too drastically. (they help you calibrate at start up)

So is there anything else that would need to change for a 6v voltage increase? Diodes? Microchips?

Any good website recommendations where I can easily reference information about electronic components that would be awesome. You know, like specific specs and schematics for chips, etc.

Any and all helpful information would be very much appreciated.

Okay... here's the deal: I have 3 different batteries.

One is a AA rechargeable Nickel-metal Hydride rated at 2450mAh

Then I have a Ridgid LI-ION pack rated at 1400mAh

Then I have a Milwaukee NiCD rated at 2400mAh

Now imagine the size and weight difference...

Okay so voltages are different. The AA is 1.5v

The LI-ION is 12V

and the NiCD is 18V

So let's break it down:

It would take 12 AA's (NMHI) to make 18V in case weighing ~16 oz or 1LB. Still 2450 mAh

If I take apart the Li-Ion it has 3 cells, so to get 18V you need 4 1/2 cells... weighing about 12 oz and still storing 1400mAh

The NiCD is already 18V and weighs almost 2.5 Lbs! And stores 2400mAh

Are you seeing the problem? Lithium Ion SUCKS!!! They ripped us off! Said it holds more power, weighs less, and is more efficient with longer life span. Well it appears to me that to get equivalent charge capacity, I'd have to nearly double the weight and size of the Li-ion pack. And out of all these batteries, which one do you think stopped working after only a few charges and a years time?

I have 4 NICD packs that have been abused thoroughly for more than 4 years. All still work great.

I have nearly 30 rechargeable Energizer batteries (AA and AAA) and yes they fail sometimes, but as it turns out when one flashes in the charger as "bad" you can usually just drain it down in a flashlight and it'll charge again like nothing was wrong.

I bought a Ridgid kit for 190 bucks about 2 years ago. it came with 2 12v Li-Ion batteries and I tried it out for a while. Kept it with me. Used it now and then. I don't like it at all. It's weak. It dies suddenly. And, you guessed it. I've only had 1 working battery for the last year or so. I'm not paying 60 bucks for a replacement, and it's BS that it failed soon after the 1 year warranty.

I took it apart to see if it's fixable and it really isn't at all. You can't acquire replacement cells without special license (dangerous!) and there's no easy way to test.

I am so freaking poor and broke right now, but I need a good power source for my metal detector. So I'm going with the NiCD pack. I'm splitting the cell group into 12v and 6v to power the unit and a light and I'll just put it in my back pack. I'm just not sure if I can have a wire feeding my detector without upsetting the field. And on top of that it's a two-box detector needing two batteries, meaning a wire has to pass between the boxes. Argh. It's a deep cache finder so the field is huge. I can't wear my steel-toed boots or a belt. But hopefully the battery will be high enough to avoid the field. Is there a cheap way to shield metal wire from upsetting a detector?

Anyone have any advice relevant to my long-winded rant?

What I mean is, there is a special kind of mirror used in heliostats and solar collectors that is coated in a way that reflects 99.99% of visible light and infrared energy. I'm having a difficult time located such a product at retail, or even special order.

I am looking for pieces. Like (100) 2" x 2" and cannot seem to even get an idea of who sells heliostat parts and equipment...

Any help at all. Any reference would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Okay, I know it wasn't county owned because it wasn't fenced off, and no signs indicating. No company logo on the building. No slot for a disconnect pole. Just a normal 200 amp disconnect service and a small sign on the door that said "dangerous RF unsafe for humans to enter"

Not visible from the roads, and isolated on a wild mountain.

Do they have cell towers like this? Or what could it be? It had in-ground feeds and no overhead lines.

If it was unsafe on the inside, what are the chances that I was unsafe being outside the door?

The structure was small, maybe 4 ft by 6 feet and 8 feet tall.

What do you think the building is for? What is likely inside of it making RF energy?

I'm in San Diego County of California. Thanks.

I want to present an idea to NASA for a solution to a problem they have, but I need to make sure they can't just take it and use it without compensating me for my original concept. I would even love to be on the development team... to see the experiments out here in the Arizona Desert.

I would like for this "protection" to be transferable, so that I can potentially sell the idea to NASA for a very fair price.

I simply do not know enough about copyright law or patent law or any of that, to determine which thing I need to purchase from the US Government. I do know a patent lawyer but would love to be more knowledgeable and not look like a total idiot to them. (Lucky you guys! Thank you my humble humans;)

(as for my credence in seeking monetary gain: I don't require much in life (I lead a simple life of unofficial engineering, but do hope to get a degree one day soon along with my Master Electrician's License) and will use 10% to fund charitable causes such as fire victim home restoration for people who made some bad choices in life and have been left without a home for more than 6 years and lost all hope of recovering what they lost to poor governmental protection from wild fire in Southern California.

Also I have other big ideas that will benefit mankind, but requires resource to make reality.

Please believe that I have a real solution to a real problem and NASA really will benefit greatly, as will mankind for NASA's efforts in space. In fact, if this does pan out, I will hope to contact the best answerer and donate to them for their knowledge after I get paid, pay my taxes, and tithe to charity. Please encourage me to do this in a timely manner ;)

Be my friend.