I have a two ended screwdriver, blade and phillips, clipped in my shirt pocket with 2 pens, and a small notepad (thank you real estate ladies of the world), and have a Gerber LST pocketknife in a pants pocket. This is my daily rig I always have. For serious scrounging I have a plastic tub with a lid just large enough to hold a legal size pad in the bottom. In that I have "real" screwdrivers, gloves (leather work gloves and rubber no yuck disposable gloves), nut drivers in a few critical smaller sizes, a big adjustable wrench, diagonal cutter, sometimes a cordless drill, a few static bags, some tie wraps, etc. Plus of course a few "fishing" tools, ie old RS232 cables for fishing in dumpsters. Tool that I yearn for; Cresent tiny slip joint pliers, the really small one maybe 5 inches long. Optional longing for Leatherman or Gerber pocket tools.

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Radio shack, its called a nibbling tool.

I have a similar set of combined metric/SAE that I bought for my Ranger and it works better on site jobs too. It's made by Great Neck and I bought it at AutoZone one day when my AeroStar threw a water pump and I was 60 miles from my regular tools. It's been one of the best tool sets I've bought and it takes the abuse I put it through on the vehicles and the heavy machinery. The case is nice too in that I can slip it into my manual bag and carry it over my shoulder. -----Original Message----- From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of THETechnoid(a)home.com Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 12:31 AM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: What tools do you carry, always I carry a full metric car kit for my Jetta - never need it for the car but for oil changes etc, but some heavier than normal tools have been useful on site. My standard kit: Leatherman Supertool in leather pouch on hip. - I use this a LOT for the blades mainly. Cellphone. Jeweler's screwdriver set Battery operated screwdrivers - two of them Electric drill and LONG bit. Lots of cd's, OS/2 warp, SCO, linux, windows 9x,nt,2k Floppies: Magic 9x boot, Tom's RTBT, Partition Magic, Drive Image, EZdrive, Ghost, Procom Plus for DOS (good for testing serial ports on unix servers). 10baseT test set Full set of serial gender/type benders and christmas tree Serial, 10base10/T crimpers, connectors and pins Several Manual screwdrivers clipboard, pen, sharpie pen External USR 56k modem, cables, adapters, powerpack Univeral power pack and plugs (DC) 600 watt 12vdc to 120vac voltage inverter portable p188, 6gig, 64mb ram. Runs OS/2 v4 plays MP3's in car portable Data General battery-operated dumb terminal Radio Shack 15watt/45watt soldering iron, reel of silver solder, sponge curved hemostats vicegrips shrink-wrap tubing electrical tape scissors wire dykes ti35+ calculator floppy-disk-shaped calculator in floppy box if I forget the above hex, torx, flat bit sets hex driver #1,#2, #3 manual screwdrivers manual flathead drivers car charger for cell phone tape adapter for mp3 player black ballistic nylon Dr's bag canned air paintbrush matches and lighter butane soldering iron wd40 Hoppes #9 gun oil several metal files hacksaw spare mice: PS/2 and serial pair of 'bastard' pliers - mainly for crimping ribbon cable. Multimeter. terminators and T's for 10base2 spare null and patch cables for 10baseT Silver print conductive paint. spare Edison power cables tent - no kidding cal .22 Remington Viper with 500rds in trunk (rarely used ;-0)) RJ11 telephone cable 100' 110vac extension cable GI issue parka spare jacket (in case that cute secretary or passenger gets cold). Outmoded by wife v1.0 (in that cute secretaries/doctors/judges are out). Flashlights (two). One standard, one designed to examine the barrel of a firearm. This is useful when trying to shine a light around a corner - $3.00 at gun show. allen wrenches in metric and standard Keychain has a swiss army knife clone if I really get desperate Magnets yanked from hard disk drives. I use these to magnetize my bits. bag of standard sized screws and mounts work order toys that somehow get in my 'doctor's bag' from time to time as placed by 4yr old step-daughter Milaci have actually come in handy..... brain Wishlist: ethernet diagnostic tool Serial end-to-end test set bandaids parachute proper ground rappeling gear 'notcher' type cutters for modifying sheet-metal parts - where do you get these? 2ghz Althlon notebook with 8hr battery life wireless internet access from wished-for notebook 100mbit networking at the shop/home no more windows than you -- ----------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey S. Worley President Complete Computer Services, Inc. 30 Greenwood Rd. Asheville, NC 28803 828-277-5959 Visit our website at HTTP://www.Real-Techs.com THETechnoid(a)home.com -----------------------------------------------------------

Untangling a bunch of cords I was thinking to myself that some of the old RS232 cables with big screws on the sides seem to catch on everything, and a lightbulb came on. They do catch on just about everything, so I keep a couple sizes in the car to fish in dumpsters with. They wedge, hook, wrap, etc. and they are pretty strong. The stiffness of the cable lets you drop one down in the dumpster, then by twisting the end in your hand, sort of walk it under stuff. Very handy, not very obviously a fishing tool. BTW I have fished out sealed plastic bags of various items, and that is a challenge, since there isn't anything to grip. Of course you can also sort of make a loop at the end which works a bit like a snare if you can drop it around something and pull to tighten before the loop slips apart.

I carry a leatherman/Gerber type multi tool ($7 at AutoZone and just as good) and a small aluminum flashlight in a belt holder that I got from Walmart for about $10. I also have a GI style multi-purpose pocket knife that I got from Auto Zone for around $6 that has an awl (great for eyeglass screws and tweeking trim pots), crow's beak can/bottle opener, flat screwdriver (basically my mini prybar) and of course a razor sharp regular blade. I had one issued to me when I was in the AF but lost it on a cabling job at a previous employer. This is exactly the same and even has a clip on the side that the AF knife didn't, and the same quality. I also usually carry one of those small pocket screwdrivers that has a #1 or 0 phillips on top and flat blade on the lower and clips in your shirt pocket with your pens. I arc'd one accidentally on a battery post working on an electrical problem but 3 days later found a nice one in a junk box where I used to work and this one is magnetic enough to be used as a pickup tool but not strong enough to stop my pacemaker (kidding). -----Original Message----- From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Joe Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 3:47 PM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: What tools do you carry, always I carry a leatherman tool EVERYWHERE. I was probably the only engineer at Martin Marietta that ever had any tools. I'll bet I've fixed a zillion pairs of glasses and removed/installed a million cable screws with that tool. The leatherman tool isn't perfect but it'll get you by in just about any situation. I even fixed the trottle on my Nissan Maxima with it while standing on the side of the road in south nowhere Geargia. Joe At 09:38 AM 12/6/00 -0800, you wrote: tools.

And it's a lot less strain on the heart and wallet when you have the $7 unit either lost or stolen than the higher cost ones and in my personal opinion they are equally functional for my needs and I still have lunch money left after I buy the $7 unit. Don't let me forget to get back with you direct on the 2.88mb floppies Mike. -----Original Message----- From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Mike Ford Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 12:06 AM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: RE: What tools do you carry, always The only cheaper one I have been tempted with is a Smith and Wesson. One of the local sporting goods stores (Big 5) is selling at $19.99 on sale from $49. I've seen the one at AutoZone, ditto Harbor Freight tools, and I "might" be willing to say it is similar function, but lets just say its made to fit that $7 selling price.

The theory is that you're not supposed to use pliers for "real" disassembly work. We all do it, of course, but you're really supposed to use a wrench. Pliers, as the name implies, are supposed to be used for forming and bending. Those really small wrenches that once came in a screwdriver set quickly discontinue any genuinely useful product. <sigh> Dick ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Foust" &lt;jfoust(a)threedee.com&gt; To: &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 7:25 AM Subject: RE: What tools do you carry, always

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All of my "have to be excellent quality" tools including my vise type pliers are Sears Craftsman. This way when I break them they give me a new one and I can depend on them to be reliable as well . I use my vise grip pliers for a multitude of things, especially when I'm doing repairs on the big iron printers such as IBM 5224/5225's and when I have to grab and hold the feed shaft on an IBM 6400 (also HP LP/Linejet and Printronics look alikes) to be able to put that pain in the butt snap ring on the end of the shaft. Sure with the Craftsman tools I need to inventory my tools better when I finish a job but I have to anyway as it really sucks to leave a 6" phillips laying in the carriage unit of a high speed cabinet sized line printer. Tends to ruin the screwdriver and your reputation as a reliable repair tech. I got into the habit of self inventory before testing when I worked around jets in the USAF anyway. -----Original Message----- From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of John Tinker Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 9:28 AM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: What tools do you carry, always A swiss army type knife with a phillips driver. The "Tinker" model is my personal favorite. But next to the knife, the single most valuable tool, in my opinion, is the vice-grip style plier. It doesn't have to be vice-grip brand, but the Chinese knock-offs can be horrible, the tolerances so poor that the frustration they produce is worse than not having the tool at all. (I wonder if the Chinese plan for destroying the U.S. from within is to flood us with cheap SKS's and crappy vice-grips?) Although it is not especially useful for computers, the vice-grip is the tool I wish the world had more of. Screw-drivers of course are used more often. But they are almost everywhere, and can be faked when necessary. But the vice-grip is the fundamental opposing thumb writ strong. The greatest feeling of wealth and power that I get from a pair of vice-grips comes when I grab a garfed-up screwhead sideways. It will get you by when nothing else comes close. Besides the obvious, you can rip metal, bend things out of the way, cut heavy wire, and use it as a vice. They also can be used as a general-purpose clamp. How many times have I seen car window cranks faked with a vice-grip? As a derivative, there is a c.b. radio antenna you can buy that uses a vice-grip as the method to attach it to almost anything. I really like to have a well-provisioned toolbox, so you won't see me walking around with only a swiss-army knife and a vice-grip too often. But especially if I don't know what I'm going to encounter, the first tool I make sure to take with me is the vice-grip. -- John Tinker

Never had one break in the middle of a job, they just slowly work less efficiently than new and I take them back. I have had rare occasions that the tip of a phillips 2 has sheared off but I carry 2 or 3 of them anyway. Sears Roebuck may not be in the UK but they are in canada under the name Simpson Sears. -----Original Message----- From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Tony Duell Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 3:09 PM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: What tools do you carry, always pliers I a I'm not saying this applies to this brand (which is unknown in the UK), but for me a lifetime warranty is not worth anything. Good quality most certainly is (even if the warranty is 'if it breaks, too bad'). When I'm doing a job, I don't want to have to stop (probably with the mechanism in some critical state) and go off and replace a tool that's broken. Even if the replacement is free, my time isn't. Nor is the hassle of losing 'the place' in what you are doing and have to go back to it. I don't know what the warranty on most of my tools is. I've never had cause to attempt to replace them... I simply can't afford to buy cheap tools -tony

For those without a handheld computer to store a database of module numbers in, you can shrink the printout of Field Guide down to the point where if you cut off the blank paper and fold it in thirds it is about the size of a 3.5" floppy. That, a Leatherman, and a flashlight are probably my main three items. If I'm going somewhere that I'll have to or might have to tear apart some serious equipment I'll bring my toolbag which includes a goodly selection of Excelite tools, pliers, wrenches (a big set of socket wrenches is in a separate case), and other items such as tape and scratch paper. In the last couple years I've also added a lot of those little screwdriver bits that seem to be so popular, and can be used in cordless drills and the like. A few months ago I found a set of the bits that covers basically every kind of security screw you might encounter. I've got to admit they're starting to replace my Excelites as my favorite sets. Though my favorite screwdriver is still the one I got for Christmas from my Uncle one year as a kid. It's got a shaft that flips over and each end has a bit that flips over so you've got a total of two sizes phillips, and two sizes of flat-head. It seems to be a lot better made than the ones like it that are available now. Another tool that's very, very useful is a digital camera. If you're tearing stuff apart you can snap lots of shots off. If you're trying to ID something you can take a pic and toss it on the web. A related tool would be a scanner and Adobe Photoshop. As long as it doesn't have chips that the scanner will erase you can scan the board in and use Photoshop and it's 'layers' feature to write notes on the scan, and trace things out. The layers mean you can have mulitiple layers with your notes and scriblings, and turn them on and off as you wish. Of course all this reminds me of when I was working as an Electrician in the Navy. I always carried three tools with me. A pair of fuse pullers, an Electricians knife, and a pair of slotted pliers. With those three tools I could do 95% of the work I needed to. Needless to say I've never read the Navy Manual "Tools and Their Uses", although I've got a copy :^) It would have told me I couldn't do most of the stuff I did with those three items :^) Zane

On Thu, 7 Dec 2000, John Foust wrote: This has been my dream for at least a couple years now. I actually do have this setup but it's a tad cumbersome (my Psion 5 and a wireless modem) but it does come in handy in a pinch. The ultimate would be a fast enough connection to where one could stream video over the web. This way, groups of scroungers could make arrangements to have one person go to the ham fest and look around while everyone else sat in the comfort of their house viewing the items over the web: "Hey, wait, go back to that other box and pick up the grey thing under the whatchmacallit!" :) I often think how cool it could be to have a group of minions running around to thrift stores and surplus shops picking through everything for me while I sat at home and monitored their activities from a main control room. I could direct what things they should buy and even how much to offer. Do I have an over-active imagination? I understand that they are no longer made by the same manufacturer. The "Craftsman" brand is now made by some cheaper foreign manufacturer, and the old "Craftsman" tools are now sold actually under a different name. I forget what that name is, but it would be worth it to check around. Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org

"Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" &lt;cisin(a)xenosoft.com&gt; wrote: ---snip--- Hi Fred I hope you bought the Sanp-on, I know I would. In general, the Craftsman tools are OK. The sockets are at least made of somewhat hardened metal. One could do a lot worse. If I could get a good set of socket from say Mac or Snap-On for the same price as Craftsman, I'd do it. Over the years, the only Craftsman tool I refuse to waste time with it their screw drivers. Some are way too brittle or to soft. One should not be able to bend or break them using only your hand. I find the top of the line Stanley screw drivers work well but most hardware stores only carry the cheap ones. Dwight

On Thu, 7 Dec 2000, Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) wrote: Fred, did they not also have a "Dunlap" line? Or am I confusing that with Wards or someone else? - don

While there are SOME people who can produce on demand the receipt for the underwear that they bought while in high school, I would not like to own tools that would break or wear out in the duration of time for which I would still have the receipt! Back when I was in auto repair (70s), I bought broken Snap-On tools at the Alameda flea market. Sure, I'll buy a broken Snap-On anything for 25 cents. Exchange (Snap-On used to have a facility in Emeryville) made it possible to have a decent set of tools without money. It was a joyous day when I was able to replace my oft-exchanged Craftsman 3/4" breaker bar with a 1" Snap-On (VW flywheel and rear axle nuts are sometimes tight). -- Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com

Sellam Ismail skrev: Not really. This scheme is already implemented in one big French department store (Lafayette?) in Paris. Webshoppers are assigned a "drone", basically a young human male equipped with rollerskates, a headset and a helmet-mounted webcam. You may then control the shopping drone as it roams around the shops as you please by issuing vocal commands. -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6. Gillar man porr..v?ld kvinno f?rnedring...och en massa onda handlingar s? ?r det filmen f?r dig....sj?lv vet jag inte..har sett 1-3......samtidigt som jag avskyr dem s? ?r det ?nd? s? n?tt magiskt bakom dem... Eric B om Urotsukid?ji

Sellam Ismail skrev: You tell your personal shopper to go get it. Of course, you'd need to tell him in French, but if you're shopping from another country, what is there to fear? -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6. Georgie beundrade stor?gt sin pappa som med v?ldsamma slag gick l?s p? det stora tr?det. Han badade i svett, och den muskul?sa kroppen bl?nkte i solskenet. Hon ?lskade honom. Lady Georgie, TMS 1983

Could somebody please explain to me how flourescent lamps work? They put out a LOT of UV light. So much so, that I thought that the name implied that they operated by a coating that flouresced under UV. -- Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com

Fluoresent discharge tube - ...the type most often used is a slender glass tube filled with mercury vapor at low pressure, with argon added to help starting... At each end of the tube is a filament-type electrode coated with a material that easily emits electrons when heated. When the current - usually alternating current - is switched on, the filaments heat up and emit electrons, each one acting as the anode or cathode depending on the half-cycle of the current. A high voltage between the electrodes is needed to start the argon discharge, and this is done using a starter or a choke or ballast. The starter automatically breaks the circuit when the filaments have heated up, causing the choke, which is an induction coil, to produce a brief pulse of high voltage electricity. This starts the argon discharge and, very shortly, a mercury discharge. This is self sustaining, with a continuous flow of electrons between the electrodes. The radiation from the ionized vapour is strong in the ultraviolet. This falls on a coating of fluorescent material on the inside of the tube, which glows by absorbing the invisible and harmful ultraviolet and re-radiating it as vivible light. The color of this light can be chosen by suitably arranging the mix of fluorescent coating, the most common shades being 'white' and 'warm white'.

Fred wrote: A normal fluorescent tube is NOT usable as a short-wave UV lamp.

^^^^ AARRRGGGHHHH! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ yes, it does! Back in the 70s, when I was in Honda car repair, I used good tools. Had ALMOST everything that Snap-On had in metrics, MAC for open ends, and for Sears Craftsman, only those made before 1970. But now, I use cheap tools. I go to Harbor Freight on the way home from Foothill. Sometimes drive up to the Vallejo store. Nevertheless, there are TWO, and only two tools where I still will absolutely NOT substitute. Those two are Vise-Grips (#5WR), and VICTORINOX swiss army knives. -- Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com

At 08:25 AM 12/7/00 -0600, John wrote: That's why you need a real Leatherman tool or one of the other top quality tools instead of the cheap junk. The cheap ones won't hold an edge on the knives and the screw drivers strip the first tile you use them and they just don't fit together or work properly. I've had my Leatherman for about ten years and it still works fine. Joe