OT: Blind Baby

I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.

What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
fixtures.

[1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
[2] with lots of witnesses.
[3 45.

--
Mike
DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22
Skype: mikebothe
I must belong somewhere

muddy cat <muddyDOTcat@gmail.com> wrote:

> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
> the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
> use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
> lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
> a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>
> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
> fixtures.
>
> [1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
> [2] with lots of witnesses.
> [3 45.

Quality.

--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....

muddy cat wrote:
> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
> the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
> use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
> lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
> a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>
> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
> fixtures.

Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's
normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase.

--
Eiron.

Eiron (E1ron@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying :

>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't
>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the
>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown
>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or
>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>>
>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480
>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the
>> the light fixtures.

> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's
> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase.

He's from LeftPondia, remember, where they use 110v single phase. So 277v
(strangely precise number...) sounds about right for three phase.

"Eiron" <E1ron@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5fm219F3dq44sU1@mid.individual.net...
> muddy cat wrote:
> > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
> > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
> > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
> > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
> > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
> >
> > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
> > fixtures.
>
> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's
> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase.
>
> --
> Eiron.

240volts RMS = 600+ VOLTS PEAK !!!

Lee.......

muddy cat wrote:
> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't
> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the
> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown
> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or
> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>
> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the
> light fixtures.
>
> [1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
> [2] with lots of witnesses.
> [3 45.

Quality. My FiL (who is red-green colour-blind) did a lot of
electro-mechanical and computer hardware maintenance through the
60s/70s/80s, and reckoned he made less mistakes than the full-colour-vision
lot because he always had to use a meter to tell the wires apart.

--
platypus

"enthusiasm and incompetence"

Adrian wrote:
> Eiron (E1ron@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
> saying :
>
>>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't
>>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the
>>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown
>>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or
>>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>>>
>>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480
>>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the
>>> the light fixtures.
>
>> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's
>> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase.
>
> He's from LeftPondia, remember, where they use 110v single phase. So 277v
> (strangely precise number...) sounds about right for three phase.

190v would be the figure for three phase American volts.
They actually use 220v two-phase for some domestic stuff, that is
a pair of lives with no neutral.

(I should have written 240v/415v earlier for the UK.)

--
Eiron.

muddy cat wrote:
>
> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you
> get 480 volts which lets the magic smoke out of every
> ballast in all the light fixtures.

Well done that man! I presume you denied all knowledge
and blamed it on a faulty rectifying bridge coupler
which should have been replaced at least 20 years ago?

--
Antony

On Jul 12, 2:30 am, muddy cat <muddyDOT...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
> the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
> use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
> lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
> a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>
> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
> fixtures.
>
A while ago (c. 1981) I was fixing a variable transformer with a
highly regulated output in the range 800-1500Vdc. One of the
controlling transistors was on the fritz so the dc wasn't too smooth.
I put the thing on the test rig and counted along the row of connctors
and attached the various cables only to be sent across the lab on my
arse. Seems that pin #1 was at the other end and what should have been
a reference voltage of about 14V was in fact about 920V.

In article <1184230230.744398.17450@n2g2000hse.googlegroups.c om>,
antonye <antonye@ukrm.net> wrote:

> muddy cat wrote:
> >
> > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you
> > get 480 volts which lets the magic smoke out of every
> > ballast in all the light fixtures.
>
> Well done that man! I presume you denied all knowledge
> and blamed it on a faulty rectifying bridge coupler
> which should have been replaced at least 20 years ago?

Well I could have blamed the female apprentice, but being the fool I am,
I took full blame.

--
Mike
DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22
Skype: mikebothe
I must belong somewhere

In article <5fm219F3dq44sU1@mid.individual.net>,
Eiron <E1ron@hotmail.com> wrote:

> muddy cat wrote:
> > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
> > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
> > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
> > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
> > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
> >
> > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
> > fixtures.
>
> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's
> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase.

The US. Industrial power is 480/277 3p and 208/120 3p. residential is
240/120 1p.

--
Mike
DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22
Skype: mikebothe
I must belong somewhere

In article <5fm7sfF3c1gdiU1@mid.individual.net>,
Eiron <E1ron@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Adrian wrote:
> > Eiron (E1ron@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
> > saying :
> >
> >>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't
> >>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the
> >>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown
> >>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or
> >>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
> >>>
> >>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480
> >>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the
> >>> the light fixtures.
> >
> >> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's
> >> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase.
> >
> > He's from LeftPondia, remember, where they use 110v single phase. So 277v
> > (strangely precise number...) sounds about right for three phase.
>
> 190v would be the figure for three phase American volts.

It's 480 phase to phase and 277 phase to neutral.

> They actually use 220v two-phase for some domestic stuff, that is
> a pair of lives with no neutral.

Residential is 240/120 single phase.

--
Mike
DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22
Skype: mikebothe
I must belong somewhere

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:30:34 -0700, muddy cat <muddyDOTcat@gmail.com>
wrote:

>What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
>which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
>fixtures.
>
>[1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
>[2] with lots of witnesses.
>[3 45.

Mmm crispy.
--
Lady Nina

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember muddy cat <muddyDOTcat@gmail.com>
saying something like:

>I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell
>the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we
>use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A
>lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and
>a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>
>What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
>which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light
>fixtures.
>
>[1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
>[2] with lots of witnesses.
>[3 45.

Oops. I shouldn't larf, I know.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.

"platypus" <monotreme@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:aslli.22357$p8.11406@text.news.blueyonder.co. uk...
> muddy cat wrote:
> > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't
> > tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the
> > colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown
> > and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or
> > yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
> >
> > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts
> > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the
> > light fixtures.
> >
> > [1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
> > [2] with lots of witnesses.
> > [3 45.
>
> Quality. My FiL (who is red-green colour-blind) did a lot of
> electro-mechanical and computer hardware maintenance through the
> 60s/70s/80s, and reckoned he made less mistakes than the
full-colour-vision
> lot because he always had to use a meter to tell the wires apart.
>

When I was into CB radio (as a step on the way to Proper Ham Radio, long
long ago), the local "rig doctor" who I worked with (hi Pat) was red/green
colour blind (tricky when trying to read resistor colour codes and such) -
he made himself some glasses with red and green filters in, if he closed one
eye, he could work out what colour it should be...

--
Dave H.
(The engineer formerly known as Homeless)

"Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" -
Douglas Bader

Dave H. wrote:
> "platypus" <monotreme@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:aslli.22357$p8.11406@text.news.blueyonder.co. uk...
>> muddy cat wrote:
>>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't
>>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the
>>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown
>>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or
>>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts.
>>>
>>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480
>>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3]
>>> the the light fixtures.
>>>
>>> [1] in a very spectacular manner[2].
>>> [2] with lots of witnesses.
>>> [3 45.
>>
>> Quality. My FiL (who is red-green colour-blind) did a lot of
>> electro-mechanical and computer hardware maintenance through the
>> 60s/70s/80s, and reckoned he made less mistakes than the
>> full-colour-vision lot because he always had to use a meter to tell
>> the wires apart.
>>
>
> When I was into CB radio (as a step on the way to Proper Ham Radio,
> long long ago), the local "rig doctor" who I worked with (hi Pat) was
> red/green colour blind (tricky when trying to read resistor colour
> codes and such) - he made himself some glasses with red and green
> filters in, if he closed one eye, he could work out what colour it
> should be...

That's what I said to the FiL, but he reckoned he'd been using a meter for
20-odd years (at that time) and would continue to do so.

--
platypus

"enthusiasm and incompetence"

	#1
muddy cat	OT: Blind Baby I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light fixtures. [1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. [2] with lots of witnesses. [3 45. -- Mike DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22 Skype: mikebothe I must belong somewhere

	#2
The Older Gentleman	Re: OT: Blind Baby muddy cat <muddyDOTcat@gmail.com> wrote: > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light > fixtures. > > [1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. > [2] with lots of witnesses. > [3 45. Quality. -- BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3 BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....

	#3
Eiron	Re: OT: Blind Baby muddy cat wrote: > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light > fixtures. Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase. -- Eiron.

	#4
Adrian	Re: OT: Blind Baby Eiron (E1ron@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying : >> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't >> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the >> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown >> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or >> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. >> >> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 >> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the >> the light fixtures. > Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's > normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase. He's from LeftPondia, remember, where they use 110v single phase. So 277v (strangely precise number...) sounds about right for three phase.

	#5
Lee	Re: OT: Blind Baby "Eiron" <E1ron@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:5fm219F3dq44sU1@mid.individual.net... > muddy cat wrote: > > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell > > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we > > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A > > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and > > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light > > fixtures. > > Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's > normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase. > > -- > Eiron. 240volts RMS = 600+ VOLTS PEAK !!! Lee.......

	#6
platypus	Re: Blind Baby muddy cat wrote: > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't > tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the > colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown > and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or > yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the > light fixtures. > > [1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. > [2] with lots of witnesses. > [3 45. Quality. My FiL (who is red-green colour-blind) did a lot of electro-mechanical and computer hardware maintenance through the 60s/70s/80s, and reckoned he made less mistakes than the full-colour-vision lot because he always had to use a meter to tell the wires apart. -- platypus "enthusiasm and incompetence"

	#7
Eiron	Re: OT: Blind Baby Adrian wrote: > Eiron (E1ron@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were > saying : > >>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't >>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the >>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown >>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or >>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. >>> >>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 >>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the >>> the light fixtures. > >> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's >> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase. > > He's from LeftPondia, remember, where they use 110v single phase. So 277v > (strangely precise number...) sounds about right for three phase. 190v would be the figure for three phase American volts. They actually use 220v two-phase for some domestic stuff, that is a pair of lives with no neutral. (I should have written 240v/415v earlier for the UK.) -- Eiron.

	#8
antonye	Re: OT: Blind Baby muddy cat wrote: > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you > get 480 volts which lets the magic smoke out of every > ballast in all the light fixtures. Well done that man! I presume you denied all knowledge and blamed it on a faulty rectifying bridge coupler which should have been replaced at least 20 years ago? -- Antony

	#9
osvif@my-deja.com	Re: OT: Blind Baby On Jul 12, 2:30 am, muddy cat <muddyDOT...@gmail.com> wrote: > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light > fixtures. > A while ago (c. 1981) I was fixing a variable transformer with a highly regulated output in the range 800-1500Vdc. One of the controlling transistors was on the fritz so the dc wasn't too smooth. I put the thing on the test rig and counted along the row of connctors and attached the various cables only to be sent across the lab on my arse. Seems that pin #1 was at the other end and what should have been a reference voltage of about 14V was in fact about 920V.

	#10
muddy cat	Re: OT: Blind Baby In article <1184230230.744398.17450@n2g2000hse.googlegroups.c om>, antonye <antonye@ukrm.net> wrote: > muddy cat wrote: > > > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you > > get 480 volts which lets the magic smoke out of every > > ballast in all the light fixtures. > > Well done that man! I presume you denied all knowledge > and blamed it on a faulty rectifying bridge coupler > which should have been replaced at least 20 years ago? Well I could have blamed the female apprentice, but being the fool I am, I took full blame. -- Mike DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22 Skype: mikebothe I must belong somewhere

	#11
muddy cat	Re: OT: Blind Baby In article <5fm219F3dq44sU1@mid.individual.net>, Eiron <E1ron@hotmail.com> wrote: > muddy cat wrote: > > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell > > the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we > > use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A > > lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and > > a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light > > fixtures. > > Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's > normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase. The US. Industrial power is 480/277 3p and 208/120 3p. residential is 240/120 1p. -- Mike DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22 Skype: mikebothe I must belong somewhere

	#12
muddy cat	Re: OT: Blind Baby In article <5fm7sfF3c1gdiU1@mid.individual.net>, Eiron <E1ron@hotmail.com> wrote: > Adrian wrote: > > Eiron (E1ron@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were > > saying : > > > >>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't > >>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the > >>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown > >>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or > >>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > >>> > >>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 > >>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the > >>> the light fixtures. > > > >> Where was this? I haven't heard of anywhere that uses 277/480v, it's > >> normally 240v single phase and 440v three phase. > > > > He's from LeftPondia, remember, where they use 110v single phase. So 277v > > (strangely precise number...) sounds about right for three phase. > > 190v would be the figure for three phase American volts. It's 480 phase to phase and 277 phase to neutral. > They actually use 220v two-phase for some domestic stuff, that is > a pair of lives with no neutral. Residential is 240/120 single phase. -- Mike DL1000 Black with extra black bits. UKRMMA#22 Skype: mikebothe I must belong somewhere

	#13
Lady Nina	Re: OT: Blind Baby On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:30:34 -0700, muddy cat <muddyDOTcat@gmail.com> wrote: >What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts >which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light >fixtures. > >[1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. >[2] with lots of witnesses. >[3 45. Mmm crispy. -- Lady Nina

	#14
Grimly Curmudgeon	Re: OT: Blind Baby We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember muddy cat <muddyDOTcat@gmail.com> saying something like: >I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't tell >the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the colors we >use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown and yellow. A >lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or yellow (hots) and >a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > >What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts >which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the light >fixtures. > >[1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. >[2] with lots of witnesses. >[3 45. Oops. I shouldn't larf, I know. -- Dave GS850x2 XS650 SE6a Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the river cleaned out in a day.

	#15
Dave H.	Re: Blind Baby "platypus" <monotreme@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message news:aslli.22357$p8.11406@text.news.blueyonder.co. uk... > muddy cat wrote: > > I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't > > tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the > > colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown > > and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or > > yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. > > > > What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 volts > > which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] the the > > light fixtures. > > > > [1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. > > [2] with lots of witnesses. > > [3 45. > > Quality. My FiL (who is red-green colour-blind) did a lot of > electro-mechanical and computer hardware maintenance through the > 60s/70s/80s, and reckoned he made less mistakes than the full-colour-vision > lot because he always had to use a meter to tell the wires apart. > When I was into CB radio (as a step on the way to Proper Ham Radio, long long ago), the local "rig doctor" who I worked with (hi Pat) was red/green colour blind (tricky when trying to read resistor colour codes and such) - he made himself some glasses with red and green filters in, if he closed one eye, he could work out what colour it should be... -- Dave H. (The engineer formerly known as Homeless) "Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas Bader

	#16
platypus	Re: Blind Baby Dave H. wrote: > "platypus" <monotreme@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message > news:aslli.22357$p8.11406@text.news.blueyonder.co. uk... >> muddy cat wrote: >>> I discovered [1] today that under low light conditions that I can't >>> tell the difference between purple and grey. These are two of the >>> colors we use for high-voltage wiring here. The others being brown >>> and yellow. A lighting circuit would normally be Brown or purple or >>> yellow (hots) and a grey (neutral), which gives you 277 volts. >>> >>> What happens when you mistake the purple for grey is you get 480 >>> volts which lets the magic smoke out of every ballast in all [3] >>> the the light fixtures. >>> >>> [1] in a very spectacular manner[2]. >>> [2] with lots of witnesses. >>> [3 45. >> >> Quality. My FiL (who is red-green colour-blind) did a lot of >> electro-mechanical and computer hardware maintenance through the >> 60s/70s/80s, and reckoned he made less mistakes than the >> full-colour-vision lot because he always had to use a meter to tell >> the wires apart. >> > > When I was into CB radio (as a step on the way to Proper Ham Radio, > long long ago), the local "rig doctor" who I worked with (hi Pat) was > red/green colour blind (tricky when trying to read resistor colour > codes and such) - he made himself some glasses with red and green > filters in, if he closed one eye, he could work out what colour it > should be... That's what I said to the FiL, but he reckoned he'd been using a meter for 20-odd years (at that time) and would continue to do so. -- platypus "enthusiasm and incompetence"