I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like you have a 3-way switch. Is there another switch somewhere
that controls the light? Maybe inside the medicine cabinet.
Look at your switch. Does it say "on" or "off" on it? If you don't,
most likely its a 3 way switch.

On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

It sounds like someone flipped a 3-way switch someplace else in the
house and didn't notice it.

Think back...do you recall walking into the bathroom and saying "Who
left the damn light on?"

If so, then someone turned it on with the other 3 way switch and
didn't realize it. Find that switch, switch it the other way and
you'll be back to your usual up-down operation - until the next time
somebody toggles the other switch.

On Oct 15, 10:22*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:

I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

It sounds like someone flipped a 3-way switch someplace else in the
house and didn't notice it.

Think back...do you recall walking into the bathroom and saying "Who
left the damn light on?"

If so, then someone turned it on with the other 3 way switch and
didn't realize it. Find that switch, switch it the other way and
you'll be back to your usual up-down operation - until the next time
somebody toggles the other switch.

Possible it's a 3way, but doesn't sound very likely, since he says the
switch is part of the medicine cabinet. On the other hand, the only
other explanation I can think of is if it's one of the toggle switches
that fits into a round hole in the medicine cabinet, maybe someone
rotated the switch around 180degs.

wrote:
On Oct 15, 10:22 am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Oct 15, 8:55 am, Boothbay wrote:

I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb.
For years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to
turn it off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse.
It won't turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its
really complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a
large medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

It sounds like someone flipped a 3-way switch someplace else in the
house and didn't notice it.

Think back...do you recall walking into the bathroom and saying "Who
left the damn light on?"

If so, then someone turned it on with the other 3 way switch and
didn't realize it. Find that switch, switch it the other way and
you'll be back to your usual up-down operation - until the next time
somebody toggles the other switch.

Possible it's a 3way, but doesn't sound very likely, since he says the
switch is part of the medicine cabinet. On the other hand, the only
other explanation I can think of is if it's one of the toggle switches
that fits into a round hole in the medicine cabinet, maybe someone
rotated the switch around 180degs.

either that, or someone's a practical joker in the family.

i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case open,
turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and placed it back on
a cow-orkers desk.

On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 05:55:00 -0700 (PDT), Boothbay
wrote:

I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.
Sounds like you have a 3way switch and someone accidentally found and
flipped the one at the other end.

DerbyDad03 wrote in news:bfa23a78-74c5-428c-84e3-
:

On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

It sounds like someone flipped a 3-way switch someplace else in the
house and didn't notice it.

Think back...do you recall walking into the bathroom and saying "Who
left the damn light on?"

If so, then someone turned it on with the other 3 way switch and
didn't realize it. Find that switch, switch it the other way and
you'll be back to your usual up-down operation - until the next time
somebody toggles the other switch.



If it were a 3-way, it would NOT have the ON & OFF molded into it.

http://inspectbeforebuying.com/HRC/O...s/image002.gif

On Oct 15, 12:13*pm, Red Green wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote in news:bfa23a78-74c5-428c-84e3-
:





On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

It sounds like someone flipped a 3-way switch someplace else in the
house and didn't notice it.

Think back...do you recall walking into the bathroom and saying "Who
left the damn light on?"

If so, then someone turned it on with the other 3 way switch and
didn't realize it. Find that switch, switch it the other way and
you'll be back to your usual up-down operation - until the next time
somebody toggles the other switch.

If it were a 3-way, it would NOT have the ON & OFF molded into it.

http://inspectbeforebuying.com/HRC/O.../image002.gif- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

umm...did I imply that it did or did you reply to the wrong post?

In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:



i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case open,
turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and placed it back on
a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the pic
upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know anything
about CRTs.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:



i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case
open, turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and
placed it back on a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the
pic upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know
anything about CRTs.

you were hiding behind the filing cabinet? duh, to say that i didn't turn
the crt upside down is pretty stupid unless you were. and you weren't.
considering that 2 others in my office were there when i did this, you look
pretty stupid making that statement.

fyi, it was a televideo 955

https://www.str-s.com/televideo-mode...-955+132135-00

and was pretty easy to turn upside down and put back together because there
was lots of space inside to do so.

chaniarts wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:



i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case
open, turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and
placed it back on a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the
pic upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know
anything about CRTs.


you were hiding behind the filing cabinet? duh, to say that i didn't turn
the crt upside down is pretty stupid unless you were. and you weren't.
considering that 2 others in my office were there when i did this, you look
pretty stupid making that statement.

fyi, it was a televideo 955

https://www.str-s.com/televideo-mode...-955+132135-00

and was pretty easy to turn upside down and put back together because there
was lots of space inside to do so.


He may have just turned the CRT upside down with the yoke attached to
it. That would have inverted the image just fine.

Nowadays it's easier to just use a prank software program like this one:

http://www.rjlpranks.com/pranks/rotate/

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Oct 15, 9:41*am, Mikepier wrote:
On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:

I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like you have a 3-way switch. Is there another switch somewhere
that controls the light? Maybe inside the medicine cabinet.
Look at your switch. Does it say "on" or "off" on it? If you don't,
most likely its a 3 way switch.

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it does
have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Boothbay wrote:
On Oct 15, 9:41 am, Mikepier wrote:
On Oct 15, 8:55 am, Boothbay wrote:

I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb.
For years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to
turn it off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse.
It won't turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its
really complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a
large medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like you have a 3-way switch. Is there another switch
somewhere that controls the light? Maybe inside the medicine cabinet.
Look at your switch. Does it say "on" or "off" on it? If you don't,
most likely its a 3 way switch.

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it does
have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Somebody reversed your hot and neutral. Look outside around the circuit
breaker box for tampering, foot-prints, etc. Can you fashion a rudimentary
lathe?

"Boothbay" wrote in message
...
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like the switch is failing - not unusual for cheaply made switches in
corrosion-prone areas like a bathroom. I predict it will work for a while
longer and then fail, perhaps on, perhaps off, and maybe with a little
sputtering. I find that clamp lamps with a rotating knob switch to fail in
much the same way. Heat, moisture and age are all factors.

It's not very likely to be a hidden three-way switch because it's in a
bathroom. I don't think I've ever seen a three-way switch in a bathroom -
ever. Nor is it likely to be gremlins rotating it 180 degrees just to mess
with you.

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses and not zebras. The most likely
explanation is just typical cheap manufacturing coupled with a harsh
environment.

--
Bobby G.

On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:58:05 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Boothbay" wrote in message
...
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like the switch is failing - not unusual for cheaply made switches in
corrosion-prone areas like a bathroom. I predict it will work for a while
longer and then fail, perhaps on, perhaps off, and maybe with a little
sputtering. I find that clamp lamps with a rotating knob switch to fail in
much the same way. Heat, moisture and age are all factors.

It's not very likely to be a hidden three-way switch because it's in a
bathroom. I don't think I've ever seen a three-way switch in a bathroom -
ever. Nor is it likely to be gremlins rotating it 180 degrees just to mess
with you.

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses and not zebras. The most likely
explanation is just typical cheap manufacturing coupled with a harsh
environment.
I've seen LOTs of 3 way switches in bathrooms. Mostly in on-suites -
but any bathroom with 2 doors.

HeyBub wrote:
Boothbay wrote:
....

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it does
have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Somebody reversed your hot and neutral. ...

That won't change switch behavior of when contacts open/closed...all it
would do would be to break on neutral side of circuit instead of hot side.

If it hasn't been geometrically changed in orientation, the only
alternative is that somehow the mechanical internals have worn to the
point they're somehow operating backwards of before...

I'd suggest as someone else that a new switch is in your future sooner
as opposed to later.

--

dpb wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
Boothbay wrote:
...

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it
does have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Somebody reversed your hot and neutral. ...

That won't change switch behavior of when contacts open/closed...all
it would do would be to break on neutral side of circuit instead of
hot side.
If it hasn't been geometrically changed in orientation, the only
alternative is that somehow the mechanical internals have worn to the
point they're somehow operating backwards of before...

I'd suggest as someone else that a new switch is in your future sooner
as opposed to later.

Well maybe the ground and neutral was reversed. Or the bulb has a left-hand
thread.

I know: the fixture is upside-down!

HeyBub wrote:
dpb wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
Boothbay wrote:
...

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it
does have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Somebody reversed your hot and neutral. ...

That won't change switch behavior of when contacts open/closed...all
it would do would be to break on neutral side of circuit instead of
hot side.
If it hasn't been geometrically changed in orientation, the only
alternative is that somehow the mechanical internals have worn to the
point they're somehow operating backwards of before...

I'd suggest as someone else that a new switch is in your future
sooner as opposed to later.

Well maybe the ground and neutral was reversed. Or the bulb has a
left-hand thread.

I know: the fixture is upside-down!

You may laugh, but when I was a cop I made a call where a person or persons
unknown broke into the complainant's house and replaced ALL his furniture
with other furniture that looked exactly like his original furniture!

To this day, the episode remains a whodunit!

I think it's unlikely to have a three way toggle switch on the side
of a 25 year old medicine chest. My vote is mechanical failure within
the switch. And that the switch is soon to fail.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...

I've seen LOTs of 3 way switches in bathrooms. Mostly in on-suites -
but any bathroom with 2 doors.

Was alcohol, marijuana, or toggle switches involved?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"HeyBub" wrote in message
...

You may laugh, but when I was a cop I made a call where a person or
persons
unknown broke into the complainant's house and replaced ALL his
furniture
with other furniture that looked exactly like his original furniture!

To this day, the episode remains a whodunit!

On 10/15/2010 7:08 PM, HeyBub wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
dpb wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
Boothbay wrote:
...

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it
does have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Somebody reversed your hot and neutral. ...

That won't change switch behavior of when contacts open/closed...all
it would do would be to break on neutral side of circuit instead of
hot side.
If it hasn't been geometrically changed in orientation, the only
alternative is that somehow the mechanical internals have worn to the
point they're somehow operating backwards of before...

I'd suggest as someone else that a new switch is in your future
sooner as opposed to later.

Well maybe the ground and neutral was reversed. Or the bulb has a
left-hand thread.

I know: the fixture is upside-down!

You may laugh, but when I was a cop I made a call where a person or persons
unknown broke into the complainant's house and replaced ALL his furniture
with other furniture that looked exactly like his original furniture!

To this day, the episode remains a whodunit!


If yer gonna steal from Steven Wright, at least credit him.

--
aem sends...

On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:05:14 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

I think it's unlikely to have a three way toggle switch on the side
of a 25 year old medicine chest. My vote is mechanical failure within
the switch. And that the switch is soon to fail.


You are likely correct, with it being a light duty bat handle switch
(round or "D" hole mount)

In article ,
jeff_wisnia wrote:

He may have just turned the CRT upside down with the yoke attached to
it. That would have inverted the image just fine.

Theoretically possible. But anyone who knows enough about TVs to do
that, knows enough to rotate the yoke, which is 1000 times easier. He's
just having fantasies.

Besides, I doubt if the anode lead to the CRT would be long enough,
among other things.

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:58:05 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Boothbay" wrote in message
...
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like the switch is failing - not unusual for cheaply made switches
in
corrosion-prone areas like a bathroom. I predict it will work for a
while
longer and then fail, perhaps on, perhaps off, and maybe with a little
sputtering. I find that clamp lamps with a rotating knob switch to fail
in
much the same way. Heat, moisture and age are all factors.

It's not very likely to be a hidden three-way switch because it's in a
bathroom. I don't think I've ever seen a three-way switch in a
bathroom -
ever. Nor is it likely to be gremlins rotating it 180 degrees just to
mess
with you.

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses and not zebras. The most likely
explanation is just typical cheap manufacturing coupled with a harsh
environment.

I've seen LOTs of 3 way switches in bathrooms. Mostly in on-suites -
but any bathroom with 2 doors.

Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No, wait, that's
not true. Only in college dormitories with shared bathrooms - but that's
certainly not a typical residential environment. (-:

It's still most likely to be a bad switch given its location (wet bathroom
on the side of the medicine cabinet) and the symptoms the OP described. A
switch like that may not be well-sealed and after years of operation with
damp fingers crud may have made its way into the switch internals.

I'd be even more certain of a bad switch if the load was more than 25W - the
closer the switch is to something hot, the greater the chance for failure.
When I used to use 300W photofloods in the studio, the cheaper lamp holder
switches would fail with regularity - which is why I think it's a bad switch
from what the OP described. Obviously the greater the current, the greater
the potential for corrosion and material failure.

I'll bet the "feel" of the switch has changed. Whenever I've had a toggle
switch begin to enter a failure mode, the switch feels "sticky" or "mushy"
and doesn't have the right "snap" to it.

--
Bobby G.

aemeijers wrote:

You may laugh, but when I was a cop I made a call where a person or
persons unknown broke into the complainant's house and replaced ALL
his furniture with other furniture that looked exactly like his
original furniture! To this day, the episode remains a whodunit!


If yer gonna steal from Steven Wright, at least credit him.

I don't remember the homeowner's name, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Steven
Wright.

On Oct 16, 6:10*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
wrote in message

...





On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:58:05 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Boothbay" wrote in message
....
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like the switch is failing - not unusual for cheaply made switches
in
corrosion-prone areas like a bathroom. *I predict it will work for a
while
longer and then fail, perhaps on, perhaps off, and maybe with a little
sputtering. *I find that clamp lamps with a rotating knob switch to fail
in
much the same way. *Heat, moisture and age are all factors.

It's not very likely to be a hidden three-way switch because it's in a
bathroom. *I don't think I've ever seen a three-way switch in a
bathroom -
ever. *Nor is it likely to be gremlins rotating it 180 degrees just to
mess
with you.

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses and not zebras. *The most likely
explanation is just typical cheap manufacturing coupled with a harsh
environment.
*I've seen LOTs of 3 way switches in bathrooms. Mostly in on-suites -
but any bathroom with 2 doors.

Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. *No, wait, that's
not true. *Only in college dormitories with shared bathrooms - but that's
certainly not a typical residential environment. *(-:


I have a master bathroom with two doors and a 3 way switch. A friend
of mine has one with three doors, in his new house. It's not that
unusual in newer, larger, homes. 3 way switches in larger bathrooms
are even more common.

In the OP case, his toggle switch is molded into the medicine chest
and miror. I'd think those three ways would be on the wall.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...


Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No, wait,
that's
not true. Only in college dormitories with shared bathrooms - but
that's
certainly not a typical residential environment. (-:


I have a master bathroom with two doors and a 3 way switch. A friend
of mine has one with three doors, in his new house. It's not that
unusual in newer, larger, homes. 3 way switches in larger bathrooms
are even more common.

DerbyDad03 wrote in
:

On Oct 15, 12:13*pm, Red Green wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote in
news:bfa23a78-74c5-428c-84e3-
:





On Oct 15, 8:55*am, Boothbay wrote:
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb.
For years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to
turn it off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse.
It won't turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its
really complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a
large medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the
house.

It sounds like someone flipped a 3-way switch someplace else in the
house and didn't notice it.

Think back...do you recall walking into the bathroom and saying
"Who left the damn light on?"

If so, then someone turned it on with the other 3 way switch and
didn't realize it. Find that switch, switch it the other way and
you'll be back to your usual up-down operation - until the next
time somebody toggles the other switch.

If it were a 3-way, it would NOT have the ON & OFF molded into it.

http://inspectbeforebuying.com/HRC/O...les/image002.g
if-
Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

umm...did I imply that it did or did you reply to the wrong post?


Was meant for OP to "Lemme go look and see if it has ON/OFF markings." No
sense starting a 3-way hunt if it has them.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:



i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case open,
turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and placed it back
on
a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the pic
upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know anything
about CRTs.

No you didn't. The wires on a yoke would not permit rotating the yoke 180
degrees.
Upside down pic easily accomplished by swapping the vertical winding wires.
Also
make pic backwards by swapping the horizontal winding wires.

Bob-tx

On Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:44:41 -0500, "Bob-tx" NOBSPAM
wrote:



"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:



i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case open,
turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and placed it back
on
a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the pic
upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know anything
about CRTs.

No you didn't. The wires on a yoke would not permit rotating the yoke 180
degrees.
Upside down pic easily accomplished by swapping the vertical winding wires.
Also
make pic backwards by swapping the horizontal winding wires.

Bob-tx
On some of the old steel cased monochrome and RGB monitors of years
gone by, the wiring WAS long enough to allow the entire CRT to be
installed upside-down. Generally the degaussing coil could not be
connected if the tube was flipped though.(on the higher end units that
actually had them)

I ALMOST put one together that way after installing a touch screen
many moons ago. (It might have even been an EGA monochrome, rather
than standard monochrome). When I went to connect the degausser it was
on the top on the wrong side -- OOOPS!!

On Oct 16, 6:10*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
wrote in message

...



On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:58:05 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Boothbay" wrote in message
....
I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb. For
years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to turn it
off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse. It won't
turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its really
complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a large
medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like the switch is failing - not unusual for cheaply made switches
in
corrosion-prone areas like a bathroom. *I predict it will work for a
while
longer and then fail, perhaps on, perhaps off, and maybe with a little
sputtering. *I find that clamp lamps with a rotating knob switch to fail
in
much the same way. *Heat, moisture and age are all factors.

It's not very likely to be a hidden three-way switch because it's in a
bathroom. *I don't think I've ever seen a three-way switch in a
bathroom -
ever. *Nor is it likely to be gremlins rotating it 180 degrees just to
mess
with you.

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses and not zebras. *The most likely
explanation is just typical cheap manufacturing coupled with a harsh
environment.
*I've seen LOTs of 3 way switches in bathrooms. Mostly in on-suites -
but any bathroom with 2 doors.

Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. *No, wait, that's
not true. *Only in college dormitories with shared bathrooms - but that's
certainly not a typical residential environment. *(-:

It's still most likely to be a bad switch given its location (wet bathroom
on the side of the medicine cabinet) and the symptoms the OP described. *A
switch like that may not be well-sealed and after years of operation with
damp fingers crud may have made its way into the switch internals.

I'd be even more certain of a bad switch if the load was more than 25W - the
closer the switch is to something hot, the greater the chance for failure..
When I used to use 300W photofloods in the studio, the cheaper lamp holder
switches would fail with regularity - which is why I think it's a bad switch
from what the OP described. *Obviously the greater the current, the greater
the potential for corrosion and material failure.

I'll bet the "feel" of the switch has changed. *Whenever I've had a toggle
switch begin to enter a failure mode, the switch feels "sticky" or "mushy"
and doesn't have the right "snap" to it.

--
Bobby G.

"Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No,
wait, that's not true. Only in college dormitories with shared
bathrooms - but that's certainly not a typical residential
environment."

They are not all that uncommon.

Here are just a couple of the plans found via a Google search:

http://math.berkeley.edu/~whitney/ou...planbefore.gif
http://www.travelswithtrouble.com/pr..._sinks_v_3.jpg

DerbyDad03 wrote:

On Oct 16, 6:10*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
-snip-
Bobby G.

"Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No,
wait, that's not true. Only in college dormitories with shared
bathrooms - but that's certainly not a typical residential
environment."

They are not all that uncommon.

Here are just a couple of the plans found via a Google search:

http://math.berkeley.edu/~whitney/ou...planbefore.gif
http://www.travelswithtrouble.com/pr..._sinks_v_3.jpg


Pretty common actually in the big old barns of houses built in the
early 20th century in NY. And even more common in the older houses
that converted 'walk-in hall closets' to bathrooms.

Jim

In article ,
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

DerbyDad03 wrote:

On Oct 16, 6:10*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
-snip-
Bobby G.

"Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No,
wait, that's not true. Only in college dormitories with shared
bathrooms - but that's certainly not a typical residential
environment."

They are not all that uncommon.

Here are just a couple of the plans found via a Google search:

http://math.berkeley.edu/~whitney/ou...planbefore.gif
http://www.travelswithtrouble.com/pr.../clawfoot_with
_2_sinks_v_3.jpg


Pretty common actually in the big old barns of houses built in the
early 20th century in NY. And even more common in the older houses
that converted 'walk-in hall closets' to bathrooms.

Jim

Around here they've chopped up all the old "mansions" into four or five
apartments. I've seen several where access to a given bedroom is only
through another bedroom and then through the shared bathroom.

When I was in ninth grade, I drew a set of house plans with an indoor
swimming pool. I had one bathroom that had four doors: one from each of
the two changing rooms, one from the house, and one from the pool. The
shop teacher was Not Happy. He made me erase two of them.

On 10/17/2010 7:40 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
wrote:

On Oct 16, 6:10 am, "Robert wrote:
-snip-
Bobby G.

"Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No,
wait, that's not true. Only in college dormitories with shared
bathrooms - but that's certainly not a typical residential
environment."

They are not all that uncommon.

Here are just a couple of the plans found via a Google search:

http://math.berkeley.edu/~whitney/ou...planbefore.gif
http://www.travelswithtrouble.com/pr..._sinks_v_3.jpg


Pretty common actually in the big old barns of houses built in the
early 20th century in NY. And even more common in the older houses
that converted 'walk-in hall closets' to bathrooms.

Jim

Dirt-common late 60s to at least late 70s, for the kid bedroom wing.
Hall door, and a door to the BR on each side. The
lower-on-the-food-chain kids actually had to walk across the hall to go pee.

Given the obvious problems with kids of opposite genders once puberty
hits, the practice may have died out, and they only do hall doors now.

--
aem sends...

On Sun, 17 Oct 2010 11:55:51 -0400, aemeijers wrote:

On 10/17/2010 7:40 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
wrote:

On Oct 16, 6:10 am, "Robert wrote:
-snip-
Bobby G.

"Well, I've never seen a bathroom with two doors, either. No,
wait, that's not true. Only in college dormitories with shared
bathrooms - but that's certainly not a typical residential
environment."

They are not all that uncommon.

Here are just a couple of the plans found via a Google search:

http://math.berkeley.edu/~whitney/ou...planbefore.gif
http://www.travelswithtrouble.com/pr..._sinks_v_3.jpg


Pretty common actually in the big old barns of houses built in the
early 20th century in NY. And even more common in the older houses
that converted 'walk-in hall closets' to bathrooms.

Jim

Dirt-common late 60s to at least late 70s, for the kid bedroom wing.
Hall door, and a door to the BR on each side. The
lower-on-the-food-chain kids actually had to walk across the hall to go pee.

Given the obvious problems with kids of opposite genders once puberty
hits, the practice may have died out, and they only do hall doors now.

No, "Jack-n-Jill" bathrooms (shared bathroom between bedrooms) are quite
common now.

On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:58:05 -0400, Robert Green wrote:

[snip]

It's not very likely to be a hidden three-way switch because it's in a
bathroom. I don't think I've ever seen a three-way switch in a bathroom
- ever.

I have, in a bathroom with 2 doors and a switch by each door.

[snip]

--
69 days until The winter celebration (Saturday December 25, 2010
12:00:00 AM).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

"I don't believe in god because I don't believe in Mother Goose." --
Clarence Darrow

On Oct 16, 12:31*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,

*jeff_wisnia wrote:
He may have just turned the CRT upside down with the yoke attached to
it. That would have inverted the image just fine.

Theoretically possible. But anyone who knows enough about TVs to do
that, knows enough to rotate the yoke, which is 1000 times easier. He's
just having fantasies.

Besides, I doubt if the anode lead to the CRT would be long enough,
among other things.

Most anode are attached to the top off the tube...if turned USD the
wire would be more than enough!

On Oct 15, 2:40*pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Boothbay wrote:
On Oct 15, 9:41 am, Mikepier wrote:
On Oct 15, 8:55 am, Boothbay wrote:

I have a switch in bathroom that lights up my 25w florescent bulb.
For years I've used the up toggle switch to turn it on and down to
turn it off. Now, for the past week or so, its doing the reverse.
It won't turn on unless it turn it down. Is this possible? Its
really complicated to get at the switch cause its embedded into a
large medicine chest, and an old one at that...came with the house.

Sounds like you have a 3-way switch. Is there another switch
somewhere that controls the light? Maybe inside the medicine cabinet.
Look at your switch. Does it say "on" or "off" on it? If you don't,
most likely its a 3 way switch.

I am the author of this post and no its not a 3 way switch, I live
alone so no one else has tampered with it, its not loose, and it does
have a shaver? 2 prong outlet...

Somebody reversed your hot and neutral. Look outside around the circuit
breaker box for tampering, foot-prints, etc. Can you fashion a rudimentary
lathe?

Now we're stealing from "Galaxy Quest" satirizing "Star Trek"!

Bob-tx wrote:
"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:



i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case
open, turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and
placed it back on
a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the
pic upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know
anything about CRTs.

No you didn't. The wires on a yoke would not permit rotating the
yoke 180 degrees.
Upside down pic easily accomplished by swapping the vertical winding
wires. Also
make pic backwards by swapping the horizontal winding wires.

Bob-tx

it's simply amazing the number of internet people who were there looking
over my shoulder saying that i didn't do what i actually did some 20 years
ago.

there was (just) enough slack in all the wires to do this. i must have 25 of
these terminals on racks down the hall, if any of you experts would like to
come see how to do this.

On Oct 18, 2:43*pm, "chaniarts" wrote:
Bob-tx wrote:
"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:

i once (back in the days of dumb crt terminals) cracked the case
open, turned the crt display tube upside down, closed it up, and
placed it back on
a cow-orkers desk.

No you didn't. You heard about people rotating the yoke to turn the
pic upside down, and you co-opted the story but actually don't know
anything about CRTs.

No you didn't. *The wires on a yoke would not permit rotating the
yoke 180 degrees.
Upside down pic easily accomplished by swapping the vertical winding
wires. Also
make pic backwards by swapping the horizontal winding wires.

Bob-tx

it's simply amazing the number of internet people who were there looking
over my shoulder saying that i didn't do what i actually did some 20 years
ago.

there was (just) enough slack in all the wires to do this. i must have 25 of
these terminals on racks down the hall, if any of you experts would like to
come see how to do this.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You didn't do it!

Even if you showed us how you did it by doing it again on the exact
same model monitor, you still didn't do it.

We've made up our minds - don't try to convince us by using facts,
details or even live demonstrations.

So there.