How civilization will end

[Joseph Bento]

And I actually built a valve guitar amplifier intended  to be operated on 240v UK mains.  Your house (and ears) have apparently survived.

I'm somewhat amused by the dire warnings in the UK electronics pubs that I subscribe.  Of course one needs to be cautious.  I look at the mains side of a circuit with respect, not fear.  Follow the IEC colors where BROWN = Hot; BLUE = Neutral; GREEN/YELLOW = Earth.  Wire accordingly.  Do not put a switch in the Neutral line. Do not fuse the Neutral line.  Observe insulation requirements to disallow accidental contact.

The magazines apparently assume that the highest voltage anyone has ever exposed themselves to is a 9v or 12v battery.

Joe, N6DGY

On Feb 24, 2012, at 5:45 PM, Phil wrote:

> My Dad was a skilled amateur carpenter, and my school taught me proper engineering and materials skills alongside maths, science and languages. In British schools nowadays they have "Materials technology" where the kids handle different fabrics and then write an essay on how the materials make them 'feel'. My son was awarded 90% for 'electronics' for building a LED torch from a kit. This mark surprised him, because he was off sick and never actually built it. He couldn't be bothered, because he'd built better things with me when he was eight…
> 
> Nobody in the UK, except possibly Brian Hawes and myself, knows how to wire a mains plug anymore. They're not allowed to do it because it is dangerous and they don't know how, and they don't know how to do it safely because they've never been allowed to do it. I wired my first mains plug at the age of seven, taught by my father, who then gave me a brass screwdriver his dad gave him when he was a boy, and told me it was my job to wire all the plugs in the house when necessay from then on. Nobody died by electric shock in our house.
> 
> The first thing I did when I first came across cyanoacrylate superglue was to deliberately put a tiny dab on my forefinger  and press my thumb to it. I figured I needed to know how strong it was, and it was worth losing some skin just to find out. I was impressed by the glue, but a little disappointed that my finger and thumb finally separated without injury.
> 
> Phil M1GWZ
>