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Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
Editor
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Robert Flynn
Rick Walters
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Advertising Enquiries
Leo Simpson
Phone (02) 9979 5644
Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
Marque Crozman, VK2ZLZ
Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed
John Hill
Jim Lawler, MTETIA
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY
Bob Young
Photography
Stuart Bryce
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All
material copyright ©. No part of
this publication may be reproduced
without the written consent of the
publisher.
Printing: Macquarie Print, Dubbo,
NSW.
Distribution: Network Distribution
Company.
Subscription rates: $49 per year
in Australia. For overseas rates, see
the subscription page in this issue.
Editorial & advertising offices:
Unit 34, 1-3 Jubilee Avenue, Warrie
wood, NSW 2102. Postal address:
PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW
2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax
(02) 9979 6503.
PUBLISHER'S LETTER
Have you had your house
wiring checked?
Let’s face it, because we are all familiar with
electricity, we take it for granted. We seldom
think about the safety aspects of electricity.
This thought was prompted by a recent
change of home that I have made. My “new”
house is older than my previous home, having
been built prior to 1950. With this in mind, I
made a cursory check of the switchboard before
I purchased the house. I was encouraged by
what I saw. Instead of the old fuseholders, there was a bank of modern circuit
breakers which had evidently been fitted in recent years. And the cables behind
the board were in double sheathed plastic so I thought everything was apples.
How wrong can you be.
The first event to shake my equanimity occurred when I attempted to change
over a light fitting. This was to be a straightforward job one Saturday afternoon,
requiring no modifications to the wiring; just whip out the old fitting, connect
the new one and the job should be finished in under 10 minutes. Ha ha! Two
minutes after I started I discovered that the wiring to the light fitting was old, very
old. It was the original “tough rubber” insulation and it had long ago perished
and then gone crumbly. Even undisturbed, it was in a dangerous state. To cut a
long story short, I now have an electrician replacing most of the wiring in the
house. To say that I had been deluded is to understate the case.
That was bad enough. Having discovered one booby-trap, I instructed the
electrician to check every light fitting, switch and power point and rewire/
replace as necessary. I naturally thought that he would just find dicky switches
and old wiring. I did not expect that he would find original wiring which was
downright illegal and dangerous. But that is just what he found. And this very
afternoon he found that the power point in my study had been wired without any
earth. The earth had not become disconnected – there was no earth wire at all
and never had been! It is the same power point that my computer is connected
to. If one of the mains interference suppression capacitors in the computer’s
switchmode power supply had shorted to chassis I would have had no way of
knowing and the computer would continue to work, only its case would have
been live and lethal!
Now perhaps you live in a new house and you think “This can’t happen to me
because all my wiring is new.” Well perhaps you should think again. Was your
house wiring thoroughly checked by an electricity authority inspector when
the dwelling was completed? Of course, it wasn’t. From my observations of the
wiring in many houses under construction, at least some of the wiring will be
suspect. If you are completely certain that all your wiring is new and safe, then
sleep well. If not, do what I have done – call an electrician in and prepare to
spend some money to make your home safe. It will be money well spent.
Leo Simpson
ISSN 1030-2662
WARNING!
SILICON CHIP magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage. All such projects should
be considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely. Readers are warned that high voltage wiring should be carried out according to the
instructions in the articles. When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact with
mains AC voltages or high voltage DC. If you are not confident about working with projects employing mains voltages or other high voltages,
you are advised not to attempt work on them. Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims any liability for damages should anyone be killed
or injured while working on a project or circuit described in any issue of SILICON CHIP magazine. Devices or circuits described in SILICON
CHIP may be covered by patents. SILICON CHIP disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of
any such equipment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant government
regulations and by-laws.
Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must conform to the Trade Practices Act
1974 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are applicable.
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