How often should you clean your screen grids?
a. Daily
b. Weekly
c. Monthly
d. Any time a grid leak is detected

I resist the suggestion that answer [d] is correct.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

"H. Adam Stevens, NQ5H" wrote in message
...
Fascinating.
Steel wool is mostly empty space.
73
H.


Even more empty after the first spark!
--
Ed
WB6WSN
El Cajon, CA USA

"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:52:14 -0700, Roy Lewallen
wrote:

[snip]

Here's a ham-radio related use. I've got a bunch of it stuffed into the
ends of the buried PVC pipes carrying my feedlines into the back yard,
in an attempt to keep the rodents from using it as a highway. Seems to
be working so far. . .

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Down here in the desert the pack rats would just say, "Thank you very
much, do you have any more?"

When my wife's office at Hughes had a problem with rodents coming
through an A/C receptacle in an exterior wall the plant maintenance
guys used either copper or bronze wool. Seems to poison them.

My problem isn't rodents in the house, it's scorpions. Killed two of
the things just last night. I'm remodeling a bathroom, where most of
them show up. I told my wife I think I'll install some UV lighting so
I can see them easier. (They fluoresce under UV.)


Wes, what's the preferred scorpion killing technique; you use a hammer or
what?

--
Ed
WB6WSN
El Cajon, CA USA

Ed Price wrote:
"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:52:14 -0700, Roy Lewallen
wrote:

[snip]

Here's a ham-radio related use. I've got a bunch of it stuffed into the
ends of the buried PVC pipes carrying my feedlines into the back yard,
in an attempt to keep the rodents from using it as a highway. Seems to
be working so far. . .

Roy Lewallen, W7EL


Better than just steel wool- is SOS pads- had Deer Mice (carriers of
hantavirus) running between buildings, in wire ducts- plugged with
SOS pads, stopped them. Also had professional folks, that used a
gooey substance, that (according to them !) tastes bad to rodents
for treating wood, so they didn't like to chew thru walls. Apparently
the bad taste of the soap, and the goo, along with the steel wool
does a good job of slowing them down-- It is a bit disconcerting
to open the control head of a generator, and see 8-9 pairs of
eyeballs stareing back at you! Jim NN7K

"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
How often should you clean your screen grids?
a. Daily
b. Weekly
c. Monthly
d. Any time a grid leak is detected

When it gets clogged with electrons
--
CL -- I doubt, therefore I might be !

Regarding steel wool, I recall an old old radio catalog selling an antenna
cleaning kit to shine up your antenna wire -- claims it improved reception !

Don't recall if it was steel wool or a fine sandpaper

But when you put up a brand new shiny antenna -- does it seem to work
better, just like your car runs better after a wash and wax job (;-)

--
CL -- I doubt, therefore I might be !

Interesting, Fred, I wasn't aware that the 3B24 was a gas-filled
rectifier. However, I used the 80, the 81 (a half-wave rectifier with
greater current capability than the 80), the 83 (a full-wave mercury
vapor rectifier) The 5Y3 was a later version of the 80, with octal
pin basing. I also used a whole bunch of 866's before SSB came along.
They powered a 203-A in one of my early rigs, a 250-TH in a later rig
in 1935, and a pair of HK-54's in another in 1937. (Or were they
HK-354's, I can't remember, yeah, 354's)

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:58:14 -0400, "Fred W4JLE"
wrote:

Close Walt, only the 3C24 was not a rectifier. Sit back, light up the pipe,
and remember the purple glow of the 3B24. You were right on about the steel
wool. I was wondering how many would remember the dufus that was trying to
tell us that steel wool and a paper towel roll was as good as ferrites.

I also wrote a letter to editor. I was a bit more sarcastic requesting the
B/H curves of steel wool.

Do you still have a copy of that letter? I'd like to see a copy if you
do.

Walt,W2DU

Thanks, Roy, I had forgetten where the stuff was published.

Walt

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 17:38:12 -0700, Roy Lewallen
wrote:

Walter Maxwell wrote:
. . .
However, some moron claimed in QST that steel wool was just as good as
ferrite for making choke baluns, but I've forgotten who the lunkhead
at the League was who believed him, and allowed stupid idea to be
published.

I complained to the League editors, who unbelieveably said 'Prove It'.
So I bought some steel wool and made two back to back baluns with it
and made measurements of common mode currents. The measurements proved
that the steel wool had absolutely no choking effect.

I reported the results of the measurements to the editors at the
League, but I can't remember whether they did anything about refuting
the original incorrect material. Perhaps your memory is better than
mine on this issue.

Walt, W2DU

The results of your measurements were published in "Hints & Kinks" in
September 1993 QST. According to the editorial comment accompanying it,
you were prompted to make the measurements by Tom Rauch, W8JI, who had
done some measurements which indicated that the steel wool balun was
ineffective. The Hints & Kinks editor at the time, who had accepted both
the original contribution by Curt Wilson, W0KKQ and yours, was Dave
Newkirk, WJ1Z. Anyone interested in learning more about it should read
the Hints & Kinks submissions and note Dave's added editiorial comments.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Caveat Lector wrote:
Regarding steel wool, I recall an old old radio catalog selling an antenna
cleaning kit to shine up your antenna wire -- claims it improved reception !

Don't recall if it was steel wool or a fine sandpaper

But when you put up a brand new shiny antenna -- does it seem to work
better, just like your car runs better after a wash and wax job (;-)

Mine always gets wet in the rain that comes immediately after the wash
job. ;^)....

I can't belive no one has put up the correct answer. When grid leak becomes
a problem, adding a dynatron oscillator, with it's negative resistance
absorbs all the leaked electrons.

New question:

A Homotron is -
a. An electron that has been given a positive charge
b. An electron given a negative charge
c. A queer electron that blows fuses
d. Who knows, it wasn't in the list of questions I memorized.
"Caveat Lector" wrote in message
news:QgILe.578$uO2.273@fed1read07...

"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
How often should you clean your screen grids?
a. Daily
b. Weekly
c. Monthly
d. Any time a grid leak is detected

When it gets clogged with electrons
--
CL -- I doubt, therefore I might be !