Humid 85 F today, from sunday 88+ F nice summer weather ;)
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Humid 85 F today, from sunday 88+ F nice summer weather ;)
Lucky you, it hit 98F/36C today and the humididity makes it feel like 117F/42C or in other words, in a bag in a microwave oven... ugh. Sunday is expected to bring cooler Canadian air and more like UK/Netherlands weather.
@ 8PM we have 89oF/32oC a couple of towns away in the Hudson Valley but the heat index is a whopping 125oF/52oC.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
Wouldn't mind some of that Canadian air, but Montreal is sometimes even hotter.
Canadian air?? ....... from where? Certainly not from my part of the country......we've been in the high 20's low 30's degrees Celsius for most of this month of July! We're needing cooler U.S. air! :mrgreen:Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
Gerry, I'll GLADLY send you some Arizona air !!!Quote:
Originally Posted by VE7DCW
100.000's Germans will invade the country for their annual holliday going to the North Sea coast, the same number of Dutch will set off to France in their cars/campers.
Temps will go up to 32 to 36 C this week humidity is quite high so i have no idea how high the "feeling" temps will be...
Keeping the house cool till now airing at night forcing colder air in by fans helps a bit.
Doing the jobs that need to be done in the cooler morning, then sit back and "enjoy" the heat.
Going from 6 months too cold to a full hot summer needs some adjusting, in our tempered sea climate these temps don't happen often.
What is this thing the Germans have about invading the Netherlands...?Quote:
Originally Posted by PA5COR
Lake Erie has hit a record for water temperatures. 78 deg F. Figures since 1867.
Holliday and spending their euro's here, or bringing back the stolen bikes from WW2 ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by KJ6BSO
Well, maybe not Canadian air but Canada is beginning to get a break as the Arctic front moves through. As of this writing (10:00am Alaska time) Fairbanks is a cool 60F/15C but by the time it gets here Sunday it'll be in the 80s, about 15 degrees cooler than today. Now this guy sits about 8 miles north of here but what the hell is he complaining about sitting in his swimming pool? Check it out, looks like he caught a crab, almost.
Just as long as they don't bring their tanks with them...Quote:
Originally Posted by PA5COR
Try this site. They give the real feel (or Temperature-Humidity Index) with the Temperature in oC/oF.Quote:
Originally Posted by PA5COR
^Thanks ;)
Just bringing you up to speed, yesterday a CSX garbage train derailed on the Metro North Hudson Line and service remains suspended today. Possibly rail heat kinks? I doubt the public will know since the reporters hardly know which end is up. Con Edison, NYC's electric company reported the highest demand EVER today and again today power went out in Queens due to overhead lines catching fire, melting and falling. WIRES MELTING??? I've never in my life heard of overhead wires melting but considering the amps and the inability to dissipate heat normally in these high ambient temperatures "because anything can happen in New York". That's an old Channel 7 Action News tag line. Did I say it's 97 here on the shoreline? Add 3 and you have the temperature at Newark, NJ but subtract 2 being the airport is a heat island consistently 2 degrees hotter than Central Park in the heart of Manhattan with those heat absorbing concrete canyons.
Thanks. I have been avoiding the news and am the happier for it. So, we are cut off from NYC and I'm thinking that's a good thing. Must be one heck of a smell to it. If it's in a very trendy/upscale area they must be raising a big stink.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
As far as overhead wires (catenary), melting? Unlikely. Sagging more likely and they can snag at times, probably to deferred loco maintenance, but I'm no expert on that.
They can melt once they short and start arcing. Pole tops will also burn once the wood carbonizes and forms a conductive path. The hot arc is what causes the aluminum to melt and even vapourize. Copper will also do the same but most overhead wires today are aluminum.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
My computer widget is showing me a temp of only 88 at JFK right now and 92 in White Plains, although the predicted temps are up near 99-101. The widget updates every 5 minutes so it should be accurate, assuming the thermometer sending the data is accurate.
In Point Barrow Alaska it's warm as well right now. 43 degrees and rainy. Damned hot northern summers !!
"So, we are cut off from NYC and I'm thinking that's a good thing."
Not entirely, only the trains. Yeah, if the bridges fall and the city loses it's anchors and floats out to sea nobody in Jersey will miss it.
"Must be one heck of a smell to it."
That was mentioned on the news by one of the workers.
"If it's in a very trendy/upscale area they must be raising a big stink."
I don't know if this is trendy or not but I can guarantee that in this heat garbage AND people get pretty stinking.
"As far as overhead wires (catenary), melting?"
No, I never said catenary was melting, a GG-1 draws 4.95MW for example and it never melted. I said it was sagging in the heat as it always does, trains slowed to avoid pantograph from snagging the overheads and ripping them down.
"They can melt once they short and start arcing. Pole tops will also burn once the wood carbonizes and forms a conductive path."
I've seen plenty of both but neither happened in Queens, the wires got so hot the insulation caught fire and the additional heat parted the wires. The 115-230V single phase secondaries are often twisted trios so they arced and burned through, the 2400/4800V 600A three phase primaries are insulated single conductors, the exact reason why they burned through I don't know. I just saw video of them lying in the street smoking with firefighters and Con Ed linemen milling around, a familiar sight when there's work to do. (;->)
Some years ago I saw something similar on the PRR main line through Linden, NJ now Amtrak North East Corridor. A paint and solvent warehouse next to the tracks caught fire and the towering flames laden with soot crossed the transmission lines and 300KV phase to phase arcs burned them through, copper since the line was electrified in 1937. As they parted they drew the longest arcs I've ever seen and fell among the firemen on the tracks, traffic was halted due to the fire. The amazing thing is they were dead when they hit the ground, not a spark was seen and the firemen plainly showed why they're called the bravest, they went along like nothing happened, nobody even flinched.
"My computer widget is showing me a temp of only 88 at JFK right now and 92 in White Plains..."
Accurate enough to match the map readings on the 5:00 news more or less depending on which service the station employs. Not surprisingly JFK is lower, Jamaica, Queens gets the ocean breeze, White Plains does not.
Your computer WHAT?
That's cut off to me. Crossing the busiest bridge in the US on a bus is to be avoided at all costs. That is followed by the madness at 8th Ave and 42nd St. I sometimes feel sorry for the Jersey commuters. At least those who don't act like cattle.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
"As far as overhead wires (catenary), melting?"
Oh, I know you didn't say it, but local news has a knack for embellishing if it sounds better.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
You don't wanna know, believe me. :yes: :mrgreen:Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
"Crossing the busiest bridge in the US on a bus is to be avoided at all costs."
But why would you come to Joisey and cross the G Dub? Maybe you're thinking of the Crap 'n Pee which is most likely of all to fall down being all rotten underneath.
"Oh, I know you didn't say it, but local news has a knack for embellishing if it sounds better."
Interesting cop out, you confused Conned Ed with Amcrash. (;->)
Your computer WHAT?
"You don't wanna know, believe me."
Oh I know alright, your computer Gidget, Midget, Fidget, Bidget, Gadget but certainly not Widget... an' ya doesn't has ta call me Johnson.
Probably the circuit breaker killed the circuit. When a primary shorts out, such as when a tree branch falls across it (or other scenario) the circuit breaker will trip and after a number of seconds will try to reset. If it still see's a short it will cut off and then try and reset again. Depending on how its set up it will do this two, three times, maybe 4 times and then if it still see's a short it will stay down until manually reset. This is what I was told by a line man who does overhead work for Con Ed.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
"Remember........ whatever you say .......don't mention the WAR!!" *Quote:
Originally Posted by N2NH
*John Cleese as Basil Fawlty on "Fawlty Towers" :rofl:
That AC catenary system on the New Haven line had been a headache for decades. It's always giving problems resulting in delays, temporary shutdowns, etc. They should switch over to a DC third rail system like they use on the Harlem and Hudson lines. The trains are already equipped to run on a 700 VDC third rail power system since have to switch over to using a third rail anyway when they join the Harlem line near Mount Vernon.
I always thought that little weasel corporal would've been a sticking point. :snicker:Quote:
Originally Posted by VE7DCW
http://youtu.be/NqJQ8RD7-Nw
Last things first, the old NH can't switch to DC anything and still remain part of the NEC. It runs 25KV 60Hz as opposed to the 11KV 25Hz old Pennsy main but that's not a problem, newer locomotives employ inverters that eat just what you feed them, they don't care how it tastes. My best guess with the third rail is it feeds power control at the inverter output, basically runs the traction motors directly. DC traction is a very inefficient way to go even when running off catenary power. You get best efficiency and control using a variable voltage, variable current, variable frequency AC system like most other electric and Diesel-electric locomotives.
Eh, right, sort of, those railroad transmission lines don't have circuit breakers, they have fault sensors that operate huge switches. Here's one opening, VERY impressive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-UTYzfNjKM Actually they don't usually arc like that, the arc quencher failed to operate. (;->) Remember the Pennsy installed the equipment in 1937 so it's old technology, today they use oil filled breakers that look like big tanks with ears. When it comes to city power, 13KV feeders use sensors and switches on the transformer primaries, the 4800V 600A secondaries use fuses not only at the substation but everything connected to them, branch feeders and transformers, the familiar pole pigs use fuses as part of a manual switch called a cutout. The neat part is how they operate. The fuse holder, often called the "fuse tube" or "door", which contains the interchangeable fuse element and also acts as a simple knife switch. When the contained fuse operates or blows, the fuse holder will drop open, disengaging the knife switch, and hang from a hinge assembly. This hanging fuse holder provides a visible indication that the fuse has operated and assurance that the down-stream circuit is electrically isolated.
About the weather, as of this writing 0100 GMT an electric train is rolling across north-central Jersey, NYC and LI. The caboose is just about at the Avenel / Carteret area and about to roll into Staten Island. It looks like South Jersey and Philadelphia are getting bombed...
That switch arc was very impressive. Speaking of whichQuote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
Did you know Ben Franklin wasn't the first to discover electricity?
Noah told his wife he needed to build a big boat to save the animals from an upcoming flood. Problem was he didn't know what it should look like. Since his wife was an artist, of sorts, he asked her to help him out, and paint a picture of what it should look like; which she did. An so, Noah's wife was the first one to ever draw an arc.
How about this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIkNY5xjy5k
It's a hell of a day in the desert, folks. Lightning all over the place, 30 degree drop in temperature in sort order, raining sideways (1.23 inches so far in about 30 minutes), water is running like crazy across the property. The normally dry wash out front is running swift, between 3 and 4 ft deep, so I'm guessing the bigger ones down the road a ways are even more impressive, and impassable as well. We haven't had one of these for awhile. As fast and deep as the water is, it'll be back to normal in a few hours, unless it keeps on raining. It'd be nice to get all this rain a little slower so it would do the desert some good, instead of it all running off to Yuma.
"Did you know Ben Franklin wasn't the first to discover electricity?"
Yeah, I know and it was an ancient Greek who discovered the electric field, static electricity. That's where electron, electricity, electric, etc. come from, Electra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus princess of Argos. Eh, that was a really lame ark/arc joke... but I liked it.
Oh yeah, that 500KV switch arc is impressive, another fault actually as the suppressor circuit on that phase failed to operate. That's not a load disconnect, that was done downstream on the transformer secondary. What you see is Ix, energizing or excitation current drawn by hysteresis in the transformer primary. I remember seeing arcs like that on TV long ago every time General Electric Theater hosted by Ronald Reagan (CBS) came on the air. Unfortunately I couldn't find what I was looking for but here's the next best thing. The intro starts with a huge device with two long counter rotating arms with balls on the ends and huge arcs between them. Then the camera zooms in and the panel appears as you see it, cut to commercial.
Ah, typical desert rainstorm, that's why you have to watch out way beforehand for flash flooding. Yeah, it would be nice to slow down but it'll never happen, the desert is a land of extremes.
"...instead of it all running off to Yuma."
And it happened at exactly 3:10.
81oF (27oC) right now in the city, 67oF (19oC) here. By Friday, we're going down to 54oF (12oC). Not bad for July. There are places in the mountains of North-Central Mass that used to reach 15o - 20oF (-9o to -7o C) at night in July. I wonder if that still happens there?
Elektricity? Wasn't that given to the Persians by aliens? You know, the so-called Baghdad Batteries?
Sorta reminds me of a hot summers night in the city...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s8l-yu7AZL...s400/da_22.jpg
I thought the Bagdad batttery was the first discovery,,,,,
30 C extremely moist had some serious T storms in the South of the country 7 million Euro damage done.
Nothing here up North in the country missed me all.
Official heatwave here since today, temps might get a bit lower, but with more moist in the air it won't really improve...
Electricity may have fried the Behemoth but it ignited Godzilla's atomic fire and made things worse. Now which monster is responsible for attacking the weakest link in the Northeast Power Grid? Smart beastie he is, every time a key link, the Niagara Feeder to the city always fails. Back in 1965 the phrase was "Where were you when the lights went out?" and someone even wrote a song about it. I was home in Jersey (engineers had sense enough to cut the Linden Feeder to Staten island to stop the dominoes) doing some AM and FM broadcast band DXing with the FM stations off the air and no modulation and no splatter from the AM transmitters in the Meadowlands. Couldn't TVDX since I didn't have a BMF antenna and rotor then, rats. In any case the old land line pre cell phone network stayed up, if all else fails there's still the 48V Baghdad battery bank.
I did mention that ancient Greece is the origin of the word "electricity" but right, the oldest evidence of an electric device is the Baghdad battery. It makes one wonder what a source of electricity would have been used for, there is no record of any kind for any other devices. That ancient Egyptian carving is another wonder, when I first saw it years ago I immediately recognized one of the many forms of a Crookes tube. They require a few thousand volts to operate, what was the power source and what did they use the tube for? That's when I studied everything related to early electrical and electronic equipment and never lost interest, still I lap it up like honey.
Lastly, Franklin did NOT stand out in the rain drawing electricity from the clouds, he had an assistant do it. Do you think a genius could be that stupid? Really?
In fact, the actual function of the so-called Baghdad Battery is not known for certain. While it's possible that it was a primitive sort of galvanic cell, there are some reasons to believe otherwise. In any case, even if it were a battery, given the electrolytic chemicals available at the time the best that output that could have been expected from one would have been perhaps one-half to one volt, so it would have taken a whole hell of a lot of them to develop enough potential to power a Crookes Tube. That doesn't matter, of course, since the technology to build such a device was non-existent during the Parthian period.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2804257.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_Battery
http://archyfantasies.wordpress.com/...ghdad-battery/
ON EDIT: BTW, that thing shown in the photograph is not a Crookes Tube. It looks like a pretty standard neon tube with a fancy-shaped electrode to me.
I was on the air and running the transmitter link to the city at WPAT (AM/FM) on the night of the 77 blackout. It was a hoot. We had two transmitters in the city, both went down. Oddly enough, it was one of a few stations with a THIRD backup FM Transmitter. That one was built by Armstrong himself. It hadn't been used in decades, but with the help of the CE and a lot of DPPG, I got it to run 3 watts. About as much as the average CB radio. With the bands totally quiet, I was told you could hear it all over the city and that meant the sponsors couldn't complain.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
I'm glad I'm not in the city this Aug. 14th. Ten years ago for my 50th birthday, the great northeast blackout happened on that day. I can't imagine what's in store for my 60th, but I sure don't want to be around there for it.
:yes: :lol:
But they do. The same NH trains that run on the AC Catenary also operate off the DC third rail when they join the old New York Central Harlem line as Mount Vernon West. It's all 3rd rail DC the rest of the way. Unless it has to do with Amtrack requiring the AC Cat system as they do run along the NH line, I think... However doesn't Amtrack also run along the Hudson Line which is also a DC 3rd rail system ?Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
Outside of the NYC subway system my knowledge of railroad routes is limited. My interest in trains is limited to subways.
WPAT didn't have a backup generator to keep the station up ? Most NYC stations were up during the 65 and 77 blackouts on backup. Where was the transmitter site ? With no generators what did you use to power up the Armstrong built transmitter ?Quote:
Originally Posted by N2NH
Godzilla might come. Remember what he did to Tokyo back in the 50's.Quote:
I'm glad I'm not in the city this Aug. 14th. Ten years ago for my 50th birthday, the great northeast blackout happened on that day. I can't imagine what's in store for my 60th, but I sure don't want to be around there for it.
:yes: :lol:
"That doesn't matter, of course, since the technology to build such a device was non-existent during the Parthian period."
Well, the Persians built batteries but not "Crookes tubes" even though Eric Von Dannyskin seems to believe in the Dendra light. Interesting how I couldn't put one over on you, take a closer look and you'll see a snake coming out of a lotus blossom in ancient Egyptian mythology.
"Oddly enough, it was one of a few stations with a THIRD backup FM Transmitter. That one was built by Armstrong himself. It hadn't been used in decades, but with the help of the CE and a lot of DPPG, I got it to run 3 watts."
More oddly you managed to find that museum piece and get it to run. That reminds me of Spock making a mnemonic memory out of stone knives and bear skins. What puzzles me is how Armstrong could have had anything to do with WPAT when his experimental station in Alpine was W2XMN which evolved into WQXR. It's easy to get lost on the 82nd floor of Empire, the JDL did and blew up WPIX TV 11 instead of WBAI.
"With no generators what did you use to power up the Armstrong built transmitter ?"
Babylonian batteries?
"But they do."
Hold on there! I said: Last things first, the old NH can't switch to DC anything and still remain part of the NEC. The old NH is a railroad, I said nothing about trains.
"The same NH trains that run on the AC Catenary also operate off the DC third rail when they join the old New York Central Harlem line as Mount Vernon West. It's all 3rd rail DC the rest of the way."
I believe I said something about 3rd rail powering the system after the inverter and before the DC power control. The rest of the way is into Grand Central Station since exhaust fumes are prohibited in NYC railway stations and tunnels.
"However doesn't Amtrack also run along the Hudson Line which is also a DC 3rd rail system ?"
Amtrak has dual power locomotives that run the Harlem Line too, the Hudson Line follows the river upstate and is Diesel. That's the line through Spuyten Duyvil where the garbage train derailed during the last heat wave.
"Godzilla might come. Remember what he did to Tokyo back in the 50's."
1956 to be precise. You forgot how he became asexual and a whole lot meaner and attacked New York in 1998. That came as quite a surprise to the LGBT community, "If Zilla can reproduce all by himself why can't we?"
And what is the specific reason for that ?Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
OK so you are saying the inverter converts it back to high voltage AC ?Quote:
"The same NH trains that run on the AC Catenary also operate off the DC third rail when they join the old New York Central Harlem line as Mount Vernon West. It's all 3rd rail DC the rest of the way."
I believe I said something about 3rd rail powering the system after the inverter and before the DC power control.
Tell that to Metro North. I've seen them running on diesel in the tunnels. And on more than one occaision our electric trains filled with smoke and fumes from deisels running in the tunnels. Apparently Metro-North bends the rules from time to time.Quote:
The rest of the way is into Grand Central Station since exhaust fumes are prohibited in NYC railway stations and tunnels.
"However doesn't Amtrack also run along the Hudson Line which is also a DC 3rd rail system ?"[/quote]
I don't recall ever seeing them on the Harlem. But like I said I don;t know much about railroad routes.Quote:
Amtrak has dual power locomotives that run the Harlem Line too,
The Hudson is electrified through the Bronx and Westchester. They run electric commuter trains. Does it switch to deisel further north ?Quote:
the Hudson Line follows the river upstate and is Diesel. That's the line through Spuyten Duyvil where the garbage train derailed during the last heat wave.
The problem, with the Persian/Bagdhad cell is that it has no external cathode connection. My guess is that it wasn't a cell at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2vxa
Years ago I was running an AM Broadcast station when a tanker truck explosion knocked out power to the 50 Kw station and several other large AM stations. I grabbed an old Johnson Ranger and modified it to transmit on the AM band. I got it powered up to about 1/2 a watt and used it to get the station back on the air. I used a bunch of 12 V car batteries in series to power the thing up.Quote:
Originally Posted by N2NH
The only other station I heard on the air during the 77 blackout was WINS on the AM band. I could only get WPLJ on FM. I was picking up Albany on AM though and an FM station from Briarcliff Manor in Westchester (WTFM ?), all during the day. Had to run across Manhattan (West St to Bowery) to my ex-girlfriends apartment in Chinatown then up 22 stories in the dark only to find out she didn't have any water. Down and up 22 again lugging 2 gallons of water this time.Quote:
Originally Posted by n2ize
Your guess and that of just about every serious archeologist. Since the copper and iron were both completely covered by the asphalt sealant, it seems very unlikely that the thing was used as a battery. The most likely scenario is that they were used to store important documents and that the acidic residue found in the jars was probably decomposed papyrus.Quote:
Originally Posted by n2ize