Selenium Rectifiers an old fashioned way to convert AC power to DC power that are still out there and more dangerous as they grow older

Before modern Zener and other diodes came on the market and where used in a Bridge Rectifier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWmIQfYIRI

 

 Configuration to convert AC to Dc Power there was the Selenium Rectifier

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium_rectifier

A metal device with fins coated with Selinium which was used in all kind of applications from simple radios and toy train layouts  to large industrial machines 

 They where used in products up till the late 60s as they where very dependable and could handle higher voltages better than previous copper oxide rectifiers developed in early 30's 

Unfortunately with age these rectifiers break down and can give off extremely toxic gases  due to Nickel and Selenium plating and there are still plenty of them I come across in old fire alarms and industrial machines and old tube radios people love to collect .

I try to change them out with modern units where I can to keep an old machine running safely but its not always easy to match everything up. 

Plus radio purest when restoring radios want to keep everything original. 

So should I be worried if I have them in my bussiness or home.

Yes there is concern so know it can happen and have a plan in place should one brake down and give off fumes immediately leave the room and ventilate the room  if possible and call 911  

this is a hazardous materials situation.

They may be neat to look at and are part of history but do so from a distance .

AT&T Screws Alarm Owners again with 3G/4G Shutdown

It was just 2 years ago I put in all new 3G/4G  AT&T cellular Communicators for over 100 customers and they for most part have been nothing but headaches to maintain.

 Because AT&T never fully implemented 4G-HPSA and the 3G band is overcrowded causing signals to drop all the time. I get daily over a dozen or more fail reports. from AT&T communicators and with Verizon hardly ever.

To make matters worse AT&T has been shutting down 4G- HPSA Bands on towers to implement 4G-LTE  forcing all the communicators down on the overcrowded 3G band its so bad I have had to upgrade early to 4G -LTE  because 3G/4G cellular communicators  because AT&T towers are so overcrowded in some areas.,and 3G/4G will be shut down on Feb 1 2022  so I am ahead of the game to start replacing them now. 

 But I am not installing AT&T communicators  I am installing all Verizon 4G-LTE
Communicator because I am tired of the lies and deceit from AT&T and absolutely horrendous coverage. I have a 4G-LTE cell phone and can hardly use it due to the poor coverage in the tri state

This is ridiculous ,some of my customers have now had to  change for the 3rd time they're communicators in a 11 year period.

First it was  Analog was being shut down for Digital then its  2G digital is being shut down  and now 3G and 4G HPSA being shut down each time it has cost my customers  $100.00 plus for the communicator plus my labor . Time spent and wasted which could be put to better use assisting customers and doing installs instead of consonantly chasing Cell Phone issues caused by AT&T because even the early Verizon units I have installed and will have to change in 2022 I have had no issues.

Of course this leaves Honeywell, Napco, Telguard and Uplink stuck with thousands of unusable communicators they still have sitting on the shelves brand new with worthless stock and every time AT&T or Verizon advance cell technology the amount of electronic waste is incredible
Because no one is recycling these old communicators and their boards .

Electronic Waste or E Waste as it is known is a very huge problem in this country and what recycling is done is small and expensive to do.

But instead of working on and improving existing technology its just faster and cheaper for Cell company's to just completely ditch it and bring out a new product. same bull shit thats gone on with the 2 way radio re farming plan. 

Shame on you AT&T for being deceitful to all when you said these new 3G/4g communicators would last for a good while and be future of communication  and its not even 5 years .

Wiring Horrors found while correcting an Exit Signage Issue. Some people just do not get what danger they cause the public when they play electrician

Recently I was called to troubleshoot an issue at a Flea Market Complex which was having some issues with Exit Signs not working when I ran across this mess most of which I corrected ,but more work needs to be done because people setting up booths often play electricians and every time you turn around you find another horror story at places like this  all over the Tri- State Why people think they can do there own wiring and think they do not have to follow codes in a public place is beyond comprehension but it goes on all the time . and as you can see below wires where cut off spliced with out proper connectors and junction boxes and just taped. The booth owner got mad when i cut the wiring off and told him fix it or take it out said he was going to sue me blah blah blah I said fine call police and I will call code enforcement. .he was eventually evicted by owners.

New Oakmont Bakery causing all kind of Traffic Issues why was this location ever approved when it was known was going to be a traffic Hazzard?

Despite local town officials being warned by many who regularly drive thru oakmont  how bad an ideal it was to locate a bakery across from a High school and on main route thru town which is heavily traveled and backups regularly
Oakmont officials gave their blessing to it .

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video/4029050-oakmont-bakerys-move-creating-traffic-problem-around-new-location/

Why Penndot permitted it also is a big question now there is calls for Penndot to examine the intersection and add traffic lights and no left turn signs.

 

 To add to all this students who drive to and attend Riverview High School are petitioning to get 30 reserved parking spaces owned by the town to allow them to park because they are now having problems getting parked and on time for school.

Personally I never saw the big deal over the Bakery they do make fantastic cakes etc.  But other bakeries also make great cakes from scratch as well and their donuts are not as good as other bakery's I have stopped at all over the tri-state area. Like Blue Bonnet in Homestead and O'Rams and De'angeloes in Beaver County .

But Oakmont is the 600 pound gorilla when it comes to bake goods due to all their advertising which brings people in from all over .

Im really happy for the owners they have seen great success but all these officials saying they are surprised by all the problems ? Really? 

Well hopefully lessons have been learned the hard way as usual because foresight seems to be one of the really lacking skills here in South Western Pa. I see it time and again bad decision's and panic reactions all due to bad planning. and its not just Oakmont it is every community .

 decisions are made and never thought thru just look at he mess we have in Penn Hills with the school district and new high school all of which was 100% avoidable just like the oakmont bakery deal .

Long Recalled Chemetronics 601 Series Fire Alarm Heat Detectors . Thousands of them still out there causing issues becuse they will not activate a fire alarm.

When a Smoke Detector can not be used in certain rooms and areas  the trusty Heat detector is used instead.

Unfortunately one very popular brand Heat Detector  at the time made in1980s thru 90s and by the thousands  by Chemetronics Inc.  has a very dangerous flaw to it where it allows the terminals where wiring is attached to pop off its mounting base and then no protection is the result often time the Fire Alarm Panel is not even made aware of the dangerous condition.  as the circuit is not broken to allow a trouble condition at panel.

http://www.globalfirecontrol.com/media/uploads/product/12348b0cd802d3bd3d6e61d611cdf299.pdf

 

As can be seen in the photo above the brass connector plate for wiring has popped off by itself and
in this case was causing a false alarm every time a train came by this factory on Neville Island Pa.  and vibrated the brass connection against the steel beam .

Part of the problem also is these where private labeled and sold under many different names . Chemetronics is no longer in business and may have been bought out. 

Needless to say every one of these units will be changed in this plant ,but there are thousands more out there with this same potential and when called on will not cause an alarm condition.
I notified the Consumer Products Safety Commission  about these units almost 20 years ago . and not only are these units still out there thousands of an earlier version of Chemetronics heat detectors where recalled back in mid 90s and I am still finding them on jobs and removing them took 2 out last year.

https://cpsc.gov/Recalls/1997/cpsc-chemetronics-caribe-inc-announce-recall-of-heat-detectors

But this is not the only problem there are many smoke detectors and smoke alarms on recall as well siting in homes and business still being used as well. 

Big ASS Fans a new trend in Warehouses and Auditoriums that requires careful code conciderations

Big Ass fans as they are commonly known and one company actually sells them under that name  are a popular way to move large amounts of air to help keep large spaces cool in summer and warm in winter . think of a paddle fan but these units have 6 foot blades on them and operate on 230 to 480 volt Three Phase power .Like the unit in Picture below.

 One of the problems with these big fans is because of the amount of air they move they need to be shut down during a Fire Event so most have a built in jumper you remove and connect in a relay from fire system to shut it down and lock it out when fire alarm activates.As you can see in picture below the red fire wire connected to the Power Flex " Variable Frequency Drive " which I recently wired in at a warehouse .

Because of the extreme force these fans produce careful consideration must also be made to insure personnel do not get close enough to be struck by the blades even though they do not move real fast they do have a lot of power behind them and I do not know if they have a break away clutch feature.
But you can bet as effective as they are the word is spreading and you will be seeing more of them in the future .

Things you learn when installing surveillance systems in business . The employee who objects the loudest is usually the one causing the issue why the cameras are needed

In my over the 40 years I have installed Surveillance Camera Systems the encounters I have had when putting them in seems to always be the same .
While most employees welcome them because it protects them because it shows they are doing their jobs  and not causing issues  it also protects their personnel property from theft and vandalism like when some one gets mad at them and keys their car.
 There is always that one employee who carry's on and threatens to quit their job and is gonna sue everyone etc etc. because their rights are being violated.

Well sorry no they are not when the cameras are out and visible unless your state has rules otherwise.
 unless its a restroom or locker room its pretty much any other room is fair game in most states.

So typically what happens after I install a camera system and I come back a few days later to do any final adjustments I find  that employee who did all the screaming and carrying on has left and so has all the issues why the system needed installed in the first place. Because something Improper, Immoral or Illegal was going on .

Take a small super market I did 15 year ago in South Hills of Pittsburgh  after owner was told by his insurance carrier to install additional cameras because his  workers compensation claims where getting too high.  Seems every time a pallet of bottles or other easily breakable items came in there was always damage or Shrinkage as its known going on in back room . One time I was close enough doing work I saw sure enough they where throwing a small football around and some one fell over a pallet and items got broke . I had not yet installed the cameras but let manager know what I saw but without proof what could he do.
 So after the cameras where installed  the employee who was always clowning around and screamed the loudest had quit his job , and ironically so did all the shrinkage issues. Amazing right. But this is what happened each and every time I have installed cameras in a retail or office situation.

Industrial plants on other hand cameras are more welcome because it protects employees like the time a fire broke out on a machine employees where able to show their boss exactly how it happened and that no one was around it .In another case a camera on the loading dock showed proof positive 12 pallets of product was loaded on a truck not 10 like driver claimed when he delivered it ends up he was shorting customers and stealing the product, again the guys on the loading dock where happy because it proved they where doing their jobs correctly.

Cameras are a 2 edged sword and most people could care less they are being watched  but if they do screw up it also shows that as well but an honest mistake is an honest mistake  no harm no foul.
accidents happen.

So when you have that employee who objects to cameras  or other security measures thats the one you watch. cant scientifically prove it but in my 40 years of work thats what I have found to be true.

 Plus after an investigation of this employee has been done you usually find they have caused other problems at  other places  they worked as well and they are often  delinquent on their bills frequently change addresses because they are avoiding bill collectors or law enforcement  or they have not paid their rent,often having skipped out on a lease. They are basically Con Artists .

I had a case recently where it was discovered  a manager had stolen $85K from a business after cameras were installed in New Castle  Pa. after they left in a huff because cameras where being installed and an audit was performed  .The kicker after they Left they started a similar business next town over and where using the stolen proceeds and products to run that business. Talk about bold .
When asked why they said it was because they  and their helpers where not paid enough to manage the business.


Its a dam shame what business owners have to do to protect the bottom line but its a known fact employee theft is a major reason why businesses fail. Because its the biggest single  amount of theft  after  Shoplifting , Burglary , Fraud  and Armed  Robbery.