Historical stuff

[Rufus T. Firefly]

You always unplugged the TV however there a something in there that could hold a charge.

Big capacitor......

[J. S. Bach]

You always unplugged the TV however there a something in there that could hold a charge. Whatever it was ...

It was most likely the picture tube.

[up148]

By the time I was 14-15 I was the family TV repairman. It was pretty simple just had to read the schematic and be careful. When it went on the blink, I'd pull all the tubes and Mom would drive me to the local Katz drug store who had one of those tube testers and test them all. In a year or so, I knew which tubes caused which problems. The 5000v tube was in a metal box with a special lead that attached to the top of it besides being in a socket and you showed that tube special respect. But, the picture tube could also blow you away.

I remember the guy who did out repairs when I was around 10 (Bill Welsh..funny how you remember trivia like that), but by the time I was early teenage he was killed when he touched the wrong something. Actually IIRC, he died of a heart attack cause by the shock.

BH

[HONDO74]

You always unplugged the TV however there a something in there that could hold a charge. Whatever it was ...

It most likely the picture tube.

I don't remember for sure but I was extremely careful after that. We managed to save some money and bought a 19 inch portable that I think was solid state.

Now days everything is flat screen LCDs. If something goes wrong you throw it away and get another one. You can get a 32 inch for less that $100. It seems like electronics is the only thing that comes down in price.

[Roy]

I remember when I got my first cathode ray tube monitor, I'd turn it off when I wasn't on the computer. Then, I got to know someone who left their monitor on 24/7/365. I started doing the same. More recently, I bought an LCD-type monitor. I left it on continuously too - until it went out. I didn't know they had a special screen illuminator, which is not designed for continuous service. Now, I'm back to turning off the monitor when I'm not on the computer.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I just learned something . Thanks, Roy. I will immediately start doing the same as you, religiously .

[HONDO74]

The older LCD monitors were Fluorescent back lit and had an internal power supply those had problems. The newer monitors are LED back lit and have an external power supply. Much better monitors now. I am using an HP 27 in monitor and I don't turn it off. I do turn off the computer and when the monitor does not receive a signal from the computer it goes into a power saving mode but it is still on just not receiving full power from the power supply.

The newer led monitors and TVs don't use near the watts that the older one used.

[robert.]

About five years ago. I was staying in a hotel that had a few computers in the lobby. I sat down at one to check out eBay. It was still set up from the last guy to use it. He was checking out tv/radio tubes. A lot of those tubes were bringing $400-500 a pair.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-PIECES-NOS- ... =R40&rt=nc

[Wolf]

Glad I don't have any more equipment that uses those particular tubes!

Also, very interesting that the seller is located in Singapore, but "Due to
previous bad experience, no shipping to Singapore"??

[Roy]

The older LCD monitors were Fluorescent back lit and had an internal power supply those had problems. The newer monitors are LED back lit and have an external power supply. Much better monitors now. I am using an HP 27 in monitor and I don't turn it off. I do turn off the computer and when the monitor does not receive a signal from the computer it goes into a power saving mode but it is still on just not receiving full power from the power supply.

The newer led monitors and TVs don't use near the watts that the older one used.

After mine died, I lucked out and got a freebie from my doctor, who had bought new monitors for his staff. This one is a LCD screen from around 2004.

[HONDO74]

Here is another item of Historical Importance.
The City that Lit the World.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2018071 ... -the-world

Whale Oil
Because New Bedford isn’t just any town. On a visit, you’ll learn it was once the wealthiest city per capita in North America. But you’ll also hear it was where men were 100 times more likely to die than anywhere else and that the streets were once overrun with blubber and blood. The catalyst? Whaling.

As gruesome as it sounds, whale oil was a plentiful resource, and within years the operation had multiplied tenfold. To increase yields, liquid spermaceti wax was harvested from the skulls of sperm whales that swam in the channels of Nantucket Sound, then later processed into fuel.

What made it so attractive was that it was cleaner, brighter and worth six to eight times more than regular whale oil. In 1850, for instance, Hadwen & Barney Oil and Candle Factory produced 4,000 boxes of spermaceti candles, plus more than 450,000 gallons of refined sperm oil valued at $300,000 – about $9 million (£6.85 million) in today’s terms. It was a huge profit few argued with. Even if, they say, you could smell New Bedford before you could see it.

The Quakers who first settled the area discovered that whale fat could be rendered into smokeless, scentless, beautiful lamp oil

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I remember hearing, a very long time ago, that actual sperm (perhaps from Sperm Whales, specifically,) became the ingredient added to perfume to help its fragrance last on women. The legend had it that globs of it could be found washed ashore where it was gathered/harvested. If that is true (as opposed to the alternative method for "harvesting" Sperm Whale sperm!!) I cant even imagine who thought of it. I mean, who sees a lump of such "material" on the beach and says to himself/herself, "Hhmmm, lemme try to lift an armload of that up and take it home with me because it should help keep perfume fragrances bright and pungent on women!"

And regarding your posting, just above, more directly, HONDO, can we conclude that what put the whale oil business out-of-business was the discovery of petroleum and that one of its derivatives , kerosene, could be made into fuel for lamps, more cheaply and with less dangerous work involved. Right?

[HONDO74]

can we conclude that what put the whale oil business out-of-business was the discovery of petroleum and that one of its derivatives , kerosene, could be made into fuel for lamps, more cheaply and with less dangerous work involved. Right?

2 items, 1 being kerosene as mentioned from petroleum and the other was the invention of the light bulb and the use of electricity.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

can we conclude that what put the whale oil business out-of-business was the discovery of petroleum and that one of its derivatives , kerosene, could be made into fuel for lamps, more cheaply and with less dangerous work involved. Right?

2 items, 1 being kerosene as mentioned from petroleum and the other was the invention of the light bulb and the use of electricity.

Oh yes. Good point.

[John Webster]

Ambergris is the perfume fixative. It is a waxy substance found in the intestines of sperm whales and was very valuable.

Spermacetti oil is refined from the contents of the huge sounding chamber in the head of the sperm whale. It was valued for its bright, smokeless light. It was also used as a lubricant for fine machinery and sewing machines.

Sperm oil was refined from the blubber of the sperm whale. It was used for lighting but not as expensive.

Whale oil was refined from the blubber of bowhead, right, blue and gray whales. Used for lighting but less expensive.

Balleen is the fringe that bowhead, right, blue and gray whales have instead of teeth. It was used for hoop skirts, corset stays, umbrella ribs and buggywhip handles.

One of the major factors that led to the British signing the treaty that ended the war of 1812 was the destruction of much of the British whaling fleet in the Pacific by the United States frigate Essex.

An interesting place to visit:

http://www.ctvisit.com/listings/mystic-seaport