You might be an old time if you can answer the following, with out diving
into your library.

Which of the following is NOT a rectifier?
a. 3B24
b. 80
c. 3C24
d. 6H6

Steel wool was once touted as a good material to make which of the
following?

a. Choke Balun
b. AF shielding
c. Linear capacitors
d. Radials for short virticals

Feel free to add your own favorite...

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:00:21 -0400, "Fred W4JLE"
wrote:

You might be an old time if you can answer the following, with out diving
into your library.

Which of the following is NOT a rectifier?
a. 3B24
b. 80
c. 3C24
d. 6H6

Steel wool was once touted as a good material to make which of the
following?

a. Choke Balun
b. AF shielding
c. Linear capacitors
d. Radials for short virticals

Feel free to add your own favorite...


Good ones, Fred, 3B24 and 3C24 are not rectifiers.

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

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.

"Walter Maxwell" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:00:21 -0400, "Fred W4JLE"
wrote:

You might be an old time if you can answer the following, with out diving
into your library.

Which of the following is NOT a rectifier?
a. 3B24
b. 80
c. 3C24
d. 6H6

Steel wool was once touted as a good material to make which of the
following?

a. Choke Balun
b. AF shielding
c. Linear capacitors
d. Radials for short virticals

Feel free to add your own favorite...


Good ones, Fred, 3B24 and 3C24 are not rectifiers.

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

Fascinating.
Steel wool is mostly empty space.
73
H.


"Fred W4JLE" wrote in message
...
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.

"Walter Maxwell" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:00:21 -0400, "Fred W4JLE"
wrote:

You might be an old time if you can answer the following, with out
diving
into your library.

Which of the following is NOT a rectifier?
a. 3B24
b. 80
c. 3C24
d. 6H6

Steel wool was once touted as a good material to make which of the
following?

a. Choke Balun
b. AF shielding
c. Linear capacitors
d. Radials for short virticals

Feel free to add your own favorite...


Good ones, Fred, 3B24 and 3C24 are not rectifiers.

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

Fred W4JLE wrote:
. . .
Feel free to add your own favorite...

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

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

I believe the "steel wool" balun showed up in one of the handbooks as well.

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
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

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.


One legitimate use for steel wool was what we used it for as kids.

When the cops cited us with a repair order for a too loud exhaust
system on our hot rods, we would stuff steel wool up the pipe and
secure it with a rusty nail in cross-drilled holes.

We would then find a handy cop and ask him to sign off that we had
fixed the problem. He would usually ask us to rev up the engine and
we would hope like hell that the steel wool didn't come flying out at
the wrong time. I think most cops were on to this but they played
along.

Wes Stewart wrote:

One legitimate use for steel wool was what we used it for as kids.

When the cops cited us with a repair order for a too loud exhaust
system on our hot rods, we would stuff steel wool up the pipe and
secure it with a rusty nail in cross-drilled holes.

We would then find a handy cop and ask him to sign off that we had
fixed the problem. He would usually ask us to rev up the engine and
we would hope like hell that the steel wool didn't come flying out at
the wrong time. I think most cops were on to this but they played
along.

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

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.)