Hi Geoff.
> Sorry to still be off topic folks.
To my way of thinking, any mains-powered ham radio gear needs to be
designed to work with the mains supply of the countries it will be
used in, so this is at worst only slightly off topic...
>>> Just a small point - and WAY off topic, but the nominal mains
>>> voltage in the UK and the rest of the EC is 230V - the EC was
>>> "harmonized" (IIRC) on 1st Jan 1998 with the UK and Eire moving
>>> down to 230v, the rest of the EC up to 230V. However, the
>>> current allowable tolerances (-6 +10%) made the move pretty
>>> meaningless. Even the frequency that used to be 50 +/-0.1Hz has
>>> been widened to +/-0.5Hz.
>> Actually, things aren't that simple. As far as UK law is concerned,
>> the "Electricity Regulations" still require equipment to be designed
>> for a mains voltage specification of "nominally 240 volts, with a
>> tolerance range of -6.2% to +9.7%", and that's a direct quote...
> If the "Electricity Regulations" you quote are the 1989 version,
> although (to the best of my knowledge), they are still current,
> they are also out of date.
Very true, but they are still important despite that.
> The Electricity Supply Industry is regulated by the "Office of
> the Electricity Regulator" and the figure of nomimally 230V
> -6+/10% was a direct quote from that office.
Also from OFFER is the following quote: "Whilst we regulate the
Electricity Supply Industry, manufacturers of electrically powered
equipment should refer to the current Electricity Regulations for the
specifications that their equipment must comply with." From a design
perspective, THAT is the important point.
> The range of supply is the important figure - most designers
> worth their salt would design for a *much* wider input range
> (since when have you seen equipment switchable between
> 220-240V).
Curiously enough, the PSU on the computer I'm using at this moment has
a voltage selector switch with the following options on it:
110V
115V
120V
130V
220V
230V
240V
250V
Does that count?
> Increasingly, equipment has an allowable input voltage of
> nominally 100V-240V without adjustment.
If I knew of a design for a power supply that would do that, believe
me, I'd use it...
> If you delve deep enough in the mountain of paper over
> Westminster and Whitehall, you will no doubt find a civil
> servant working on a current specification for the "Red Flag".
That wouldn't surprise me...
> (For non UK readers, Whitehall is the seat of the UK Government
> and Westminster, the home of the politicians who think that they
> control it.
Most of them have no interest in controlling government - they're far
more interested in extracting massive lumps of brass from central
government and donating them to the R.D.F.
However, this isn't a political arena, so I'll say no more on that...
> The "Red Flag" was required to be carried by a man walking in
> front of a motor car to warn the public of its approach!
Thankfully, that's long since been scrapped...
> I can think of no parallel to the red Flag in Linux...
The 20 Meg hard drive springs to mind...
> ...but I can in ham radio - it is call Morse Code!)
I disagree with you re that being one in Ham Radio on two counts:
1. The "Red Flag" has been scrapped, Morse Code hasn't.
2. I may only be a class B but I'm AGAINST the scrapping of the
Morse test for advancing to class A. By all means provide one
or more ALTERNATIVE methods, but the Morse test should remain
as an alternative for those who prefer it.
However, as a genuine parallel in the Ham Radio world, I would offer
the use of AM modulation for voice contacts, which has long since
vanished from the scene...
> Sorry again folks to be so widely off topic, I did manage to get
> a mention of both Linux and ham radio in the last
> paragraph......:-)
8-)
Best wishes from Riley GM7GOD.
PS: 'lumps of brass' = Money, metal or paper does not matter.
'R.D.F.' = Rainy Day Fund.
PPS: The term 'Rainy Day Fund' was quoted by Winston Churchill as being
the first charity one should donate to. It apparently comes from
an old 'Mother's Comment' to "Save for a Rainy Day"...
I do not know who he quoted.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is something frustrating about the quality and speed of Linux |
| development, ie., the quality is too high and the speed is too high, |
| in other words, I can implement this XXXX feature, but I bet someone |
| else has already done so and is just about to release their patch. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* ftp://ftp.MemAlpha.cx/pub/rhw/Linux
* http://www.MemAlpha.cx/kernel.versions.html
