I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

It's a story about a mains tester screw driver. The screw driver in
question had been dropped on to a hard floor from the top of a step ladder,
so the little neon lamp inside died when the fall broke its glass shell.
Everybody say Awww !!! But hope was at hand. Yeepee!!! A local supplier
could make the screw driver work again by putting a new neon lamp inside it.
Yeah !!!!

But the screw drivers owner was a cruel fellow, and told the supplier that
he wanted to fit the new neon lamp himself. Boooo !!!! So the supplier
didn't want to argue with this cruel man, and handed over the new neon lamp
with much haste.

Now, the story takes a lighter twist here, because the mains tester screw
driver had an all-in-one neon lamp and resistor unit inside when it was new
and shiny and working, the new neon lamp only came by itself without the
resistor. The cruel screw driver owner didn't care, he just wanted his
screw driver working again, so he could jam it in things to see if it made
the neon lamp light up. He was a vicious man indeed.

The new neon lamp was installed in the handle of the poor screw driver. The
metal cap was hammered back into the top of the handle. The screw driver
was all back together and ready for its first live test. You have to
remember that the new neon lamp didn't have a resistor supplied with it.
The scene was set, the drums rolled gently in the background.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back. The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work, before
you go trying to repair them".

The End.

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:07:12 GMT, "BigWallop"
strung together this:

I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back. The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work, before
you go trying to repair them".

Excellent!
Another moral is, "if you've bought some useless piece of crap that
was unreliable in the first place, don't bother repairing it".
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

BigWallop wrote:

story snipped

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back. The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

Thanks, enjoyed that.

David

(by the way, how's your back doing, BigW?) ;-)

"Lurch" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:07:12 GMT, "BigWallop"
strung together this:

I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the
first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back. The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work,
before
you go trying to repair them".

Excellent!
Another moral is, "if you've bought some useless piece of crap that
was unreliable in the first place, don't bother repairing it".


ROFL !!! My sentiments as well. :-)

Lurch wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:07:12 GMT, "BigWallop"
strung together this:

I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back. The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work, before
you go trying to repair them".

Excellent!
Another moral is, "if you've bought some useless piece of crap that
was unreliable in the first place, don't bother repairing it".

All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:
All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

I've got roughly 5 in switches etc and never had a failure. Two - one in
the cooker hood, and one in the cooker switch are on all the time. So that
says to me they're longer lasting than even fluorescents.

--
*Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 03 Jan 2005 16:50:26 GMT, Ian Stirling
strung together this:

All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

Well, if the neon was used as an indicator on a 240V supply then it
would be fine. The general theory behind using it as a test instrument
is the flaw with the neon screwdriver.
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
Lurch wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:07:12 GMT, "BigWallop"
strung together this:

I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the
first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back.
The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work,
before
you go trying to repair them".

Excellent!
Another moral is, "if you've bought some useless piece of crap that
was unreliable in the first place, don't bother repairing it".

All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

How do you rate plasma TVs then ? Not quite the same but ...

In article ,
Mike wrote:
How do you rate plasma TVs then ? Not quite the same but ...

Having watched one over Xmas - and having the opportunity to fiddle so it
was giving its best, not at all. Unless you really need the space.
Otherwise, stick to a CRT set.

--
*I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Lurch wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:07:12 GMT, "BigWallop"
strung together this:


I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back. The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work, before
you go trying to repair them".


Excellent!
Another moral is, "if you've bought some useless piece of crap that
was unreliable in the first place, don't bother repairing it".

I've been using neon screwdrivers for decades and find them very useful.
I'm rarely without one: mostly I use it for mechanical purposes (driving
slot-head and small cross-head screws and other less screwdriverey
purposes) but because I have it to hand it's my first-line mains tester.
I find it gives a reliable indication as long as you know that you have
to be touching the contact on the end for it to light up. I'm aware that
it may give false positives (e.g. lighting up on an unterminated
conductor from capacitive coupling from nearby live conductors) and
could give false negatives (the tester may have failed). For the latter
reason I make sure it lights up on a known live terminal before putting
too much trust in the absence of a indication on the cct under test. The
same (false +ves and false -ves) applies to high-impedance digital
multimeters, and any indicator will give false negatives if broken.

The moral, to extend on the OP's, is to understand how things work
before putting trust in them.

Lurch wrote:
On 03 Jan 2005 16:50:26 GMT, Ian Stirling
strung together this:

All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

Well, if the neon was used as an indicator on a 240V supply then it
would be fine. The general theory behind using it as a test instrument
is the flaw with the neon screwdriver.

Neon lights seem to die after a few decades, which is annoying.
On reflection, this may not be that much of a problem on a screwdriver.

In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:
All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

Well, if the neon was used as an indicator on a 240V supply then it
would be fine. The general theory behind using it as a test instrument
is the flaw with the neon screwdriver.

Neon lights seem to die after a few decades, which is annoying.

Possibly, but I'd hardly call that unreliable in light emitting device
terms. ;-)

On reflection, this may not be that much of a problem on a screwdriver.

Dunno if they are susceptible to dropping? Don't trust neon screwdrivers
anyway - never have.

--
*Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:
All neon lights are unreliable, almost by design.

Well, if the neon was used as an indicator on a 240V supply then it
would be fine. The general theory behind using it as a test instrument
is the flaw with the neon screwdriver.

Neon lights seem to die after a few decades, which is annoying.

Possibly, but I'd hardly call that unreliable in light emitting device
terms. ;-)

Well, most seem to die after that long, a significant proportion (IME) die
after a year or two, or go flickery.
LEDs (not cheap white or blue ones) are much more reliable, I can't think
of one power indicator LED in any bit of equipment I own that has failed.

I can think of 6 neons that have failed, or gone intermittent in items 2-30
years old. (most under 10)

On reflection, this may not be that much of a problem on a screwdriver.

Dunno if they are susceptible to dropping? Don't trust neon screwdrivers
anyway - never have.

Not very, unless the electrodes get bent together, or the glass cracks.

"John Stumbles" wrote in message
...
Lurch wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:07:12 GMT, "BigWallop"
strung together this:


I've just been reminded of a good story I'd like to share with you all.

The screw driver was presented to the live mains electricity for the
first
time with its new neon lamp installed and................BLAM !!!! The
cruel owner was flung off the top of the step ladder on to his back.
The
screw driver had got its revenge on its cruel owner at last.

The moral of the story is "Make sure you understand how things work,
before
you go trying to repair them".


Excellent!
Another moral is, "if you've bought some useless piece of crap that
was unreliable in the first place, don't bother repairing it".

I've been using neon screwdrivers for decades and find them very useful.
I'm rarely without one: mostly I use it for mechanical purposes (driving
slot-head and small cross-head screws and other less screwdriverey
purposes) but because I have it to hand it's my first-line mains tester.
I find it gives a reliable indication as long as you know that you have
to be touching the contact on the end for it to light up. I'm aware that
it may give false positives (e.g. lighting up on an unterminated
conductor from capacitive coupling from nearby live conductors) and
could give false negatives (the tester may have failed). For the latter
reason I make sure it lights up on a known live terminal before putting
too much trust in the absence of a indication on the cct under test. The
same (false +ves and false -ves) applies to high-impedance digital
multimeters, and any indicator will give false negatives if broken.

The moral, to extend on the OP's, is to understand how things work
before putting trust in them.

And what better for sticking into the terminals of a central heating wiring
box than a neon screwdriver. A multimeter needs two steadily held terminals
and usually a head turned 180 deg as shown by the girl on the exorcist to
see any clues as to the fault. A volt stick lights up as soon as you enter
the wiring box and is so unhelpful.

Neon testers do have a useful but limited purpose in life.

Adam