Captain's Blog 11-23-11 Hardware, Mail, Beacons, and Giant Transformer

[GarethPowerSwitch]

Clear pen ftw

[GarethPowerSwitch]

Speak to 5 different live event techs about rolling cable, get 5 different answers :)

[magicmel02]

You gotta work on your German, dude! ;-)

How much would shipping for those pens be to Berlin, Germany?

[tyskkvinna]

@magicmel02 ich sage das oft, auch...... :)

Shipping on the pens is included in the price, for anywhere in the world. ($25 no matter where you live) - shipping on them is quite inexpensive so I just included it in the price for ease.

[baldbrad]

Can someone explain the "theater cable wrap" for someone who doesn't see well? I can't tell what Steve is doing...

[ljmike1204]

that would be awsom i know ther are RGB leds 5MM with only + and - the run on a chip inside the LED so it slowly fades

[pikuorguk]

You're soooo lucky the transformer with the loose lid wasn't the one that tipped up yesterday.

That would have been *messy* if its lid came off.

[tech4pros1]

i have a book the geek group may like, its called supercharging the as-400 and its about programming the as-400 most efficiently.i thought about sending it in but i would like to know whether you would like it before i post it as i am in the uk and postage costs are CRAZY!!

[kildas]

You can make G-10 handles for guns (1911) or for custom knifes

[Joe5imon]

When I see somebody winding up cord or cable with the elbow/wrist spin I just want to scream! I explain it to them simply "now unwind it". Then they understand. Thank you Steve, show-and-tell helps a lot in educating people.

[ErnstHot]

The dispersion of the flashlight beam in the transformer oil is so pretty! (That rainbow effect)

[Dibblah1900]

On the cat5 weights - Welcome to the horrible, horrible world of Copper Coated Aluminium. Read, learn and weep.

[dehve86]

Ironically, the camera went out of focus around 7:30 when you said "...we're doing a lot of focus on...".

[powercord123456]

@dehve86 LOLOLOLOL i noticed that and thought what a rofl comment that could be... you beat me to it ;P hahahahaha

[BlitzKdotCOM]

Over-under is the ONLY way to wrap up cables. Anyone wrapping cables and not doing that should be shot (or at least be made to buy a new cable).

I also like the flag idea but please make sure you follow the flag code ( U.S.C. Title 36 Chapter 10 ). Ie: union/canton pointing to the North.

[kb3nzq]

you are welcome Captian now please tie it to the grinder

[Physicsduck]

@kb3nzq No worries, Thank you! :)

[10ol]

i want see the light bulb in the tower Beacon.

[TemporalParadox1]

I would like to ask a dumb question.

Why are these big power supplies filled with oil ?

[Physicsduck]

@TemporalParadox1 That's an excellent question and I will answer it in the next episode.

[WB1A2]

Thanks for the explanation of the input/outputs on the transformer, interesting stuff.

Also, good for you putting forth effort towards American jobs creation.

[JDBManalo]

I'll be ordering that clear pen when they are available. I REALLY like that idea and I now want one.

[Physicsduck]

@JDBManalo It may be a while, the experiment failed.

[JDBManalo]

@Physicsduck How so? and don't worry. I have patience.

[tyskkvinna]

@JDBManalo The shaft ended up being too big, though it was not when we started. The heat from the turning process was enough to enlarge it just enough to not work without a copper shaft (and the whole idea was not needing a copper shaft). I cut a bunch of blanks in clear acrylic today to see if I can do it again, better. We'll see!

[Balarick]

lots of parts to run a transformer. that many parts will be very useful.

[TpottsRCP]

thank you steve!! i've been trying to find that trick for ages!

[jvcrules]

What do you use those transformers for anyway?

[Physicsduck]

@jvcrules Power supplies for our High Voltage lab.

[djrock9000]

Thats a lot of nuts & bolts Chris. Have you guys though about how you are gonna keep track of sales etc. for the cafe, hardware shop and whatnot? Like a POS system or something? A good idea would be to have the membership card act kind of like a debit card so you don't have cash floating around the building to keep track of. I think you had mentioned this before too back when the cards first came out. Glad the transformer is somewhat salvageable. :)

[Physicsduck]

@djrock9000 Yes, we have a POS system in place for inventory and sales tracking.

[BoltDepotcom]

@Physicsduck If you want an electronic dump of everything we are sending just let me know what format and what fields you want included - Matt

[cableguyi7]

solid strand cat5e ? ? :D

[mrmatt2525able]

are thoes bronze bolts for stomper???

[March94Hare]

Thank you Steve and TGG for that coiling tip!! I'm going to have to try that!

[TristanRHeitkemper]

I was thinking you guys should laser etch the pens, time to contact universal laser systems.