Re: X-10 Broadcast Storm Detector

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:46ded057.1091965671@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> What exasperated me with Jameco is that with some items there was a notice
> of extra shipping charges as you added them to the cart but, after
> eliminating all of those and placing the order, I found that there were
> still three different origins and shipping charges of $30 on a total order
> of about $10. I had to email them to cancel the order.

Ouch!  At least you got to cancel.  Lots of online places don't allow it.

> BTW, I bought a handful of these...
>
>
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/CB-216/123/2.1MM_DC_POWER_CABLE,_
24_AWG,_6%22#39;_CABLE_.html
>
> which really come in handy for things like testing power supplies.

A while back they were selling both prewired plugs and jacks for about the
same price as I stocked up because they offer good quantity discounts.  I
use them to make splitter cables to power microphone assemblies and bullet
cams from the same power supply.  I'm absolutely the worst at soldering
coaxial power plugs and mini-stereo phone jacks.  Getting a rugged,
injection molded connector with good strain relief with a generous supply of
polarity marked cable for $3 is "such" a deal!  (-"

One thing I like about Allelectronics is they have an incredibly low
shipping rate and they move the product out on the same day.  There are have
been some quality issues and some things can be found cheaper elsewhere, but
all in all, I'd rate them pretty highly. They also take stuff back without
an RMA, which is rather ReMArkable in the current environment.  The customer
reviews are also pretty accurate, at least as far as I can tell.

They turned me into a neodymium magnet madman:  I've found an endless number
of uses for their ring and motor magnets.  The only problem there is that
the really good deals sell out fast.  I got some 6" ring magnets from them
for $6 each that others want $25 and more for.  They're incredibly powerful
and one will float quite high above the other if mounted on a upright wooden
dowel.  You can easily break a finger getting in the way of two of them
mating up and they'll pull at each other from several inches away.  There
are much better selections at magnet specialists, but it was the fiends at
Allelectronics that got me hooked to begin with.

All of the various power supplies I've assembled from the junk bin have
quite a variety of non-standard connectors.  I am going to chop them off and
wire them all to a 4 pole, 6 position rotary switch (still new in the bag
from when Lafayette went belly up and they were selling stuff like that 5
for a dollar!) that will feed into the ESM1 head.  Then I'll set up a nearby
TM751 on an unused housecode and use a big spring clip to lock a PalmPad
into continuous send.  We'll see what the signal looks like as I step
through the different wall warts.  Any ideas how I can attenuate the signal
from the stronger transformers so that they can be calibrated to give close
to the same readings?

Do you really think the ESM1 needs a 500mA supply, or that's just what was
handy and available?  Based on the very low heat it generates, I don't see
it using anywhere near that current.

--
Bobby G.