"Solderpooling" (was Re: Running a 220v computer in a 110v environment)

From: Mark Tapley <mtapley_at_swri.edu>
Date: Sat Oct 9 13:02:58 1999

Tony Duell wrote:

> But I am
>suggesting that _everyone_ here is intellegent enough to understand a
>book on electrical wiring and then to do such wiring themselves.

        As a recent perpetrator of some particularly egregious stupidity
(everyone *did* get their resistor color-codes straightened out after that,
right?) I can claim that intelligence and the advisability of any single
isolated act may not necessarily be corellated. (I can hope, anyway.)
        I therefore have a minor suggestion to make here. Call it
"Solderpooling". Anyone intent on reworking mains power, moving full-height
racks, or otherwise dealing with lethal quantities of energy, at least for
the first time, put out an announcement and invitation here. If there is
another local list member, arrange a visit for the duration of the risky
part. We tend to do this for moving big stuff anyway, but I'm proposing it
also for rewiring houses, repairing monitors, gluing with sodium cyanide
(!), etc.
        Two pairs of eyes looking at the same procedure are much more
likely to catch errors than one, even if neither is a "trained
professional" (or proficient amateur). Add to that the psychological desire
to do things properly in front of a visitor vs. taking short-cuts by one's
self and the liklihood of mistakes might really go down.
        There's also the pleasant prospect of a shared victory if whatever
it is works and the unpleasant but comforting availability of someone to do
CPR if it *really* doesn't work.
                                                        - Mark
Received on Sat Oct 09 1999 - 13:02:58 BST