RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
Meh. Next you are going to tell me to not break off the ground prong when using two prong outlets.THIS SHOULD NEVER BE DONE
in case someone actually thinks this is a good idea.
Meh. Next you are going to tell me to not break off the ground prong when using two prong outlets.THIS SHOULD NEVER BE DONE
in case someone actually thinks this is a good idea.
Mostly the latter. Mostly.I'd just hate to see some newbie who knows nothing stumble on this thread doing a Google search for audio fuses and think what you did was a good idea.
As for you, don't know if you are an idiot or just trolling.
I remember one of my cars had a "fuse wire" but I forget which car.I'd never use Cat5 for power cables, since the wires are usually twisted together in pairs inside the sheath, and it probably wouldn't take much for the insulation to abrade. Of course, one of my friends uses speaker wire to make power cords. I suppose it makes sense, since some people use zip cord to make speaker cables........
Getting back to fuses, things weren't always as cut-and-dry as they are now. A friend of mine from England once sent me a package containing fuse wire. Yep, basically the same kind of wire inside glass fuses, but meant for 'external' use. I've never seen the sort of fusebox which would've used it, but I'm betting it wasn't hard to get zapped while replacing the wire. That, and I can't imagine that it would've been too difficult to wrap multiple turns of fuse wire around the mounting points to 'up' the protection needed..........
-Adam
I believe you're thinking of a 'fusible link', which is commonly used as a 'last ditch' protection method between the wiring harness and the battery/alternator. At least those are generally insulated; the fuse wire I mentioned isn't!I remember one of my cars had a "fuse wire" but I forget which car.
Technically, maybe the insulation on the wire used inside a Cat5 cable can handle 125V (Wikipedia states as such), but its maximum current rating is a bit more than a half-amp, which is less than half of what a single 150W bulb draws! Perhaps paralleling the conductors increases this a bit, but I still wouldn't trust Cat5 cable for any sort of heavy current carrying.And yes, the cat 5 cable thing is dumb for exactly the reasons you mentioned. I have to admit that I was amazed that the cable can handle it no problem, but the insulation durability is the issue.
Well, it makes some sense. Cat5 cable was originally intended for telephone uses, and old-school Cat1 cable (aka 4-conductor 'quad' telephone wire) regularly carries somewhere in the range of 48-90V (albeit at fairly low current) when the ringing signal is sent to the phone. Of course, asking any sort of telephone or network cable to carry the amount of power needed to light a high-wattage bulb is well above and beyond what was ever meant to be asked of it..........Yikes Cat 5 to carry 120VAC? I don't know much but would never have thought it was even rated for the voltage much less the amps.
Those Wylex rewirable fuses mainly date from the 1950s/60s or earlier -- though you can still get replacements -- when the typical North American system used screw-in fuses that could be easily substituted with a coin, wad of foil, or a finger. Modern UK "fuse boxes" contain circuit breakers and residual current devices, not fuses.Getting back to fuses, things weren't always as cut-and-dry as they are now. A friend of mine from England once sent me a package containing fuse wire. Yep, basically the same kind of wire inside glass fuses, but meant for 'external' use. I've never seen the sort of fusebox which would've used it, but I'm betting it wasn't hard to get zapped while replacing the wire. That, and I can't imagine that it would've been too difficult to wrap multiple turns of fuse wire around the mounting points to 'up' the protection needed..........
Thanks for the clarification! Definitely less crude than what I was imagining (I've never seen a fusebox which used wire fuses), though it still makes me wonder why they didn't just go with an integrated cartridge solution of some sort. Of course, I'm one of those nuts who seems to like Bang & Olufsen turntables, soooooooooo..........Those Wylex rewirable fuses mainly date from the 1950s/60s or earlier -- though you can still get replacements -- when the typical North American system used screw-in fuses that could be easily substituted with a coin, wad of foil, or a finger. Modern UK "fuse boxes" contain circuit breakers and residual current devices, not fuses.
It's impossible -- or at least really difficult; for the determined idiot, nothing is impossible -- to get zapped whilst replacing a fuse wire. The fuse comes out, and you change the wire in it. Thusly:
The problem is folks who replace the fuse wire with either too high of a rating or conventional hookup wire, but that's the same as replacing any fuse with a higher-rated fuse or inappropriate substitute.
They had those too, but I bet the Wylex fuse boxes were popular because re-wiring your own fuse was perceived to be cheaper than cartridge fuses and it probably appealed to every British bloke's belief in himself as the ultimate do-it-yourselfer.Thanks for the clarification! Definitely less crude than what I was imagining (I've never seen a fusebox which used wire fuses), though it still makes me wonder why they didn't just go with an integrated cartridge solution of some sort.
Hi everyone,
I was hoping to get some fuses quickly. Normally, that would have been a reason to go to Radioshack but they have all closed in Omaha. I know that Home Depot, Lowe's and Ace carry some, but they usually don't have a wide selection and usually not what I'm looking for. I thought about trying Guitar Center but that is all town way across town from me.
I'm hoping someone has some ideas on places that carry fuses that I haven't thought of.
Going to Radioshack did become kind of a drag but I really miss it when all I need is a fuse or some generic resistor.