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Groups > alt.folklore.computers > #154939

Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning?

From "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com>
Newsgroups alt.folklore.computers
Subject Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning?
Date 2015-12-10 15:35 +1100
Message-ID <dcsdp3F65paU1@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References (4 earlier) <n45pkm$7of$1@dont-email.me> <96d62385-51c5-440c-992d-8f5ff3445007@googlegroups.com> <n47e3s326lr@news3.newsguy.com> <5607b4dd-7f6d-48cb-bfac-9d5106cc0321@googlegroups.com> <n486ph$m0v$1@dont-email.me>

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"Dave Garland" <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> wrote in message 
news:n486ph$m0v$1@dont-email.me...
> On 12/8/2015 2:40 PM, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>> On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 3:22:10 PM UTC-5, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>>
>>> Propane fridges were popular for trailers and RVs (and might still
>>> be for all I know).  I still find this paradoxical.
>>
>> I don't know the technology, but trailers used to haul refrigerated
>> goods now have a self-powered unit on them to provide cooling.
>> Maybe it's a tiny gas turbine to run the a/c compressor, but I'm
>> not sure.
>>
>>
>>>> In the 1960s, apparently the price of a window a/c unit came
>>>> down enough that lots of people and small stores got them.
>>>> But often house wiring had to be upgraded 'cause those things
>>>> used a lot of power.
>>>
>>> And that became a whole new problem...
>>
>> IIRC, the houses on our block had only 60 amp service when built
>> (stove, water, heat, dryer were all gas).  Without a/c, that
>> was adequate for lighting, some appliances, TV, etc.  Each room
>> had one 15 amp outlet, on circuits shared with other rooms.
>> there was no dishwasher or disposal.
>>
>> The ktichen light was three 20 watt fluorescent lamps.
>>
>> The dining room chandiler was quite bright, with five lamps.
>> I think we put in 40W bulbs, that was plenty.  (Or, we
>> might have used 3 60W bulbs and left two dark.)
>>
>> When people got an early a/c, it was 110V and 15 amp, so nothing
>> else could be used on that particular circuit, and things
>> like toasters couldn't be used.
>>
>> Later a/c units ran on 220V, but that required a 220V outlet,
>> which had to be installed.
>>
>> The power company pushed people to upgrade to "100 amp" service,
>> and many did.  It was nicer in that fuses didn't have to be
>> purchased and replaced and people could run their a/c as they
>> needed, but it was pretty expensive. Today it would be a must have,
>> as people would probably have more than one window unit,
>> plus a computer, more TV sets, more appliances, etc.
>>
>> Heck, one 15 amp outlet per room probably would be inadequate
>> today and the whole house would need rewiring.  Also, 60 year
>> old wiring probably has bad insulation, though I think back
>> then they used the cables with the metal cladding.
>
> 60 years ago was 1955. They had Romex wiring, IIRC plastic insulation
> on the wires, some sort of composite fibrous (paper?) cable sleeve.
> I'm not sure what you're thinking about with the "metal cladding",

They still have metal clad cable now, used where there is risk of damage
because its exposed on the walls etc. Forget what they call it there.

> though conduit was (and still is) used where mechanical
> protection is required, and there is flexible conduit made
> out of helical metal ("greenfield" or "armored cable").

Metal clad cable is in fact much more commonly used there now.

> My house was built before electricity (there are gas jets in the walls
> for lamps). The wiring was probably done in the 1920s or 1930s, and
> the remaining original parts is individual lengths of wire (no cable)
> insulated with some sort of impregnated fabric (and now very brittle)
> material and fabric sleeves, soldered splices wrapped with friction
> tape. Not knob & tube (wires run between ceramic insulators, and with
> ceramic tubes where they went through surfaces), another old technique.

> But frankly, other than the kitchen (fridge and sometimes one electric
> cooking device) and pantry (microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, toaster
> oven, rice cooker, don't use more than one at a time), there's no room
> that would need 15 amps (the furnace blower and the washing machine
> would be the only large consumers).

I often use more than one 2.5KW fan heater
in a room for a short time in winter.

> I didn't choose to live in a climate that required A/C
> (I have a window unit, but often don't get around to
> putting it in), and today's computers and TVs don't pull
> very much power. Most of the lighting is CFL or LED,
> aside from places where the light might only be "on"
> for 2 minutes (and LEDs are getting cheap enough for
> those) or where actual dimming (or other triac control,
> like photocell or solid-state timer) might be important
> (IMHO neither "dimmable" CFLs nor LEDs work very well).

> I need (and have) more than one outlet per room, but that's what power
> strips are for. All those wall warts don't add up to a lot of amps, 
> though.
 

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Thread

History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-04 19:44 -0800
  Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2015-12-04 22:19 -0800
  Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Jon Elson <elson@pico-systems.com> - 2015-12-05 13:27 -0600
  Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? jhhaynes@earthlink.net - 2015-12-07 13:41 -0800
    Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-07 17:58 -0800
      Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> - 2015-12-07 21:31 -0600
        Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2015-12-07 23:27 -0600
          Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-07 22:12 -0800
            Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? "Osmium" <r124c4u102@comcast.net> - 2015-12-08 07:24 -0600
              Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> - 2015-12-08 14:01 +0000
            Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2015-12-08 20:21 +0000
              Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-08 12:40 -0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2015-12-08 15:31 -0600
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2015-12-09 01:04 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2015-12-08 21:23 -0600
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Joy Beeson <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> - 2015-12-08 22:40 -0400
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2015-12-09 00:46 -0600
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Andrew Swallow <am.swallow@btinternet.com> - 2015-12-09 07:04 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> - 2015-12-09 09:15 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2015-12-09 18:27 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? "Ranger" <r5432@gmail.com> - 2015-12-10 15:39 +1100
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-12-10 15:35 +1100
              Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Andrew Swallow <am.swallow@btinternet.com> - 2015-12-09 06:59 +0000
              Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Bernd Felsche <berfel@innovative.iinet.net.au> - 2015-12-09 23:47 +0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> - 2015-12-09 17:20 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Michael LeVine <mlevinespmfltr@redshift.com> - 2015-12-09 10:14 -0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-09 10:21 -0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2015-12-09 18:47 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2015-12-09 21:33 +0100
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> - 2015-12-11 16:56 -0600
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2015-12-09 18:27 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? mausg@mail.com - 2015-12-09 20:47 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? "Osmium" <r124c4u102@comcast.net> - 2015-12-09 17:01 -0600
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? mausg@mail.com - 2015-12-10 10:48 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Bernd Felsche <berfel@innovative.iinet.net.au> - 2015-12-10 10:52 +0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2015-12-10 14:15 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Anne & Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com> - 2015-12-10 10:02 -0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-10 10:17 -0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2015-12-09 13:10 -0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Bernd Felsche <berfel@innovative.iinet.net.au> - 2015-12-10 11:22 +0800
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? mausg@mail.com - 2015-12-10 10:53 +0000
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> - 2015-12-10 17:54 -0600
                Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2015-12-09 17:17 -0600
          Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> - 2015-12-08 10:03 -0600
            Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2015-12-08 20:21 +0000
              Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2016-01-02 15:32 -0500
      Re: History--did relay logic (e.g. crossbar switch) need air conditioning? Lon <lon.stowell@comcast.net> - 2015-12-13 12:58 -0700

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