On Tue, 14 Oct 2003, John Lawson wrote: Though this does make one think that it may not be that hard to steal the paper filter from an existing (larger) HEPA filter , cut it to the proper size, and hot melt it into the old filter casing... Peter Wallace

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003, Jay West wrote: Actually thats not true at all, there is very little you can do that will change the air pressure in the HDA (short of moving to a different altitude). The air pressure/media speed/head geometry/head loading pressure determine the flying height, the filter will have little or no affect on that. The filter pressure drop will determine how much of the circulating air goes through the filter and how much bypasses it... Peter Wallace

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Quothe John Lawson, from writings of Tue, Oct 14, 2003 at 02:13:43PM -0400: Isn't that a mean thing to do? ;-) After all, some of the clerks in those stores get rather confused when one asks for some basic hardware for home repairs, such as "real" windows panes---that is, wavy with lead in them, or for the square center shaft of a doorknob... items that one could find in "real" hardware stores. It never ceases to amaze me how much in the way of actual hardware, from the right washer, hinge, bolt or pulley, to the right type of paint, one could find in a small hardware store with wooden floors and narrow aisles as opposed to not being able to find what one wants in those huge so-called hardware stores that sell everything from warped knotty wood and plastic bathtubs to snowblowers and a huge array of light-fixtures with plastic sockets that will melt if one puts anything larger than a 60 watt bulb in them. -- Copyright (C) 2003 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & rdd(a)rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.

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On Thu, 16 Oct 2003, James M. Walker wrote: I constructed my PDP-8 replica with materials all found at Home Depot (or Lowes since it's closer, but the people at HD in my area are pretty helpful). Their breadth of selection does have its limitations though. Many are also ex-tradesmen who do know their stuff. As with all situations, you can't go in there with preconceived notions that they're all idiots or else you'll ignore the person who really would be able to help you. I'm sure it's rare, but even Radio Shack has the occasional "diamond in the rough". -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

Quothe Tony Duell, from writings of Thu, Oct 16, 2003 at 09:41:11PM +0100: No. Imagine what it would be like trying to find one if they did. After all, this afternoon, the manager of the electrical department at the local Lowes store didn't even know what an Edison base fuse was. Doh! ...and the electrical department sales droid that I spoke with over the telephone, who had to ask him what one was, didn't know either. The sales droid told me that her manager was an electrician, and I told her that he had no business being one if if didn't know what an Edison base fuse was. Next, I explained what an Edison base fuse looked like, then proceeded to tell her that the people working in the local small hardware store, which Lowes helped to drive out of business, knew what an Edison base fuse was. About the aforementioned small hardware store: the owner, a very pleasant older gentleman, was in his 90's, and he just died recently while the store was still having it's going out of business sale... it appeared that he knew more about hardware than all of the employees in all of the Home Depot's and Lowes stores combined... plus, he spoke, and could comprehend, fluent English... something that many of the minorities (more like majorities in many areas though) and immigrants working in those big stores don't appear to be able to do! (yes, I know, that wasn't a politically correct statement, however, it was the truth; screw political correctness, which is helping to destroy western civilization) Yes, that's the problem. They don't even know much about their inventory. Despite the size of those stores, the selection of inventory is still lacking. Try finding hose supplies in the middle of the winter, and be told something like "that's a seasonal item, we won't be getting any more until spring." Ok, so, I guess I was supposed to either tell the horses that needed water that a hose coupling was a seasonal item, or else carry many five gallon buckets of water from the stream to the barns; yes, right. "But look, this is made in China, Japan, Outer Mongolia, Mexico or Ungabungaland, and its cheaper, uh, somewhat inferior, but cheaper, and our profit margin is higher if you buy it." They're not in business to sell us what we want or need. We're supposed to exist only to increase profits for shareholders and to help increase government revenues. -- Copyright (C) 2003 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & rdd(a)rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.

Interesting thread. I just love it when people complain about the big chain stores not having what they want or having it but salespeople are clueless while the small mom & pop places know their stuff and have what you need. The fact is people are extremely cheap. The big chain stores buy what 90% of the public wants in huge quantities stacked up in large stores being sold by minimum wage workers. How many times have you seen somebody picking the brains of a knowledgeable store owner and then leave only to buy the item he needed from the internet, chain store, or some other place thats cheaper. The buying public is what has killed small specialty stores, quality manufactured items, and employees that know what they are doing.

----- Original Message ----- From: <vance(a)neurotica.com> To: "R. D. Davis" <rdd(a)rddavis.org> Cc: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2003 4:22 PM Subject: Re: air filters It used to be immigrants coming to the USA had problems with English because it wasn't taught in their schools (if they even went to school). Today foreign schools teach English better then most English schools while foreign students probably try harder to learn then the vast majority of American youth. When I was in college during the late 80's and early 90's the foreign students were the ones trying very hard to study and learn everything while most Americans were off at the frat house getting drunk. Its easy to get fat and lazy when you live in the land of plenty and consider yourself to be destined to have a good job and life because your an American. People from countries outside the USA have to try very hard to get the same opportunities we take for granted here and are not eager to blow it if they are one of the lucky few to make it here. Ever wonder why most post graduate courses in college are flooded with people of other countries? The problem I have with political correctness is that students today are not graded like they used to be, who actually flunks out of English in elementary schools even if they cant read? Its not politically correct to tell a parent their kid is stupid because it will make them feel bad. Are we better off with "no child is left behind" in our school system when it just lowers the requirements so everybody can get an A and pass (are schools even using a grading system anymore or just pass/fail with everyone passing?). .

I heard that used to mean both five pins in an X shape (with one in the centre) and five pins roughly equally spaced around the circumference of a circle. But I've never heard it with specific reference to a DIN plug - I've previously always heard them called five-pin-DIN. I'll remember to mention this when I'm next in Maplins ("What's a din then?") Antonio -- --------------- Antonio Carlini arcarlini(a)iee.org

Note that for some pin counts, there are DIN connectors with the pins positioned differently. I'm not sure whether these are really part of the DIN standard. For instance, there are at least three different pin arrangements for 5-pin DIN connectors. One has all five pins spaced around a 180 degree arc. One has a 240 degree arc. And one has four pins evenly spaced around the full circle, with a fifth pin in the center. Similar variations exist in the 7-pin connectors. I think the 240-degree 5-pin plug can be mated with a 6-pin DIN socket, but I have not verified that. Some things sold as circular DIN connectors are compliant with the DIN standard, some with an IEC standard, and some with neither. A few minutes searching with Google did not reveal the designations of the actual DIN and IEC standards, though I don't want to buy them in any case.

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003, Eric Smith wrote: It can. I have some equipment that uses that exact combination of connectors. -Toth

Quothe ben franchuk, from writings of Tue, Oct 14, 2003 at 04:30:23PM -0600: Actually, these days, since HP turned its test equipment into effiminate and cheap-looking rubbish---with a new name to match, did away with it's excellent scientific calculators that used RPN and began producing annoying computers, it seems to have changed what those letters represent to better match its new image: HP now stands for: "Hmmmpf! Pfffooey!" officially, and, unofficially, "Hackless Products." -- Copyright (C) 2003 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & rdd(a)rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.