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| Woodworking (rec.woodworking) Discussion forum covering all aspects of working with wood. All levels of expertise are encouraged to particiapte. |
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#42
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
"Silvan" wrote in message ... Edwin Pawlowski wrote: the town line both sell at the same price but one if full service. When I can get a 5% discount for doing it myself, I'll start to use them. Must be a Yankee thing. I haven't seen a full-service gas station in years. I didn't know they still existed. By full service, I mean they pump it for you. Few if any, will check the oil and wash the windshield like the Texaco Stars did years ago. Massachusetts allows the fire marshal of each town decide if its citizens are competent enough to pump gas safely. The entire state of New Jersey is full serve. If I was truly saving money, I'd say OK, but I see proof that gas can be sold with an attendant for the same price as me freezing my (insert favorite body part here) off in the winter. Ed |
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#43
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
In article ,
says... Silvan wrote: Edwin Pawlowski wrote: the town line both sell at the same price but one if full service. When I can get a 5% discount for doing it myself, I'll start to use them. Must be a Yankee thing. I haven't seen a full-service gas station in years. I didn't know they still existed. Some states have determined that their residents aren't competent enough to pump their own gasoline. Oregon New Jersey Parts of Mass. Any arguments with their logic? How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
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#44
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Mark & Juanita wrote:
Some states have determined that their residents aren't competent enough to pump their own gasoline. Oregon New Jersey Parts of Mass. Any arguments with their logic? How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? That obviously confirms how bright those of us living outside of those states are. -- Alex Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email. |
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#45
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
In article , Edwin Pawlowski
wrote: When I can get a 5% discount for doing it myself, I'll start to use them. We buy all our gas at the local Federated Co-op. Full serve, and when I get my patronage cheque every June, I save about 2.5 cents a litre. Same pump price as the self serve down the block and the full serve station across the street. Cost me $10, 9 years ago, to become a Co-op member. djb -- There are no socks in my email address. "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" |
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#46
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Anyone want to lay odds on whether Godwin's Law comes into play in this
thread? djb -- There are no socks in my email address. "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" |
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#47
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
On 16-Oct-2003, Mark & Juanita wrote:
How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? I was consulting for an oil company earlier this year and got to watch a video from a service station taken the day before. Self serve dispensers are not allowed to have locking (i.e always on) nozzles. A woman in a van managed to jam one open and got back into her vehicle to wait. It overflowed and when she got out and touched the nozzle, the whole thing went up. I joked (not appreciated by the boss) that she must have jammed it open with a cigarette lighter. Actually, it was probably static. It does happen. And some folks are stupid enough to override the safety features. Mike |
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#48
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
In article e.rogers.com, "Michael Daly" wrote:
On 16-Oct-2003, Mark & Juanita wrote: How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? I was consulting for an oil company earlier this year and got to watch a video from a service station taken the day before. Self serve dispensers are not allowed to have locking (i.e always on) nozzles. Maybe where you live... and apparently you don't travel much. I live in Indiana, and travel frequently to Michigan, and occasionally to Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, Florida, and Ontario Canada. I can't remember the last time I used a self-serve pump that did *not* have a locking nozzle. And no, I'm not getting old enough that my memory is failing. :-) -- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com) |
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#49
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
"Michael Daly" wrote:
On 16-Oct-2003, Mark & Juanita wrote: How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? I was consulting for an oil company earlier this year and got to watch a video from a service station taken the day before. Self serve dispensers are not allowed to have locking (i.e always on) nozzles. Maybe in some jurisdictions, but some of us live in areas where people are even bright enough to be able to handle the locking nozzles. A woman in a van managed to jam one open and got back into her vehicle to wait. It overflowed and when she got out and touched the nozzle, the whole thing went up. I joked (not appreciated by the boss) that she must have jammed it open with a cigarette lighter. When I find an occasional station without the locking nozzle, I jam it open with the gas cap. About the right size, and makes sure I don't forget to put the gas cap back on. I've had one overflow in all these years. Good reminder about static, though. Actually, it was probably static. It does happen. And some folks are stupid enough to override the safety features. If you are calling a disabled pump (i.e., defeated locking nozzle) a safety feature, then you must be calling all gas station attendants who use locking nozzles stupid? Even more reason to pump your own. -- Alex Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email. |
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#50
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Trent© wrote:
Exactly. Its an over-or-short of a cash register. This one happens to be unmanned. HD...or the clerk, depending on their company policy...will be responsible for any shortage. Any overages over the year offset these kinds of shortages. If it was change left by the previous customer, it is not an overage or shortage of the register. The register did exactly what it was supposed to do. The money belongs to the customer that left it or the next person to pick it up (depending on how you look at it). It definitely does not belong to the BORG. -- Donnie Vazquez Sunderland, MD |
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#51
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Trent© wrote:
knows to have been lost or mislaid or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or amount of the property Not a lawyer (thank goodness) either, but I suspect the Maine law also must have some clause in it that would require said property to have some means of identifying the rightful owner. i.e. if one finds a But this money wasn't found laying on the street. It was found in a cash dispenser which is owned by HD. The money belongs to HD...to be dispersed as per their company policy. One point I think everyone misses in this is that the money isn't owned by HD, by Joe Hapless, by the OP or anyone else. It's owned by the US Treasury. They just let us hold onto some of it for awhile before it goes home to be destroyed and recycled. -- Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621 http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/ |
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#52
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
The reason I don't patronize the self-checkouts at HD and my local
grocery stores is twofold: a) I'm not as fast and accurate as the checker, and b) self-service checkout stands take away jobs. With jobs disappearing as fast as the U.S. budget surplus I don't think it's a very good idea to facilitate the process. Besides, why should I have to do the work when I don't get a discount? |
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#53
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Mark & Juanita wrote in message ws.com...
In article , says... Silvan wrote: Edwin Pawlowski wrote: the town line both sell at the same price but one if full service. When I can get a 5% discount for doing it myself, I'll start to use them. Must be a Yankee thing. I haven't seen a full-service gas station in years. I didn't know they still existed. Some states have determined that their residents aren't competent enough to pump their own gasoline. Oregon New Jersey Parts of Mass. Any arguments with their logic? How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? I hate having to fill up in self-serve states. Here in NJ, there have been a few pushes in the past (mostly by the oil companies) to get NJ to change the law prohibiting self serve. But it's been at least 15 years since they tried. I think this is because they discovered that it doesn't save them any money, and may actually end up costing money. Don't believe me? Most gas stations around here employ 1 or 2 people at any given time to man the pumps. They usually have 6 or 8 pumps, that may or may not have a roof over the top to protect them from the elements. Most self-serve stations I have been to in other states STILL employ 1 or 2 people at any given time, PLUS they have AT LEAST 8 pumps, sometimes 12, 16 or 20, usually much newer and cleaner WITH a room overhead. The roof and the newer facilities are to attract customers who don't want to be out in the rain pumping gas with dirty pump nozzles. They still need someone inside to take the money, BUT since customers pumping their own gas are slower than a station attendant pumping gas, they need more pumps, they need the roof, they need to maintain the pumps better - all this cost them money AND you still have to get out of your car when it is cold and get your hands smelly to pump your own gas. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. -Chris |
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#54
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#55
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Doug Miller wrote:
In article , (Chris) wrote: customers pumping their own gas are slower than a station attendant pumping gas This is just silly. The time it takes to stick the nozzle in the tank is insignificant, compared to the time it takes for the pump to deliver fifteen or twenty gallons of gas. Plus, it takes a *lot* more time to pay an attendant, than it does to just swipe a MasterCard in the pump. I try to buy all my gas at stations with credit-card pumps because it saves so much time. Have you ever been in "the line" to get gas at Costco? Usually it's some really sloooow person who pulls up, futzes around in their cab for a few minutes, comes to the pump and then fishes for their card, reads the pump directions over several times, places the card in the slot all four possible directions before getting it right, wonder why no gas dispenses and then proceeds to re-read directions, etc. etc. etc. But you are correct otherwise, pay at the pump is so much more convenient that dealing with cashiers and lines inside... -Bruce -- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com) -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
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#56
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Greetings and Salutations...
In the spirit of contributing to "topic rot"... On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:00:25 -0400, Trent© wrote: *snip* Now...more than likely, this thread will go on to talk about jam...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good! Hear! Hear! One of my FAVORITE things while growing up was a thick slice of homemade bread, still warm from the oven, slathered with a little butter and a LOT of Quince Jam. Talk about one of the few bright spots! Regards Dave Mundt |
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#57
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
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#58
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Trent© wrote:
Now...more than likely, this thread will go on to talk about jam...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good! We finally got a Krispy Kreme store. Krispy Kreme raspberry filled.... Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... Why do I fear that the two inches I've shed in my waist are about to come back? -- Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621 http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/ |
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#59
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
"David Chamberlain" wrote in message ...
"Leslie Gossett" wrote in message hlink.net... Its not a theft. Someone left it there. It belongs to the person that found it. Actually, in Maine, it is a crime. Title 17A Section 356 - Theft of lost, mislaid or mistakenly delivered property A person is guilty of theft if: He obtains or exercises control over the property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or amount of the property is also a crime to speed in Maine. Do you EVER do that? Dave Hall |
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#60
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
"Trent©" wrote in message and when she got out and touched the nozzle, the whole thing went up. I joked (not appreciated by the boss) that she must have jammed it open with a cigarette lighter. Actually, it was probably static. It does happen. And some folks are stupid enough to override the safety features. Mike What city and state did this happen in, Mike. I'd like to look it up. Trent I saw this on our news in CT. It did not happen here but they made a big deal about getting back into the car and getting out to take the filler out. Women are more prone to do static because of the stocking they wear. They also got into filling gas cans in the back of a pickup as fumes can collect there, just like when you fuel a boat. I once picked up a nozzle from the pump, hit the start button and had gas spew out as the previous user jammed the handle in the "on" position. No damage, but it did stink from the spill. As for the latch device, I know some states do not permit them, but a station in my town just got all new hoses and nozzles and they all have the latch. That is one reason I like that station. There pumps also have a higher capacity than many of the newer self serve models. Keeping this on topic, I filled the tank so I could drive to the lumber yard to buy some wood. Ed |
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#61
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Trent© wrote:
On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 09:49:51 -0400, Donnie Vazquez wrote: Trent© wrote: Exactly. Its an over-or-short of a cash register. This one happens to be unmanned. HD...or the clerk, depending on their company policy...will be responsible for any shortage. Any overages over the year offset these kinds of shortages. If it was change left by the previous customer, it is not an overage or shortage of the register. The register did exactly what it was supposed to do. The money belongs to the customer that left it or the next person to pick it up (depending on how you look at it). It definitely does not belong to the BORG. Tell us exactly how you know the machine didn't malfunction. I don't. Hence the word IF. You know, the VERY FIRST WORD in my post. Re-read and try again you smug prick :-) -- Donnie Vazquez Sunderland, MD |
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#62
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
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#63
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Silvan wrote in
: Edwin Pawlowski wrote: Must be a Yankee thing. I haven't seen a full-service gas station in years. I didn't know they still existed. Stay away from New Jersey then. Crazy legislators think people are too dumb to pump their own gas. (It's illegal) NJBrad |
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#64
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 19:41:07 -0400, "Jim Helfer"
wrote: You know, _Pride_ used to be the worst Sin. From the Fifth Century B.C.E. we have the warnings of the Greek's about Hubris which became codified by Pope Gregory in the Fifth Century C.E. as Pride and so on to Shakespeare's warnings in the tragedies a thousand years later, so on to Raskolnikov and Dostoevsky's portrait of the self absorbtion that must become madness. The common thread is that Pride is the progenitor of the notion that the other is as nothing in comparison to the self and that it can be objectified to the point where there is no obligation to acknowledge the other as part of the same world that the self inhabits. This thinking allows the Hubrist to violate the commonly held beliefs of the society that he dwells in, at his whim, when it is these commonly held beliefs which describe society, and their violation is the basis of Sociopathy. The primacy of Pride in the order of the Deadly Sins is not a mere description of its position in a numerical order but is rather a call to recognize it as the basis for all of the other sins. It is then Pride which allows someone to claim as his own that which does not belong to him, in violation of any concept of morality that has been expressed in Western Culture for at least twenty five hundred years. Seen in this way, this taking is not a small act. Although the sum may be small, the implications are vast. Should we teach our children that stealing a small sum is of small consequence or should we teach them that stealing is wrong? Regards, Tom Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania http://users.snip.net/~tjwatson |
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#65
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
The self service only works for me when the only cashier has 10 people in
line and the self serve is empty. I hate standing in line to give some one my money. |
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#66
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
So you say it works with any brand fuel as long as it is pay at the pump??
Cool.. wrote in message news:nFCjb.78346$sp2.40394@lakeread04... Edwin Pawlowski wrote: the town line both sell at the same price but one if full service. When I can get a 5% discount for doing it myself, I'll start to use them. Then get a AAA Platinum Plus Visa. You get 5% of each pay at the pump gas transaction rebated to the account with 48 hours. It only works for pay at the pump transactions, but it works at all brands. :-) |
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#67
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
alexy wrote:
Boy, this is going downhill fast! Anybody tried any of that Kentucky Jelly? g Yes. -- Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621 http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/ |
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#68
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Silvan wrote in rec.woodworking
alexy wrote: Boy, this is going downhill fast! Anybody tried any of that Kentucky Jelly? g Yes. Can't go wrong with some jalapeno jelly. -- To E-mail me, you know what to do. |
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#69
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:28:06 -0400, Tom Watson wrote:
[snip] Should we teach our children that stealing a small sum is of small consequence or should we teach them that stealing is wrong? Apparently, the lessons of the late '90's concerning moral relativism in pervarication have spilled over to ownership :-( -Doug |
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#70
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Mark & Juanita wrote: In article , says... Silvan wrote: Edwin Pawlowski wrote: the town line both sell at the same price but one if full service. When I can get a 5% discount for doing it myself, I'll start to use them. Must be a Yankee thing. I haven't seen a full-service gas station in years. I didn't know they still existed. Some states have determined that their residents aren't competent enough to pump their own gasoline. Oregon New Jersey Parts of Mass. Any arguments with their logic? How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- Whoa! Quoting facts is not allowed! Best to state supposition, if you want to remain in the game. |
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#71
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
In article ,
says... On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 21:03:23 GMT, Mark & Juanita wrote: In article 3uLjb.357433$Lnr1.267559 , says... On 16-Oct-2003, Mark & Juanita wrote: How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? I was consulting for an oil company earlier this year and got to watch a video from a service station taken the day before. Self serve dispensers are not allowed to have locking (i.e always on) nozzles. A woman in a van managed to jam one open and got back into her vehicle to wait. It overflowed and when she got out and touched the nozzle, the whole thing went up. I joked (not appreciated by the boss) that she must have jammed it open with a cigarette lighter. Actually, it was probably static. It does happen. And some folks are stupid enough to override the safety features. Self serve dispensers here in AZ are allowed to have locking nozzles. However, the nozzles must be self-shutoff when they sense back pressure (seems a more elegant solution than making folks -- especially older folks who may have arthritis or other ailments) have to hold a nozzle on while the car fills. The automatic shutoffs often do not work. I've personally gotten a gasoline bath at least a half dozen times...while holding the handle down. Then you must pump gas from some pretty poorly maintained places. In the past 25 years since self-serve became the vogue, I can remember only one time when the cutoff didn't work, and that was only after it had activated once and I was trying to get the numbers to come out to a currency round number. I suspect that the local fire marshal would shut down a place rather quickly were it found that its automated cutoffs were inoperative; that's a hazard whether you are forcing people to get cramps in their hands in the freezing cold while being forced to act like metal stops or whether you have metal stops holding the nozzle open. |
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#72
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
In article ,
Trent© wrote: The automatic shutoffs often do not work. I've personally gotten a gasoline bath at least a half dozen times...while holding the handle down. I've never had this happen. I've been using self-serve in Calif since they became popular, however long that's been. I started driving in 1970, got my first car in 1972. -- Mike Iglesias Email: University of California, Irvine phone: 949-824-6926 Network & Academic Computing Services FAX: 949-824-2069 |
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#73
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
Trent© wrote:
Its always aggravating when a guy wants to get another 22¢ into his tank...at stop-and-go and slow speed. This is something else I don't get. I've *never* waited in line for gas. On a rare day when every pump is in use, there's no one at the place up the street that's one cent more expensive. I've rarely waited in line for diesel for that matter. I try to plan my fuel stops so that I have the option to bail and get fuel later if there's a wait. I hate waiting. -- Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621 http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/ |
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#74
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#75
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:18:57 GMT, Mark & Juanita
wrote: How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? Discovery Channel's 'Mythbusters' just recently ran a show testing to see if a cel phone could blow up a gas station [I've seen gas stations that even have official looking signs 'turn phones off']. After several failed attempts with both cel phones /and/ static sparks, they found that it takes a REALLY exact mixture of oxygen and gas fumes to spark a fire. And cel phones CANNOT start one, even under perfect laboratory conditions. They also found out that women are 8x more likely then men to get back into the car while fueling, then spark a fire with static. But they concluded that it would be a very rare occurence, because of the precise mixture required to ignite from a static spark. They had to use a high power leyden jar to set off their earlier tests. Ironically, this came up on Oprah a few days later, where they made it into an incredibly big deal. Some idiot 'expert' also said that it was possible for cel phones to spark a fire. Guess which show more people watch? This is just as bad as all the urban legends that wind up in Dear Abby as 'true'... Make sure you spread the word - cel phones will NOT blow up a gas station. Other random things: Tanning salons cannot microwave you, microwaves won't 'explode' if metal is put into them, microwaves /can/ make 'explosive' water, but only if you use distilled, a penny dropped off the Empire State Building won't kill anyone, |
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#76
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#77
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Interspersed...
On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 04:46:04 GMT, Mark & Juanita wrote: In article , says... Trent© wrote: Its always aggravating when a guy wants to get another 22¢ into his tank...at stop-and-go and slow speed. This is something else I don't get. I've *never* waited in line for gas. On a rare day when every pump is in use, there's no one at the place up the street that's one cent more expensive. I'm not sure what world the copylefted Trent lives in. In my world, I have yet to see an automatic cutoff not work on initial fill (only time I've seen it happen was when continuing to fill after the pump cutoff), nor have I encountered any gas pumps anywhere that don't allow one to continue filling after the initial cutoff -- there are times when this is not just to round out the sale but because the cutoff works prematurely and there are many more gallons before the tank is actually full. Also, I've never seen anyone take that much time pumping a few cents extra to round out the sale -- I see much more time with fumbling with credit cards, adjusting the hair before moving the car, etc. Just the other day I had the cutoff initiate immediately; seems I have to back the nozzle out just a bit or the backflow initiates the cutoff. Not very practical to have the pump shut down immediately upon cutoff. Not to mention, situating the kids back in their car seats - why do they need to get out while you take five minutes to fill up the tank. I've rarely waited in line for diesel for that matter. I try to plan my fuel stops so that I have the option to bail and get fuel later if there's a wait. I hate waiting. Lines are a hassle I put up with when the price is 20¢ less a gallon - that's the difference around here between BJ's (or its ilk) gas and the regular stations. Up in PA, the difference isn't so staggering (~5¢), but the lines are shorter so it balances out. Me too. However, in my area (Tucson) the difference is on the order of a dime, except at Arco that doesn't take credit cards, thus one either has to mess with their cash eater or have to pre-pay to pump. Only thing I hate worse than waiting is having to pre-pay to pump gas. I avoid prepay like the plague. You gotta run in and give the cashier some money, run out fill the tank, run in and get change - and have to wait in line each time. The credit card (debit, etc.) at the tank are great. Renata smart, not dumb for email |
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#78
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
In article ,
dicko wrote: On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 06:08:58 GMT, (Xane "MegaWolf" T.) wrote: On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:18:57 GMT, Mark & Juanita wrote: How about the fact that self-serve gas stations in the other 47 states aren't going up in impressive balls of flame with any regularity? Discovery Channel's 'Mythbusters' just recently ran a show testing to see if a cel phone could blow up a gas station [I've seen gas stations that even have official looking signs 'turn phones off']. After several failed attempts with both cel phones /and/ static sparks, they found that it takes a REALLY exact mixture of oxygen and gas fumes to spark a fire. And cel phones CANNOT start one, even under perfect laboratory conditions. Just to set the record straight, like all legends, there is (was) a grain of truth to this. In the old days (we're talking before the invention transistors here), 2-way radios were built in two parts, a control head that mounted under the dashboard, and a radio unit, that mounted in the trunk. These radios were big clunky tube things that used many hundreds of volts to generate their RF, and were often mounted near the gas tank filler tube of the car. *AND* the vacuum tubes usually got the required 'high voltage', from a device called a 'dynamotor'. Think of a 12-VDC *BRUSH*TYPE* motor driving a generator that produced several hundred volts. Usually there was near-continuous arcing going on at the dynamotor brushes, *regardless* of whether you were in transmit or receive. Switching from receive to transmit did two things. First it switched the high voltage to the transmitter with an open (un-enclosed) relay contact that often times arced horribly (think massive spark). Second, it switched the antenna wire from the receiver to transmitter (again with a massive spark). So now you have all the conditions for a good explosion: 1. enclosed space (the trunk) 2. ignition source (the sparking relay) 3. proximity to fuel (leaking filler tube) And as I recall, all the 2-way radio user manuals of the time cautioned about filling up and transmitting at the same time. YUP. These were also relatively _high_power_ transmitters -- 50 watt, 100 watt, or even more. there was a non-trivial risk of a 'random' piece of metal(anywhere _near_ the transmitting antenna) acting as a -receiving- antenna with enough efficiency to generate enough voltage to jump a relatively small distance to 'ground'. That big bumper-mount antenna was only a foot or so away from where the gas fumes were pouring out of the gas tank. Not a _probable occurrence, but the 'downside risk' was "bad enough" to justify 'unreasonable precautions' to avoid it. However, nowadays, with today's modern solid state, low voltage electronics, all switching is either done by hermetically enclosed reed switches or by solid state switches so there is no possibility of getting an arc to ignite gas fumes. The -other- risks, of stray RF pickup/rectification, and jumping to ground do remain. *Virtually* non-existent, however due to the much, *MUCH* lower power levels used -- modern cell-phones transmit with 0.6 watts _maximum_, and as much *less* than that as will suffice to maintain communications. (the cell tower actually 'tells' the phone to reduce power, till its at the 'minimum' effective level.  Not to mention the fact that a cellphone doesnt have an antenna switch since it's full duplex. I think the first 2-way radio with hermetically sealed relays first shipped in 1970 (Motorola Micor) but many poorly funded police departments and cab companies continued using the old equipment well into the '80s so it wasnt all that long ago that a car could still blow up. So yes, it's an urban myth today and deserves to be roundly debunked, but at one time it really was possible to blow up a car simply by talking on your radio. But this is way way off topic now... It is *still* a concern, for vehicles running 'higher power" business-band (or other, e.g. "ham") 2-way radio systems, . It is only cell-phone technology where it is a true non-issue. as noted, getting _way_ off-topic. |
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
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Extra cash at HD automated checkup
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:43:48 GMT, (Lawrence
Wasserman) pixelated: In article , Rico wrote: ...Previous quote snipped...: Some states have determined that their residents aren't competent enough to pump their own gasoline. Oregon New Jersey Parts of Mass. Any arguments with their logic? Yeah, how come Florida isn't included? FL notwithstanding, competence isn't the issue. We don't have to soil our hands with gasoline in Oregon, either. And the guys at Albertson's Express Gas don't accept tips. I like it. ---- - Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it? - http://diversify.com Web Applications |
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