RFDesign Magazine article--Tayloe

[Winfield Hill]

Steve Kavanagh wrote...

I also went looking for the figures (pretty sure it was the same
article). Dan Tayloe was good enough to send me an earlier manuscript
- I think I found him on rec.radio.amateur.homebrew.

Could you post it on a.b.s.e.?

 

[Jim Thompson]

You are well known for your modesty, Jim

But he WAS too dumb. It was the Sample and Hold circuit done using
tri-stateable PECL.

...Jim Thompson

 

[Jim Thompson]

ISBN: 0070417237

Not on MY copy ;-)

Free to me because I was an author, but the flyleaf says $16.50.

...Jim Thompson

 

[Terry Given]

Not on MY copy ;-)

Free to me because I was an author, but the flyleaf says $16.50.

...Jim Thompson

I bought a hardcover version, US$3.95 about 6 hours ago

It'll go nicely with my collection of SEEC books. and others.

Any more bookshelf recommendations? I've gar(d)nered (sorry, couldnt
help that) all the PLL books you mentioned a while back, a worthwhile
exercise.

Cheers
Terry

 

[Andy]

Andy writes:

I've run into patent attorneys, as well as the USPO, that simply did
not
understand what was being described, so I can understand that Jim's
assertion ( while not eloquently stated :>))) ) might be valid.

Patent attorneys are lawyers, few are engineers, and NONE are
experienced design engineers. They became lawyers, in my opinion,
because they were not able to experience the elation that comes with
building something that actually works....... just an opinion tho....

My disclosures were far better documented and illustrated than the
normal, and I have had very very few requests for clarification. They
just
took my stuff, added about 2 pounds of redundant description that was,
to me,
pretty damn incomprehinsible, and submitted it to the USPO..... My
first
submission was the only one that has ever been denied.... but , to
this day,
I can't understand about 2/3 rds of the crap that the patent guy
submitted, or
the reason for it...... No matter, I still got my patent awards, and I
don't really
care if the next guy that reads it understood it or not --- he could
always call
me up for the real scoop.....

Patents are things you hang on an " I love ME" wall to stare at when
you
get depressed, or to send Xerox copies to Mom and Dad to show them that
you turned out OK in spite of their accusations of being the
Anti-Christ in your
teenage years......

Other than that, and maybe a few monetary rewards (if you are very
lucky and
some manager doesn't get them instead), I've found that patents don't
mean much.
I even stopped putting reference to them on my resumes.... It seems
that hiring
managers and HR weenies don't know a damn thing about it, and it makes
the
applicant look like an egomaniac anyway.....

So, my grandchildren may be suitably impressed someday, but I doubt
that
anyone else, except myself, will.....

:>))))) Andy

 

[Jim Thompson]

Andy writes:

I've run into patent attorneys, as well as the USPO, that simply did
not
understand what was being described, so I can understand that Jim's
assertion ( while not eloquently stated :>))) ) might be valid.

I was recently hired to oversee rework of a badly done design, because
I "was no nonsense, and go straight for the throat" ;-)

Patent attorneys are lawyers, few are engineers, and NONE are
experienced design engineers.

Actually, all of the patent attorneys at Motorola were educated first
as engineers... keeping in mind that this was 40 years ago.

[snip]

Patents are things you hang on an " I love ME" wall to stare at when
you
get depressed, or to send Xerox copies to Mom and Dad to show them that
you turned out OK in spite of their accusations of being the
Anti-Christ in your
teenage years......

Sno-o-o-o-ort! ROTFLMAO! Ain't that the truth ;-)

[snip]

So, my grandchildren may be suitably impressed someday, but I doubt
that
anyone else, except myself, will.....

:>))))) Andy

...Jim Thompson

 

[keith]

I was recently hired to oversee rework of a badly done design, because
I "was no nonsense, and go straight for the throat" ;-)

I did that fifteen years ago for a manager that I'd worked "next" to for
several years. My report wasn't pretty and the (incompetent) guy soon left
in a hissyfit. As an example, he had a byte-wide port on a "chip" (to be
named later) called "display". He had no clue that the display he'd
specified (an *old* HP LED matrix) and long cast into the product by the
mechanical guys, had a vertical bitwise serial interface and there was
nothing in the "chip" to do the conversions, much less the multiplexing of
that sort of power. I got it done, but it wasn't pretty (it got uglyer
after I accepted the job).

On the good side, I was allowed to do it right on the next system and had
a big hammer to beat the mechanical and human-factors people into line. ;-)

Actually, all of the patent attorneys at Motorola were educated first as
engineers... keeping in mind that this was 40 years ago.

They are in IBM too. In fact, I thought that was a requirement (relevant
science and law degree). The USPTO tends to hire newly minted engineers
though. They soon leave to make (much) more money on the other side.

[snip]

Patents are things you hang on an " I love ME" wall to stare at when
you
get depressed, or to send Xerox copies to Mom and Dad to show them that
you turned out OK in spite of their accusations of being the
Anti-Christ in your
teenage years......

Sno-o-o-o-ort! ROTFLMAO! Ain't that the truth ;-)

I think mine is in a box in the garage somewhere. Pay me the money.

I hear some employers find them interesting. Other than that, it's still
money. ;-)

 

[keith]

I prefer: "We all have our bears to cross!" ;-)

I *am* going to remember that one! Thanks.

BTW, you never answered me about the PC-for-vets thing. Your responder
said that you would get back, but needed time. Well! ;-)

 

[Steve Kavanagh]

Steve Kavanagh wrote...

Could you post it on a.b.s.e.?

Win, I think I had better not...he didn't give me permission to publish
it. And it was close enough to the RF Design version that they
wouldn't be too keen either.

Steve

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

I *am* going to remember that one! Thanks.

BTW, you never answered me about the PC-for-vets thing. Your responder
said that you would get back, but needed time. Well! ;-)

I apologize. There have been too many thing going on, and I missed a
few things. I started this week of with an electrical fire in my home,
and spent the week before dealing with the problem caused for my
church. I now understand why I have never seen a breaker box signed off
by an electrical contractor who is still in business around here. The
breaker box was mounted 20 inches from the floor in an outside wall of a
bedroom with no insulation around or behind it. That let moisture
condensed on the buss bars. Then, there was no "No-Ox" on the breaker
tabs so they corroded. I was expecting company in a couple weeks so I
turned on the air conditioner for the family room because it is rarely
used. 20 seconds later I heard a loud buzzing noise and limped to the
master bedroom to see flames coming out of the breaker box. I beat the
flames out with my hand so I could shut the main breaker off. The 20
Amp 240 AC breaker for the AC burnt, and one of the tabs to the buss bar
burnt off at the main breaker. I have power in one side of the house for
now, till they replace the box and some damaged wire. If I hadn't walked
to the other side of the house I wouldn't have heard the arcing, and
would have likely lost the whole house. Its a good thing that the
bastard who wired the house is already dead, because he would wish he
was before I was was finished dragging him through the court system. I
still haven't got the odor of burnt bakelite out of the house. Its a
good thing I spend most of my time in the cottage behind the house.


E-mail me at [email protected] for information on the
project, or take a look at http://home.earthlink.net/~computersforvets/
for some basic information. The site needs some work but every time I
sit down to work on it, something comes up to interfere with it.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[keith]

I apologize.

No need. I figured you were busy.

There have been too many thing going on, and I missed a
few things. I started this week of with an electrical fire in my home,
and spent the week before dealing with the problem caused for my
church. I now understand why I have never seen a breaker box signed off
by an electrical contractor who is still in business around here. The
breaker box was mounted 20 inches from the floor in an outside wall of a
bedroom with no insulation around or behind it. That let moisture
condensed on the buss bars. Then, there was no "No-Ox" on the breaker
tabs so they corroded. I was expecting company in a couple weeks so I
turned on the air conditioner for the family room because it is rarely
used. 20 seconds later I heard a loud buzzing noise and limped to the
master bedroom to see flames coming out of the breaker box. I beat the
flames out with my hand so I could shut the main breaker off. The 20
Amp 240 AC breaker for the AC burnt, and one of the tabs to the buss bar
burnt off at the main breaker. I have power in one side of the house for
now, till they replace the box and some damaged wire. If I hadn't walked
to the other side of the house I wouldn't have heard the arcing, and
would have likely lost the whole house. Its a good thing that the
bastard who wired the house is already dead, because he would wish he
was before I was was finished dragging him through the court system. I
still haven't got the odor of burnt bakelite out of the house. Its a
good thing I spend most of my time in the cottage behind the house.

Oh, my! Your luck could use some improvement! Al wire, without "No-Ox",
in FL? Yikes! I have a little Al wiring in my house (entrance and range)
and there is no No-Ox on the terminals, at least on the range. They look
clean, should I worry? I'll be pulling it all apart again in a couple of
weeks to replace the floor, so that would be a good time to inspect the
whole thing again.

E-mail me at [email protected] for information on the
project, or take a look at http://home.earthlink.net/~computersforvets/
for some basic information. The site needs some work but every time I
sit down to work on it, something comes up to interfere with it.

Thanks, I'll take a look when I get some time. I'll ask around to see if
there is any interest in such things here. I have friends in a local
VFW, where I've been invited to suck down a few brews in an hour or so. ;-)

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

No need. I figured you were busy.


Oh, my! Your luck could use some improvement! Al wire, without "No-Ox",
in FL? Yikes! I have a little Al wiring in my house (entrance and range)
and there is no No-Ox on the terminals, at least on the range. They look
clean, should I worry? I'll be pulling it all apart again in a couple of
weeks to replace the floor, so that would be a good time to inspect the
whole thing again.


Thanks, I'll take a look when I get some time. I'll ask around to see if
there is any interest in such things here. I have friends in a local
VFW, where I've been invited to suck down a few brews in an hour or so. ;-)

It was all copper wire that burnt in the breaker box. Now there
isn't enough left to hook some things back up until new wire is pulled.
I refused to allow them to put a hidden junction box under the crawl
space where I can't physically inspect it, and I don't like splices
right at a "Romex" clamp.. The house had two boxes, a breaker box and a
fuse box. The main fuse box was replaced five years ago, and the box
that replaced it has enough spare spaces for the other circuits. The new
box is fed from the one that burnt, so the main breaker was replaced
with a 50 amp lower in the box. Till the repairs are finished I won't
have central air conditioning, or lights in three rooms. It may be fall
before I have the money to pay for the rest of the work.

As far as the "No-Ox", it doesn't hurt. Any aluminum wire needs to
be re-tightened from time to time, and the "No-Ox" helps prevent the
aluminum from forming an insulating layer that will heat up as the
aluminum cold flows in the clamp or lug.

The fuse box in the detached four car garage was mounted eight inches
from the floor in the center of a side wall. It was replaced when the
fuse box in the house was replaced. It is three feet inside the door
now, and at eye level with most of the "Romex" wiring replaced with
EMT. Its obvious there was never a spark there, because the previous
owner was a "Florida snow bird" who let her friends store their cars for
the summer.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Jim Thompson]

[snip]

Oh, my! Your luck could use some improvement! Al wire, without "No-Ox",
in FL? Yikes! I have a little Al wiring in my house (entrance and range)
and there is no No-Ox on the terminals, at least on the range. They look
clean, should I worry? I'll be pulling it all apart again in a couple of
weeks to replace the floor, so that would be a good time to inspect the
whole thing again.

[snip]

I bought a new house in 1969. ALL wiring was aluminum since we were
in the midst of a multi-year-long copper-workers strike.

A few years later we had a receptacle fire. Fortunately I was home.

Until then I had no idea that aluminum wire was problematic.

So I disassembled EVERY joint in the house, applied sandpaper and then
No-Ox.

Never had another problem. Lived in that house for 25 years.

...Jim Thompson

 

[Keith Williams]

[snip]

Oh, my! Your luck could use some improvement! Al wire, without "No-Ox",
in FL? Yikes! I have a little Al wiring in my house (entrance and range)
and there is no No-Ox on the terminals, at least on the range. They look
clean, should I worry? I'll be pulling it all apart again in a couple of
weeks to replace the floor, so that would be a good time to inspect the
whole thing again.

[snip]

I bought a new house in 1969. ALL wiring was aluminum since we were
in the midst of a multi-year-long copper-workers strike.

A few years later we had a receptacle fire. Fortunately I was home.

Until then I had no idea that aluminum wire was problematic.

So I disassembled EVERY joint in the house, applied sandpaper and then
No-Ox.

Never had another problem. Lived in that house for 25 years.

Our house was built in '86 (by a moron, but that's another issue).
I've heard the No-Ox thing two ways. If Al-Cu (or whatever they're
called) are used, and that's what's in there, then No-Ox isn't
required. ...and of course the opposite. I'll be taking the outlet
box apart when I replace the floor, so I can use the No-Ox then, if
it's recommended (and of course the other end too). I pulled it apart
when I replaced the range a couple of years ago and everything looked
good, so I left it be then.

 

[Jim Thompson]

[email protected] says... [snip]

I bought a new house in 1969. ALL wiring was aluminum since we were
in the midst of a multi-year-long copper-workers strike.

A few years later we had a receptacle fire. Fortunately I was home.

Until then I had no idea that aluminum wire was problematic.

So I disassembled EVERY joint in the house, applied sandpaper and then
No-Ox.

Never had another problem. Lived in that house for 25 years.

Our house was built in '86 (by a moron, but that's another issue).
I've heard the No-Ox thing two ways. If Al-Cu (or whatever they're
called) are used, and that's what's in there, then No-Ox isn't
required. ...and of course the opposite. I'll be taking the outlet
box apart when I replace the floor, so I can use the No-Ox then, if
it's recommended (and of course the other end too). I pulled it apart
when I replaced the range a couple of years ago and everything looked
good, so I left it be then.

Usually range connections are under heavy compression, so they should
be OK.

...Jim Thompson

 

[keith]

[email protected] says... [snip]

I bought a new house in 1969. ALL wiring was aluminum since we were
in the midst of a multi-year-long copper-workers strike.

A few years later we had a receptacle fire. Fortunately I was home.

Until then I had no idea that aluminum wire was problematic.

So I disassembled EVERY joint in the house, applied sandpaper and then
No-Ox.

Never had another problem. Lived in that house for 25 years.

Our house was built in '86 (by a moron, but that's another issue).
I've heard the No-Ox thing two ways. If Al-Cu (or whatever they're
called) are used, and that's what's in there, then No-Ox isn't
required. ...and of course the opposite. I'll be taking the outlet
box apart when I replace the floor, so I can use the No-Ox then, if
it's recommended (and of course the other end too). I pulled it apart
when I replaced the range a couple of years ago and everything looked
good, so I left it be then.

Usually range connections are under heavy compression, so they should
be OK.

That's what I thought, but others have said otherwise. The last time I
pulled it all apart everything was *clean*. If it was clean after 15+
years, I didn't thing it was a major problem. Thanks.