From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Oct 21 17:11:15 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.6) id i9LLBEJ02969; Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:11:15 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:11:15 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200410212111.i9LLBEJ02969@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #504 TELECOM Digest Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:11:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 504 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson SBC Communications Reports Strong Third-Quarter Results, (Monty Solomon) AT&T Announces Third-Quarter 2004 Earnings (Monty Solomon) Online Intrusion Risks Large Identity Cache (Monty Solomon) XM Satellite Radio Confirms Deal With MLB (Monty Solomon) Multi-link SR3 and Caller ID? (Richard Coutts) Who Carries TV Signals and Long Distance - Today? (Lisa Hancock) Yet Another Telco Tax Proposed (Danny Burstein) Re: Old Stock Quotation Things? (Reed) Re: Old Stock Quotation Things? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Privacy Eroding, Bit by Byte (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Vonage Upgrades Local Unlimited Calling Plan to Premium (Dave Close) Re: Help Me Identify/Repair/Replace a Power Transformer (Bruce Bergman) Re: Help Me Identify/Repair/Replace a Power Transformer (Juan A. Monico) Re: Help Me Identify/Repair/Replace a Power Transformer (palee@riteaid) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 09:26:41 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: SBC Communications Reports Strong Third-Quarter Results, Accelerates DSL Gains, Delivers Second Consecutive Quarter of Revenue Growth SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2004--SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC): -- Reported third-quarter earnings of $0.63 per diluted share, $0.38 per diluted share from continuing operations -- Wireline revenues up 1.7 percent, consumer wireline revenues up 2.8 percent -- Average monthly revenues per consumer retail line up 9.2 percent, driven by success in bundling -- 402,000 DSL lines added in the quarter, up 28 percent from gain in second quarter, to 4.7 million -- Strong long distance growth, with 1.3 million lines added in the quarter to reach 19.8 million in service -- Continued progress in large-business market, with more than 450 contracts of $1 million or more signed this year -- 16.5 percent operating income margin, above the range provided in company's full-year outlook SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) today reported strong third-quarter results driven by the continued success of its bundling strategy and by solid momentum in key growth products such as DSL and long distance. SBC reported third-quarter 2004 earnings of $2.1 billion, or $0.63 per diluted share, and earnings from continuing operations of $1.2 billion, or $0.38 per diluted share. Reported revenues from continuing operations grew 1.4 percent, and revenues including proportionate results from Cingular Wireless grew 2.1 percent. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=44423705 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 09:27:27 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AT&T Announces Third-Quarter 2004 Earnings BEDMINSTER, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2004--AT&T (NYSE:T) -- Consolidated revenue of $7.6 billion -- Third-quarter loss per diluted share of $8.95 -- Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.75 - reflects lower depreciation due to asset impairment AT&T (NYSE:T) today reported a net loss of $7.1 billion, or $8.95 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2004. The company's current-quarter net loss includes non-cash asset impairment charges, as well as net restructuring and other charges. This compares to net income of $418 million, or earnings per diluted share of $0.53, in the third quarter of 2003, which also included net restructuring and other charges. Excluding the asset impairment and net restructuring and other charges and their associated tax benefits, adjusted net income for the quarter was $593 million, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.75. This includes an after-tax benefit from lower depreciation of $331 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, due to the asset impairment charges. A reconciliation of reported earnings per diluted share to adjusted earnings per diluted share is provided in the appendices on page 11 of this document. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=44422389 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 09:32:15 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Online Intrusion Risks Large Identity Cache http://news.com.com/2100-1029-5420149.html By Robert Lemos An August intrusion into a social researcher's computer may mean that more than a million Californians need to call the credit bureaus. On Tuesday, the California Department of Social Services warned the providers and recipients of the state's In Home Support Services (IHSS) that their names, addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth may be circulating the Internet. IHSS allows individuals to get paid for providing in-home care to senior citizens. The warning comes after an unknown attacker slipped in through a security hole in a social researcher's unsecured computer at the University of California, Berkeley, on Aug. 1, perhaps making off with 1.4 million database records containing personal information. The researcher noticed the trespass on Aug. 30 and the university notified the state in mid-September. The California government's recommendations for potential victims of the data theft underscore how little people can do to curb the illegal use of their information. While putting credit accounts on fraud alert may make it harder to co-opt financial accounts, forget trying to change a Social Security number, the Department of Social Services stated. "There are drawbacks to doing so, since it may result in losing your credit history, your academic records and professional degrees," the department said in a statement. "The absence of any credit history under a new SSN would make it difficult to get credit, continue college, rent an apartment, open a bank account, get health insurance... In most cases, getting a new SSN would not be a good idea." http://news.com.com/2100-1029-5420149.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 19:52:37 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: XM Satellite Radio Confirms Deal With MLB By ELLEN SIMON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- XM Satellite Radio announced an 11-year, $650 million deal with Major League Baseball on Wednesday, the latest move in a costly race with rival Sirius Satellite Radio, which earlier this month signed a five-year, $500 million deal with shock jock Howard Stern. Both companies, which have lost a combined $2.5 billion in the last 12 years, are making investments in big-name radio personalities and big-league sports in the hope that they can quickly boost the number of paying customers before the bills for those services come due. And in the tussle between the two companies, XM has the early lead. It now has 2.5 million subscribers who pay $9.95 a month for 130 channels of music and talk radio via satellite receivers. That compares to 700,000 subscribers paying Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. $12.95 a month for 120 channels. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=44413528 ------------------------------ From: rcoutts@comcast.net (Richard Coutts) Subject: Multi-link SR3 and Caller ID? Date: 21 Oct 2004 09:39:05 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I've been using a Command Communications ASAP DR401 for routing three distinctive ring lines -- one for my home number, one for my business number, and one for my fax. It has worked great, but it filters out the Caller ID (I can put a Caller ID device in series before the DR401, but I really need at after the DR401, at each phone). So, I'm now looking for a device that doesn't filter out the Caller ID. I'm looking at Multi-Link's SR3, but I can't find any information online about how it handles Caller ID -- does it also filter out the Caller ID info? Also, what is Multi-Link's web page? I haven't been able to find it. Thanks, Rich ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Who Carries TV Signals and Long Distance -- Today? Date: 21 Oct 2004 11:36:19 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Years ago, the Bell System carried network broadcast transmissions from first radio and then television. After WW II one of the functions of the new coaxial cable and microwave systems was capacity to carry TV signals. With satellites and competing companies that own their own fibre networks, does AT&T still carry broadcast transmissions today? If not, when did the transition start? Was this a blow to AT&T revenues? Likewise, who actually carries long distance telephone calls? I use Verizon, do they own their wholly own long distance network capability of reaching any US central office? What medium is typically used -- ground coax, microwave tower, satellite, fibre. Or do all the other carriers simply contract in bulk with the established AT&T, Sprint, and MCI? With satellites, is there a problem with transmission lag time? In 1970 AT&T descriptions, long distance routing had a triangle design. That is, most calls were sent to a toll center for subsequent routing. However, local exchanges had their own links to some nearby exchanges. For example, New York City to Newark NJ is "long distance" since it crosses states and LATA boundaries, but is physically so close calls be carried over plain copper interoffice trunks. Are such close LD calls still sent that way? It would seem strange to bounce 10 mile call off of a satellite. [public replies, please] ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Yet Another Telco Tax proposed Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 19:23:39 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In the continuing tradition of government that try to offload taxes onto third parties (that way they're not "raising taxes", you see ...) California has a very real problem with medical costs. The hospitals and other medical providers provide services, but don't take in anywhere near as much money as they claim to be expending. Hospital and medical finances are such a huge mess they put Enron to shame. Normally this isn't a telecom issue but ... The telco point: The usual folk have pushed forward a fee on telco services to cover the shortfall. Quoting from a VOA clip: "A voter initiative that Doctor Higgins calls a "Band-Aid" could provide a short-term fix, and he supports the measure. Appearing on the November 2nd ballot as Proposition 67, it would raise 500 million dollars a year by adding a three-percent surcharge to the cost for telephone calls made in California. To which the curmodgeons retort: "It's the wrong solution for a real problem. This is a phone tax. This is a tax on a service that has absolutely nothing to do with emergency medical care whatsoever. http://ibb7.ibb.gov/newswire/2df1f60f.html _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: Reed Subject: Re: Old Stock Quotation Things? Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 02:58:34 GMT Jim Haynes wrote: > I've been going through some patents from the 1930s. Some of them are > for systems to run a stock ticker tape through a projector. I can > understand that, as the forerunner of the Trans-Lux 'flipping ball' > displays used in brokers' offices. Some others use rotating number > wheels to display the high, low, open, and closing prices of a single > stock. A bank of these could display data for several stocks; but > still a very limited number chosen from the market as a whole. What > was the application, or audience, for this kind of display? They are > obviously a lot more costly than the projection scheme, both in the > hardware and in the operation. I presume an operator had to pick the > selected stock trades from the ticker tape and send the data to the > display board. > jhhaynes at earthlink dot net One such device was the "Quoteboard" by Ultronic Systems Corp. I worked on these from 1969-1973 in the Chicago financial district. They were installed mostly in commodity brokers, with some in stock brokers offices. They were an electro-mechanical monster ! IIRC one nest of modules would display 5 ticker symbols, and multiple nests could be driven from 1 logic controller. Data was fed to the board at 1200b/s on a dedicated receive-only Bell 202 modem circuit, that originated from the Ultronics data center near Philadelphia. They combined all the raw market tickers into a special data stream just for these boards. The modules had alphanumeric dials that could be set by office personnel to select the ticker symbol they wanted to display. The logic would decode the dials, then control stepper motors to move a fabric loop, that had numbers printed on them, to display the latest quote. Ultronic also had 2 ticker tape display systems, similar to the T-L Jet. They were all electronic, the older one used large NIXIE tubes (Lectrascan), the newer used a matrix of neon bulbs (Ultrascan). If you haven't already, see http://www.classicstockticker.com/ He has pictures of various machines. --reed ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Old Stock Quotation Things? Date: 20 Oct 2004 20:20:41 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) wrote: > I've been going through some patents from the 1930s. ... What > was the application, or audience, for this kind of display? I can't comment on the specifics, but some general observations: First, keep in mind that many inventions that get patented are never put into commercial production for a variety of reasons (too expensive to make, too hard to make, no market, no investors, etc.). The item you found may be one of those. Stock brokers used to have a public area (maybe still do) where investors would sit and watch a projection of the ticker. They often had a news Teletype as well. This is obviously one application. Other financial institutions may need such devices for a large group of people to see the stock ticker. There are other applications in which a large group of people would need up-to-date information. One such place is the race track, where both bettors and tellers need to see changing odds. Another place might be a railroad reservation office where clerks need to see space availability on various trains. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 20:38:02 EDT Subject: Re: Privacy Eroding, Bit by Byte In a message dated 19 Oct 2004 19:41:00 -0700 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) writes: >> ... And I think that up until the 1950's or so, most >> everyone felt that way. Then along came the pushers of credit cards, >> and somehow we got to a point where it was just considered normal to >> live beyond our means, while paying the credit card companies usurious >> interest rates. > Actually, installment buying has been around since the 1920s and > widely used by consumers to buy new electric appliances that were > coming out in those days. Department stores had charge codes and if > you spread out your payments, your interest rates were high. Sears, Roebuck had a massive credit card operation which generated more profit in many years than its retail operations. It goes back many generations. Sears sold it to Citibank earlier this year. Department store cards were prolific. Aluminum plates (a little smaller than today's plastic credit cards) called "Charg-A-Plates" were used by department stores in many cities, notched to show which of the participating stores you had accounts at. If you opened an account at another store, they would punch another notch on the plate on the spot. Multi-store credit cards became popular in the 1950s. In Dallas, the Highland Park State Bank Charge Plan was one of the first in the country, and pitched small businesses with the proposition that they bank could handle the credit for them cheaper than they could do it themselves while giving them a wider range of prospective customers. At the same time an affiliated bank started a similar plan in Oak Cliff. Texas Bank & Trust Company (a downtown bank) started the competing "Texas Bank and Trust Company 'Charge-It' Plan. I was later told (shortly before it was bought out by some mega-chain) that the Preston State Bank MasterCard was more prestigious than an American Express gold card. Since I'd had one slmost since its inception (as the Highland Park State Bank) I never had given it a thought. (The Highland Park [later Preston) State Bank plan and its affiliate in Oak Cliff joined MasterCard; Texas Bank and Trust Company jointed BankAmericard [now Visa].) Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some of the stores also tried to 'cut corners' on their charge account expenses by issuing *their own store charge accounts' automatically to people who had planned to pay for their purchase with a Visa/MC card. The store's assumption was 'if the person has been approved by Visa/MC and their credit checking system, then we do not have to waste time and money checking their credit; Visa/MC already did that part (at their own expense!) for us.' The store clerks were trained when someone came to the cash register and proffered a Visa/MC card in payment, the store clerk was to say, "Wouldn't you like one of our credit cards instead?" and if the person agreed, the clerk would fill out an 'instant application' on the spot, have the customer sign it, call the office and get a credit limit established and a new account number assigned, usually all in two or three minutes. The purchase would then be placed on the *new, store account* rather than the Visa/MC card originally offered in payment. It was a gamble that usually worked pretty well for the stores until Visa/MC started *doing it themselves* by setting up new Visa/MC accounts with miniscule limits lower (in the event of a credit write off) than what it cost Visa/MC to set up the account to begin with. Capitol Financing and Aquistions (known by many folks as the 'What do you have in your wallet' CAP ONE people) are famous for it. Anyone -- *literally anyone* -- can apply for and recieve a Cap One Visa credit card with something like a $50 or $100 credit limit on it. Any number of places now issue 'secured' Visa/MC cards; the credit limits on which are 'secured' by an account in the bank offering the card. Why bother to go to the trouble of an expensive (and often times inaccurate) credit bureau report when the bank has its hands on your security deposit/'savings account' anyway. Cap One's attitude is if we lose fifty or a hundred dollars to find out the guy is a deadbeat, we would have spent considerably more with a traditional approval process. Pay your bill promptly, Cap One (and the other Visa/MC operators doing this) will raise your limit up, inch by inch. You call them, and ask if you can have a hundred dollars more on your limit, as long as they have your phone number and you have been paying on time, they'll raise your limit by one hundred dollars. So the department stores with their own charge account systems which had been worshipping the almighty Visa/MC soon found out that having a Visa/MC (or two, or three, or six) in your wallet meant nothing in many cases. Then of course also came debit cards, in which your 'credit limit' is the amount you have in the bank at any given time, and those were being passed off to store clerks as 'credit cards'. So the person who presented a 'secured' Visa/MC or a 'ultra low limit' Visa/MC or a 'debit card' Visa/MC knowing damn good and well it would never get approved at the authorization center **if the clerk had called it in, or swiped it**, knew that the clerk _would not call it in_ and would instead offer them a new charge account from the store instead. So the stores, in their effort to be 'penny-wise' (intercepting Visa/MC purchases by offering an instant approval on a new store account) were in fact 'pound-foolish' when several months later the new account had aged-out to worthless and write-off time. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dave@compata.com (Dave Close) Subject: Re: Vonage Upgrades Local Unlimited Calling Plan to Premium Date: 20 Oct 2004 20:55:57 -0700 Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California I wrote: > But this dialing plan makes Vonage essentially identical to Sprint > PCS. Dial as 7, 10, or 11 digits, as you like. But dialing 7 can be > chancy since it isn't clear if they assume your home NPA or the one > where you currently are located. (Of course, a cell phone doesn't need > a time-out to determine number length.) John McHarry (and others) comment: > I don't see how they could impute anything other than your home > NPA. Your current IP address doesn't tell them much about where you > are. But I was referring to Sprint PCS. They may have a rule about 7-digit numbers, but it isn't well known, so I consider them chancy since I don't know which cell tower is handling my call. I agree that Vonage and other VoIP carriers don't have the ambiguity. Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA "Politics is the business of getting dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359 power and privilege without dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu possessing merit." - P. J. O'Rourke ------------------------------ From: Bruce L. Bergman Subject: Re: Help Me Identify/Repair/Replace a Power Transformer Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 06:40:47 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Pat: "Withhold E-Mail Address" - just tell them that I'm on Earth and Linked to it with a Net. (That should be obscure enough to fool the harvester bots.) ;-) > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My mission is to 'let there be light' > at least on *my sidewalk* through my backyard. My neighbor across > the street has the same setup around his backyard swimming pool; he > got his from the evil Walmart Superplace here in town. I got my set > from the Episcopal Church rummage sale at a considerable savings > last July. PAT] Okay, then it's time to do a bit of diagnosis of the Malibu Lights system to see where the problem is, and get them back on. (And I'm sure that the readers that ever get stuck troubleshooting a complex lighting system will find this /very/ interesting ...) You'll need a DC voltmeter and/or a 12-volt test light. You can get a test light with a pin probe, a 12V lamp in the handle, and a ground lead with clip at any decent auto parts store for a buck or two. Disconnect the 12V output wires from the Malibu transformer, plug it in, turn on the timer, and see if there is power at the output lugs. The 88W Malibu brand transformer is not fused where you can repair it, there's a self resetting (up to a point) circuit breaker but it's hiding somewhere inside the potting compound. The transformer is dropped into the bottom half of the plastic case, and then polyester resin and sand filler is poured in to encase it into a big block and waterproof it, with only the wire leads sticking out. After the resin cures, they wire the timer and put the top on, box it and ship it. If the output is dead with no load, the transformer is trash -- they aren't kidding with the "No User Serviceable Parts Inside" sticker. If you have 12 volts when the output leads from the transformer are lifted, and it disappears when you touch the output leads to the lugs for a second (with a nice little spark as you make and break the connection) there's a short somewhere. First, check the very end of the main 12-gauge SPT2 low voltage cord, to see if the wires got shorted there. (The wires need to be split about an inch back, and then taped separately.) Check any tap splices or straight splices on the main lead, if the insulation job is bad the two leads can touch there. Then pull up the wire as it goes through the planters and flower beds and look for shovel hits on the wire, that's a popular way to short and kill the system. (I think the wire magnetically attracts any nearby shovels, but YMMV.) If all else fails, it's inside one of the light fixtures. Wires burned and shorted together, lamp socket prongs bent to where they're touching ... Hooking up a series load lamp with the transformer output can visibly show when you've found the problem. You will need a high wattage 12-volt lamp like a headlight or a fog light assembly - in the 50 to 100 watt range. (Not much larger than the power source can supply, or you will overload the transformer.) One series lamp lead to the transformer, the other one spliced to the light wiring. With the short still on the system, the series lamp will be full brightness and the landscape lights will all be out. Then start disconnecting the light fixtures from the main lead one at a time. When you clear the short the remaining good landscape lights will start glowing dimly and the series lamp will dim noticeably -- Stop Right There. Whatever you moved was the bad connection. ;-) --<< Bruce >>-- ------------------------------ From: Juan A. Monico Subject: Re: Help Me Identify/Repair/Replace a Power Transformer Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 11:01:54 -0700 On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 17:05:30 EDT, in comp.dcom.telecom you wrote: > Here is a question for the group regards 'low voltage' electrical > current. I have two transformers: > One is Radio Shack, 'clean' DC output, 13.8 Volts at 3 Amps. Its > like a little box, a 'powerhouse' kind of thing. It has a 'reset' > button on the back in case the output goes out due to overload or > a short. $39 at Radio Shack. I had been using it to run a small > portable TV set and a scanner radio, such as would be plugged into > a car cigarette lighter and run from a car battery. > The other transformer is an Intermatic, model is 'Malibu 88-T' and > it does output of 12 Volts and 1 Amp. It has a clock built in which > allows it to be automatically turned on/off as desired. Its purpose > is to service outside lights along a sidewalk for example. Using=20 > 12 or 14 gauge wire, a series of little lights strung over a distance > of 50 feet will light up. Total wattage allowed is 88 Watts between > all the bulbs, which are 5-10 watts each. It is available from Ace > Hardware here in Indy also for $39. >> Are these two power supplies interchangeable (ignoring the fact that >> the Intermatic has a built in clock since I have other timers I can >> use)? >> How do you calculate volts/amps to watts? >> I am not going to have $78 to spare this month (barely can spare $39 >> for one of them), so am curious to know what I can get away with or >> not get away with. >> PAT Hi Pat. Please feel free to call me if you need more information. Volts X Amps = Watts This equation requires that the quantities be either all DC or all AC. Unfortunately you probably need two different units. The light transformer is just that, a transformer only. Ordinary light bulbs will work on AC or DC. Normally these units provide AC only. The numbers you quote for the light transformer don't compute. For 88 watts it would have to provide at least (88watts/12volts) 7.4 amps. At 1 amps it could only supply 12 watts and with 10 watt light bulbs it would run out of capacity at 1bulb. Even with 5 watt bulbs it could only handle 2 bulbs. Their web page http://www.absolutehome.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=16071 clearly rates the unit at 88 Watts so the 1amp figure you quote is probably wrong. So for this application you need a 12 volt AC transformer with at least 7.4 amps capacity. Even though this is a simple device it will be difficult to find a cheaper one off the shelf. One can be constructed but will require some sort of enclosure for safety, Now for your TV supply. Most equipment rated for 13.8 volts DC will also work on 12 volts DC since while the actual voltage from a fully charged automobile battery is 13.8 volts DC it can and often does drop to less than 12 volts if the charger isn't running. All Electronics (www.allelectronics.com) have a suitable unit: Cat # PS-1242 12Volt DC 3.5 Amp Power Supply $18.00 you may have to change the plug because of type, size or polarity. This unit has automatic overvoltage and current protection so you won't need the reset button. They are a reliable Mail Order supplier of surplus equipment based in California. I (and many other Ham Radio Operators) use them frequently. Their shipping charges are reasonable and their service is usually quick. I hope this helps. Juan A. Monico 15020 Ripple Rock Road Campbell River, BC CANADA V9H 1N9 Tel: 250-830-1088 ICBM: 50 09 36"N 125 22 19"W Radio: VA7MXA, N6MXA GridSq: CO70hd Internet: juan@monico.org Politicians, like diapers, have to be changed frequently, and for the very same reason. ------------------------------ From: palee@riteaid.com Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 12:17:25 -0400 Subject: Re: Help Me Identify/Repair/Replace a Power Transformer In TELECOM Digest V23 #500, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote (in part): > I have two transformers: One is Radio Shack, 'clean' DC output, 13.8 > Volts at 3 Amps. > The other transformer is an Intermatic, model is 'Malibu 88-T' and > it does output of 12 Volts and 1 Amp. ... Are these two power > supplies interchangeable...? The Radio Shack power supply is DC [direct current] at 13.8 V (the output of a "12-volt" automotive charging system). The Intermatic Malibu light power pack is simply an AC transformer with a timer on the primary (line voltage) side. I think the "1 Amp" rating you saw was the line side draw (120 VAC 1 A). > How do you calculate volts/amps to watts? For DC, it's pretty simple for simple loads on a linear power supply, which is almost certainly what the RS unit is: watts = volts x amps. AC calculations are trickier -- that's likely why Intermatic gives their power consumption figures in watts (the 88-T is rated at 88 watts). For a rough calculation, though, you start with 120 VAC at 1 amp (120 volt-= amps) supplying a 10:1 power transformer (120:12 volts) with a typical transformer power factor of about 0.75 (0.733 in this case): 120 V x 1 A = 120 VA x 0.7333 PF 88 watts (output) When you calculate how many Malibu lights the 88-T will handle, power factor is practically 1.0, since lamp filaments are almost pure resistive load. I'm not going to further flaunt how long it's been since I've done any real AC calculations ... Paul A Lee Sr Telecom Engineer Rite Aid Corporation HL-IS-COM (Telecomm) V: +1 717 730-8355 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 F: +1 717 975-3789 P.O. Box 3165, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3165 W: +1 717 805-6208 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My problem is *something* caused a short on the line which caused the Malibu 88-T to get fried. That something was probably the all-day drizzle/rain we had the other day in the one spot where the cord strung to the various lights was not properly protected. I will endeavor to find/correct that problem, but, wouldn't it be good to put an external fuse in the line to prevent that from happening in the future? I am thinking of one of the little glass fuses and fuse holders you can wire in series with the line. I *assume* (correct me as needed) such a fuse in the line would stop any short from reaching the Intermatic power supply. I would rather, next time, blow one of the little five in a box for two dollars fuses rather than be in bed asleep when the short develops (if in fact I get it cured) and the Intermatic silently fries away all night until I wake up, or worse, have my backyard shed burn down (unlikely, I know). What are your thoughts? What *size* fuse should I use of the little glass ones that fit in a holder from RS? Not to small to not allow the little lights to work correctly, but not too big so it won't do a prompt job of stopping any shorts. Ideas? PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 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