Some of the equipment we have here includes comms cables that *must* be plugged and unplugged when the system is powered up. One particular model has a small enclosure containing the plugs, about big enough for a hand, with ~2cm of room to actually pull the cable out of its socket.Now these cables can be a bit reluctant to move, so take a bit of tugging, and come free very suddenly... Of course, in this particular design (particularly poor design at that) there is an exposed cooling fan directly opposite the sockets for the cables, and I have a few prominent scars on the knuckles to attest to the fact the blades are very sharp! Not really electrical, but very stupid! On a different note, with cars and again not electrical, I was working on my car while recovering from foot surgery, and I only have a small garage. To work on the front of the car, I move it to the back of the garage and vice versa... Since my foot was not very useful after the surgery, I didn't want to drive it the 30cm or so that it needs to be moved, so I decided to push it. It's not a very big car and is quite easy to push around. Unfortunately for me, I managed to run over my foot! the same one that was recovering from surgery, hence extraordinarily painful. I suppose "run over" is not strictly correct, seeing as the car was moving slowly and didn't have enough momentum to go all the way over the foot, rather it stopped on top. I was standing there nearly fainting from the pain, trying to push the car off my foot. It was pretty difficult as I couldn't lean into it (because it was parked on my foot, and my back was against the wall, it's a very small garage) but I got it moved eventually... How many people do you know who have actually run themselves over! > -----Original Message----- > From: Jim Franklin [SMTP:jim.franklin@BTCONNECT.COM] > Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 9:57 AM > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: ] More stupid electrical tricks... > > Not so electrical as electromechanical. > > When I was a service engineer, I was given my first pager. Kind of a cool > one with the buzzer instead of a beep beep. > Leaning over a system doing a repair (switched on of course), I jumped > back > thinking I had leaned into a fan or something, only to my embarassment it > was the pager - first time paged ;) > > almost as embarrassing as the customer saying to me one day "Stop - don't > move whatever you do" > > "Why not?" > > "I want to see how far that coffee is going to run up your tie..." > > Yep - customers with a sense of humour too... :) > > > Jim > > -----Original Message----- > From: pic microcontroller discussion list > [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of James Newton, Host > Sent: 04 March 2004 22:33 > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: ] More stupid electrical tricks... > > > This will be hard to explain, but when I was in the Navy, I worked on the > S3 > "Hoover" jet. Hoover, not hover. Its not a VTOL; it just sounds like a > vacuum cleaner > http://www.mrprophead.com/Navy/VIK01.jpg Ask me later about the brilliant > positioning of those turbofan intakes. > > It has a battery with the two terminals about an inch apart in a recessed > space on the side, not the top, of the battery case. The space is a bit > over > an inch high and about 2 inches wide. I wish I had a picture of that > thing, > 'cause no one is going to believe that a design that stupid could have > seen > the light of day. But it was, I swear. > > US Navy uniforms pretty much all include a belt with a little metal buckle > in the front. Here is a picture of it: > http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/nalc820/navybelt.jpg and that > buckle is about, yep, an inch high and an inch and a half to 2 inches > wide. > > And that battery is damn heavy. If you pick it up, you will end up holding > it down at arms length, sort of resting on your upper thighs as you > walk... > > ..and that just about perfectly aligns your belt buckle with the terminal > posts. > > It is, of course, a military rated battery, with much power inside. And > the > belt is, of course, a military rated belt, designed to hold together no > matter what. > > Now the new batteries are sent with a plastic plug over the terminals, and > every shop manual, instructor and supervisor will repeatedly tell the AE > worker bees to watch out for it. During the time I was in, no one that I > ever heard about did it, but after I got out, a buddy of mine emailed me > that one of the guys in his squadron did it. > > And it killed him. Massive 3rd degree burns all over his front along with > acid burns and poisoning. > > Chlorine for the gene pool I guess. Or just a bad design. I've always had > a > healthy respect for batteries. You should see me sweating over a jump > start! > > --- > James. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pic microcontroller discussion list [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU] > On > Behalf Of Robert Ussery > Sent: 2004 Mar 04, Thu 10:21 > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: [OT:] More stupid electrical tricks... > > Hi all. > I just thought I'd relate a pitiful yet funny incident that I just > experienced. > Yesterday, I was debugging a circuit hooked up to my computer and powered > from a 7AH 12V battery. I was happily plugging along, when I reached > across > the desk for my drink. Suddenly, I got a shooting pain in my wrist > followed > by some pretty severe heat. I dropped my drink and hopped around yelping > for > a couple of minutes before I finally realized what happened. > > What happened? In reaching for my drink, I accidentally bridged the > contacts > of the battery with my metal watchband... I now have a watchband with > welded > links, a couple of small burns on my wrist, and a very paranoid attitude > about batteries. > > How many of you have experienced this same phenomena? Please say you've > done > the same thing so I'll stop feeling like such a moron... > > BTW, the watch still works! Timex - keeps a lickin' and keeps on tickin'! > I > was able to snap the links apart and wear it again after it cooled down. > No > real damage, except for a few stylish burn marks. Needless to say, as soon > as I start using my 12V battery, the watch comes off. :O)) > > Stay safe out there, you guys (& gal or two)! > > - Robert > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. > See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.