They don't test start under FL because they then wouldn't have any winners to nominate;-)
Another thing no one has mentioned is what I have found in "postmortem"s - the PS certified by the gov's lab barely resembles the PS mass-produced.
What I mean is that the PCB inside the PS will have silkscreens for many CRITICAL[*] components (like fuses, PTC's (to safely avoid the huge inrush current), filter capacitors, current-feedback transformers, MOV's, and especially the L-C filters on the inputs. I'm sure those were there for the tests for the government certifications - but they're NOT there when the product is on the market.
That's why I do NOT trust any PS donated to any test. Either the testers buy it themselves (without identifing their intentions) or it's royal Bull-Guano.
Cheers, Fil
P.S. Note that I am well aware of design changes and model differences. I am talking about very important components that are very often hobbled with some "hey-it-works" shortcuts (i.e. a wire jumper:-)
It's not your house - it's all the stuff IN your house. Worst offenders are generic PCs; specifically their case design (RFI/EMI-wise) is absolutely clueless
(e.g., see http://www.ac6v.com/comprfi.htm/ for theory and fixes). Second place is firmly held by very, very crappy power supplies that let all the noise OUT of the PC on the power buss (ie. into your wiring). Sam's very useful Notes on the Troubleshooting and Repair of Small Switchmode Power Supplies) will get you started with theory and what [often] goes wrong (disclosure: I'm his sidekick). But:
Pet Peeve: as soon as Name-Your-$14-PC-PS-Manufacturer gets their UL sticker (meaning they can start selling in the US!) the ENTIRE L-C filter from the input of the power supply PCB is shorted out with a series of jumpers. Right, the 120VAC wires go through the save-thy-ass fuse right into the rectifier! No caps, no chokes, nuthin'!
(Ok, so what do you expect from a $15 460W PS?) This allows all the noise on the power lines to enter the PC (and fry it - use a surge protector!) *AND* it allows all the noise IN the PC to escape back out and corrupt others (ie. your receiver, TV, etc.)
(See: http://cms-emc.web.cern.ch/cms-emc/pdffiles/PhDfil es/PS&filters.pdf section 3.2 Switching mode power supplies for a nice overview). Oh, yeah, and I'm *SURE* all of you have your grounded cable actually grounded, right?
I got a 250W ATX knock-off case for $29 that came with a PS included. Turned the PC on, *ALL* AM stations vanished! Right... I opened it up and shure enough, a jumper from fuse to rectifier. All caps to ground were missing as well (from various points in the circuit). A few moments with a soldering iron (jelly-bean components, salvaged from dead *quality* PSes) and you can't tell the PC is on by listening to AM dial. Day and night difference!
But, how do you later chop up the files? I'm glad you asked: I use a hacked version of text-only (yeah!) soundgrab. You can get my latest version from
http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/filipg/soundgrab/
My signal comes from a battery-powered (ie. avoids issues with 'corrupted power';) digital sony walkman, via a 20-odd foot coax cable to my PC. The further away your receiver is from the source of noice, the better off you are![*] Linux records it from a SoundBlaster Live! with rawrec to a wav file. I have a series of templates (.sg files) for different shows and just fudge them a bit then export to MP3. Piece of cake! I've done a bunch of Dave's shows that way (~700MB worth) for inclusion in a weakness of mine (don't worry, they get some equally-illegit music;).
Cheers
[*] "The solution to pollution is dilution" - Evil chemistry maxim applied to the wonderul and friendly world of RFI;-)
You're onto something profound. Let me give you a few quick observations on why MANY folks make over 40K (national average) yet have little to show for it except debts:
Folks like to lease or buy NEW cars. Go to http://www.kbb.com/ and compare a 2005 SUV with the same model from 2001. Right, after four (4) years, it's worth less than 50%. So, that "0% APR" you got wasn't actually 0, now was it. It's not as bad as Enron stock, but it's that great either. Hope you enjoy your car. I got a 3 year old car with 15K on it. I can't tell the difference. Paid cash so no payments (2001 Buick Century, paid $8K a yr ago).
Studies show that using plastic (Credit cards) causes you to spend more than paying cash. I know this is true for ME. It physically HURTS to spend those Franklins... My brain rapidly correlates each portait on those bill with the AMOUNT of work required to get them in the first place. I can swipe plastic all day and only worry about it in passing. Needless to say, we have $$$ in debit cards - which can be used as VISA. Haven't had a card payment in years.
Written budget is the only way you can tell your money where to go INSTEAD of worndering where it went. Go to http://www.daveramsey.com/ and download a few shows from archives and give a listen. Which brings me to my last point:
Most of those under 50 do NOT have money skills.
For their own use OR to teach to their kids. I grew up not learning anything about managing my money. I learned along the way the hard way. Can you say Discover? Can you say paycheck-to-paycheck. I knew you could. I haven't done that in about three (3) years. I sleep at night like a baby now.
Listen to Dave. He's on over 250 stations in the US and also on XM and Sirious (or however you spell that:)
Cheers,
Fil
P.S. I like the Baby Steps:
1000$ in cash - emergency fund + cut up cards
Write a written budget where you spend ALL money on paper before the month begins
While staying current with all debts, list them smallest to largest (except house), and attack smallest with a vengance. When it's paid off, apply its payment to next on the list until all paid off.
increase emergency fund to 3-6 months of living expenses
start paying off house/saving for house, saving 15% for retirement, etc.
You're onto something profound. Let me give you a few quick observations on why MANY folks make over 40K (national average) yet have little to show for it except debts:
Folks like to lease or buy NEW cars. Go to and compare a 2005 SUV with the same model from 2001. Right, after four (4) years, it's worth less than 50%. So, that "0% APR" you got wasn't actually 0, now was it. It's not as bad as Enron stock, but it's that great either. Hope you enjoy your car. I got a 3 year old car with 15K on it. I can't tell the difference. Paid cash so no payments (2001 Buick Century, paid $8K a yr ago).
Studies show that using plastic (Credit cards) causes you to spend more than paying cash. I know this is true for ME. It physically HURTS to spend those Franklins... My brain rapidly correlates each portait on those bill with the AMOUNT of work required to get them in the first place. I can swipe plastic all day and only worry about it in passing. Needless to say, we have $$$ in debit cards - which can be used as VISA. Haven't had a card payment in years.
Written budget is the only way you can tell your money where to go INSTEAD of worndering where it went. Go to and download a few shows from archives and give a listen. Which brings me to my last point:
Most of those under 50 do NOT have money skills.
For their own use OR to teach to their kids. I grew up not learning anything about managing my money. I learned along the way the hard way. Can you say Discover? Can you say paycheck-to-paycheck. I knew you could. I haven't done that in about three (3) years. I sleep at night like a baby now.
Listen to Dave. He's on over 250 stations in the US and also on XM and Sirious (or however you spell that:)
Cheers,
Fil
P.S. I like the Baby Steps:
1000$ in cash - emergency fund
Write a written budget where you spend ALL money on paper before the month begins
While staying current with all debts, list them smallest to largest (except house), and attack smallest with a vengance. When it's paid off, apply its payment to next on the list until all paid off.
increase emergency fund to 3-6 months of living expenses
start paying off house/saving for house, saving 15% for retirement, etc.
Slashdot Mirror
They don't test start under FL because they then wouldn't have any winners to nominate ;-)
:-)
Another thing no one has mentioned is what I have found in "postmortem"s - the PS certified by the gov's lab barely resembles the PS mass-produced.
What I mean is that the PCB inside the PS will have silkscreens for many CRITICAL[*] components (like fuses, PTC's (to safely avoid the huge inrush current), filter capacitors, current-feedback transformers, MOV's, and especially the L-C filters on the inputs. I'm sure those were there for the tests for the government certifications - but they're NOT there when the product is on the market.
That's why I do NOT trust any PS donated to any test. Either the testers buy it themselves (without identifing their intentions) or it's royal Bull-Guano.
Cheers,
Fil
P.S. Note that I am well aware of design changes and model differences. I am talking about very important components that are very often hobbled with some "hey-it-works" shortcuts (i.e. a wire jumper
It's not your house - it's all the stuff IN your house. Worst offenders are generic PCs; specifically their case design (RFI/EMI-wise) is absolutely clueless (e.g., see http://www.ac6v.com/comprfi.htm/ for theory and fixes). Second place is firmly held by very, very crappy power supplies that let all the noise OUT of the PC on the power buss (ie. into your wiring). Sam's very useful Notes on the Troubleshooting and Repair of Small Switchmode Power Supplies) will get you started with theory and what [often] goes wrong (disclosure: I'm his sidekick). But:
Pet Peeve: as soon as Name-Your-$14-PC-PS-Manufacturer gets their UL sticker (meaning they can start selling in the US!) the ENTIRE L-C filter from the input of the power supply PCB is shorted out with a series of jumpers. Right, the 120VAC wires go through the save-thy-ass fuse right into the rectifier! No caps, no chokes, nuthin'! (Ok, so what do you expect from a $15 460W PS?) This allows all the noise on the power lines to enter the PC (and fry it - use a surge protector!) *AND* it allows all the noise IN the PC to escape back out and corrupt others (ie. your receiver, TV, etc.) (See: http://cms-emc.web.cern.ch/cms-emc/pdffiles/PhDfil es/PS&filters.pdf section 3.2 Switching mode power supplies for a nice overview). Oh, yeah, and I'm *SURE* all of you have your grounded cable actually grounded, right?
I got a 250W ATX knock-off case for $29 that came with a PS included. Turned the PC on, *ALL* AM stations vanished! Right... I opened it up and shure enough, a jumper from fuse to rectifier. All caps to ground were missing as well (from various points in the circuit). A few moments with a soldering iron (jelly-bean components, salvaged from dead *quality* PSes) and you can't tell the PC is on by listening to AM dial. Day and night difference!
Don't feel bad if you never though of it, this guy obviously never did either... and he should have. http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/psus/index.x? pg=1
But, how do you later chop up the files? I'm glad you asked: I use a hacked version of text-only (yeah!) soundgrab. You can get my latest version from http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/filipg/soundgrab/
My signal comes from a battery-powered (ie. avoids issues with 'corrupted power' ;) digital sony walkman, via a 20-odd foot coax cable to my PC. The further away your receiver is from the source of noice, the better off you are![*] Linux records it from a SoundBlaster Live! with rawrec to a wav file. I have a series of templates (.sg files) for different shows and just fudge them a bit then export to MP3. Piece of cake! I've done a bunch of Dave's shows that way (~700MB worth) for inclusion in a weakness of mine (don't worry, they get some equally-illegit music ;).
Cheers
[*] "The solution to pollution is dilution" - Evil chemistry maxim applied to the wonderul and friendly world of RFI ;-)
You're onto something profound. Let me give you a few quick observations on why MANY folks make over 40K (national average) yet have little to show for it except debts:
Listen to Dave. He's on over 250 stations in the US and also on XM and Sirious (or however you spell that :)
Cheers,
Fil
P.S. I like the Baby Steps:
We're on #5. Started with #1. Try it! It works!
Listen to Dave. He's on over 250 stations in the US and also on XM and Sirious (or however you spell that :)
Cheers,
Fil
P.S. I like the Baby Steps:
We're on #5. Started with #1. Try it!