1961 Heathkit Catalog

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martin martin

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Apr 30, 2020, 11:42:29 PM4/30/20
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Since we all seem to have time on our hands... 
Let's order some Heathkits!

Time to go on the "Way Back Machine" and make your orders!



Michail Wilson

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May 1, 2020, 12:06:53 AM5/1/20
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Count me in.

 

I’d like to group buy for a price break.

 

I’m thinking the garage door opener on page 23.

Sorry, no need for the extra remote for $25.  No one is rich enough to have a second car, but a nice option for those super rich.

 

Ok,,…ok… On a serious note.

I’ll take the scope on page 94.  I hear in about 40 years, you can convert to a clock.

 

Michail Wilson

206-920-6312

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Nicholas Stock

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May 1, 2020, 12:14:25 AM5/1/20
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You know they relaunched recently? Limited offerings so far though...


Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 30, 2020, at 21:06, Michail Wilson <M...@michail.com> wrote:



Bill van Dijk

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May 1, 2020, 8:27:11 AM5/1/20
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Michail, I have an unbuilt Heathkit 5MHz model IO-4105 scope kit, in original box. Picked it up at a flea market a couple of years ago!

 

Bill

jf...@my-deja.com

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May 1, 2020, 9:20:49 AM5/1/20
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With modern ROHS requirements, you will need to build it with lead-free solder.

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martin martin

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May 1, 2020, 9:30:03 AM5/1/20
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I was sucked in and built the "new" Heathkit digital clock
https://shop.heathkit.com/shop/category/products-clocks-time-34 

It's okay, but the battery backup looses 1 min per hour and it takes 6 AA cells. 


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Nick

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May 2, 2020, 12:07:45 PM5/2/20
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Damn cheek!!!

https://shop.heathkit.com/shop/product/display-upgrade-for-heathkit-aj-1510-aj-1510a-fm-stereo-tuner-aja-1510-1-7

Upgrade indeed! The first digit is a DR2120, the rest are DR2100s. Still around...

John DeArmond

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May 2, 2020, 3:24:25 PM5/2/20
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NO he doesn't, at least in the USA.  I have a friend who owns a
vertically integrated box- building company.  If one wants to use their
full set of services, one can supply a diagram drawn on a yellow pad. 
Their engineers will design the schematic, make the boards, stuff and
solder them, install the boards in the selected enclosure, test the
product and repair any problem, package the product for shipment and
turn it over to the carrier of choice for shipment.

We use them for our Roy and Annie induction heaters, starting at the
handing them the schematic file, the layout file and the Gerber files
plus the test criteria.  I designed the devices and did the board
layout.  They periodically and randomly ship me a unit from the end of
the assembly so I can test it myself to make sure that they're
maintaining my level of quality.

If I do a firmware revision, I email them the new board layout and and a
pdf that contains the new nameplate.  I made provisions for in-circuit
programming so they handle that.  They etch the new nameplate.  For
finished units that have not been shipped, they unpack those units and
make the changes.  All this for an extremely affordable price.  All of
this is leading up to...

On our first visit, I asked about ROHS.  He scowled and set us down in
his office for about an hour lecture on ROHS.  He started off by calling
ROHS the spawn of the Devil and showed us some some ROHS boards hanging
on a wall that had tin whiskers at least 2" long.

He said that NASA was one of his largest customers and that they'd
reject work with PPM levels of tin in the solder. They send in an
inspector every month or so to test the bath and solder paste. So will
the military.  Automakers will reject any ROHS in critical, must-work
systems such as the air bomb detonator board and the powertrain
computers, among other thing.

He told us that if we chose ROHS, the price of that part of the job will
double.  That's because it requires different flux and solder
(obviously), a different flux placement nozzle head because ROHS flux is
more viscous, the ROHS alloy is more viscous than regular, requiring a
more powerful pump for sending the solder over the wave-forming wedge
and about once a month, they have to shut down and go over the wave
soldering machine with heat guns to melt away the whiskers that had
formed all over the machine.  He said that they had learned that the
hard way when a whisker grew up into a sensor housing and shorted the
sensor.

Between the building is a trough containing weak detergent solution and
a scrubber-type door mat, followed by a flowing rinse bath, followed by
a drying mat.  This tells me that if they have to take such
extraordinary separation and decontamination measures, ROHS is not for
the individual tinkerer.

We made the decision on the spot.  Conventional solder.  No EU sales. 
The EU has made some of the most stupid rules dealing with electronics
and this is probably the worst.

We once sold 200 units to a guy in Germany.  I am fully confident that
he attached "ROHS" and CE stickers and sold them into the EU market.  I
decided that too much liability (the old "you knew or should have known"
bit) might reflect back on use so I stopped that program after the first
shipment.

I know that there will be someone pop up to say how successful they've
been at hand ROHS soldering.  Good for them.  I consulted several
experts, including flux and paste manufacturers.  I did not have the
time to test an infinite matrix of solder and fluxes.

My partner's wanting to continue to sell wholesale to Europe was a major
ingredient in our friendly breakup.  He is still operating,
manufacturing the Annie, a specialty heater that anneals the mouth of a
piece of brass before further processing the brass into ammunition. 
fluxeon.com if you want to see.  I'm over 65 so when this Coronavirus
hit, I retired.

John

On 5/1/20 9:20 AM, 'jf...@my-deja.com' via neonixie-l wrote:
> With modern ROHS requirements, you will need to build it with lead-free
> solder.
>
> On Friday, May 1, 2020 at 5:27:11 AM UTC-7, Bill van Dijk wrote:
>> Michail, I have an unbuilt Heathkit 5MHz model IO-4105 scope kit, in
>> original box. Picked it up at a flea market a couple of years ago!
>>
>>
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com <javascript:> [mailto:
>> neoni...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>] *On Behalf Of *Michail Wilson
>> *Sent:* Friday, May 01, 2020 12:07 AM
>> *To:* neoni...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>
>> *Subject:* RE: [neonixie-l] 1961 Heathkit Catalog
>>
>>
>>
>> Count me in.
>>
>>
>>
>> I’d like to group buy for a price break.
>>
>>
>>
>> I’m thinking the garage door opener on page 23.
>>
>> Sorry, no need for the extra remote for $25. No one is rich enough to
>> have a second car, but a nice option for those super rich.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ok,,…ok… On a serious note.
>>
>> I’ll take the scope on page 94. I hear in about 40 years, you can convert
>> to a clock.
>>
>>
>>
>> Michail Wilson
>>
>> 206-920-6312
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com <javascript:> <neoni...@googlegroups.com
>> <javascript:>> *On Behalf Of *martin martin
>> *Sent:* Thursday, April 30, 2020 8:42 PM
>> *To:* neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>>
>> *Subject:* [neonixie-l] 1961 Heathkit Catalog
>>
>>
>>
>> Since we all seem to have time on our hands...
>>
>> Let's order some Heathkits!
>>
>>
>>
>> Time to go on the "Way Back Machine" and make your orders!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Allied-Catalogs/Heathkit_1961_Fall_Winter.pdf
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>> "neonixie-l" group.
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>> .
>>
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>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/MW2PR0102MB343545CF70DA59FCA018039F82AB0%40MW2PR0102MB3435.prod.exchangelabs.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>> .
>>

jf...@my-deja.com

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May 2, 2020, 6:24:48 PM5/2/20
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It was meant as a joke.  I still use SnPb eutectic solder, and I think my ~1 kg is a lifetime supply  I think I can blame this for my dumbness, since I used to hold the solder in my teeth during construction and repair.

I have this religious belief, scientifically not proven, that Pb-free solder made some of the surface-mount boards in my car less reliable.  There were some medium-power current-limiting resistors where one of the solder joints eventually cracked ad left an open circuit.  I blame this on the ROHS solder being more brittle and the thermal cycling eventually fatiguing and cracking the solder after 5-10 years.

Instrument Resources of America

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May 3, 2020, 2:32:13 AM5/3/20
to 'jfeng@my-deja.com' via neonixie-l

I had to repair my 45 plus year old Sharp kitchen microwave oven just last week. A relay's coil terminal, solder joint on the PCB was completely cracked all the way around the pin. Re-soldered it and works just like new. I chalked it up to the constant vibration of the door being shut.   Ira.


On 5/2/2020 3:24 PM, 'jf...@my-deja.com' via neonixie-l wrote:
It was meant as a joke.  I still use SnPb eutectic solder, and I think my ~1 kg is a lifetime supply  I think I can blame this for my dumbness, since I used to hold the solder in my teeth during construction and repair.

I have this religious belief, scientifically not proven, that Pb-free solder made some of the surface-mount boards in my car less reliable.  There were some medium-power current-limiting resistors where one of the solder joints eventually cracked ad left an open circuit.  I blame this on the ROHS solder being more brittle and the thermal cycling eventually fatiguing and cracking the solder after 5-10 years.

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IRACOSALES.vcf

newxito

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May 3, 2020, 3:17:11 AM5/3/20
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Tape recorder kits and transistor based intercoms in 1961? I'm really impressed! In Spain we had Sales Kit and Carkit, but the kits were much simpler and only a few came with a case

I always order boards with ROHS surface finish and use lead free solder. Soldering is a little bit more difficult on large ground planes. I am just a hobbyist, but It works fine for me.
Anyway, I recently bought a Philips air purifier that shows 3 different types of information about the air quality:  
IAI (indoor allergen index): 1 good, 12 bad
GAS: L1 good, L4 bad
PM2.5: <12 good, >55 bad
The air in the house seems to be excellent:  IAI = 1, GAS = 1L, PM2.5 = 2, same values in the basement where I have my shop. 
If I use the 3D printer, IAI goes to 2, GAS to L2 and PM2.5 to 8-11, still ok… 
But when I start soldering, this thing goes crazy! IAI = 11, GAS = 2L and PM2.5 > 80, even using two small fume extractors.
And, of course, the led ring changes from a nice blue to an unhealthy red.
Solution: never check the air purifier values while soldering :-)

alb.001 alb.001

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May 3, 2020, 10:54:41 AM5/3/20
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good for you fixing a vintage microwave.   Mine is also an oldie - an engagement gift pre 1986.  All of a sudden the timer countdown works but no microwaves being generated.   I asked a friend who told me to check all the micro-switches and sure enough they were all heavily pitted from arcing. I replaced them all and used silver solder to fix them.   Still works great.   Knowing soldering saved my old stuff many a time. 

Pharma Phil  

martin martin

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May 3, 2020, 11:25:29 AM5/3/20
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I use a 40 year old spool of Kester 44. 0.31 dia, flux core 58


To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/361308910.4115822.1588517677871.JavaMail.open-xchange%40mtlgui01.

John Snow

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May 6, 2020, 12:21:55 PM5/6/20
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I take it you you a flux pen or something to add additional solder? That must have dried up by now


On Sunday, 3 May 2020 16:25:29 UTC+1, martin martin wrote:
I use a 40 year old spool of Kester 44. 0.31 dia, flux core 58


On Sun, May 3, 2020 at 7:54 AM alb.001 alb.001 <alb...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

good for you fixing a vintage microwave.   Mine is also an oldie - an engagement gift pre 1986.  All of a sudden the timer countdown works but no microwaves being generated.   I asked a friend who told me to check all the micro-switches and sure enough they were all heavily pitted from arcing. I replaced them all and used silver solder to fix them.   Still works great.   Knowing soldering saved my old stuff many a time. 

Pharma Phil  

---------- Original Message ----------
From: Instrument Resources of America <IRACO...@HUGHES.NET>
Date: May 3, 2020 at 2:31 AM

I had to repair my 45 plus year old Sharp kitchen microwave oven just last week. A relay's coil terminal, solder joint on the PCB was completely cracked all the way around the pin. Re-soldered it and works just like new. I chalked it up to the constant vibration of the door being shut. Ira.


On 5/2/2020 3:24 PM, ' jf...@my-deja.com' via neonixie-l wrote:
It was meant as a joke. I still use SnPb eutectic solder, and I think my ~1 kg is a lifetime supply I think I can blame this for my dumbness, since I used to hold the solder in my teeth during construction and repair.

I have this religious belief, scientifically not proven, that Pb-free solder made some of the surface-mount boards in my car less reliable. There were some medium-power current-limiting resistors where one of the solder joints eventually cracked ad left an open circuit. I blame this on the ROHS solder being more brittle and the thermal cycling eventually fatiguing and cracking the solder after 5-10 years.

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Mac Doktor

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May 6, 2020, 7:57:37 PM5/6/20
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On May 6, 2020, at 12:21 PM, John Snow <jrope...@gmail.com> wrote:

I take it you you a flux pen or something to add additional solder? That must have dried up by now

I've got two half spools of Ersin Multicore from around 1985 and they still have plenty of flux. I purchased my Weller WTCP-N around the same time and I've replaced the tip once.

I also have brand new spool of Kester 44 but it's only been twenty years since I bought it. I guess I'll start using it when I use the other two up.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"


“The book said something astonishing, a very big thought.
It said that the stars were suns, only very far away.
The Sun was a star, but close up.”—Carl Sagan, Cosmos, 1980


Nick

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May 7, 2020, 11:29:28 AM5/7/20
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I use 95% RoHS boards, components & solder.

My soldering stations are Metcal MX5200 kit, so just changed the bits for RoHS. It's definitely not as simple as Pb solder, but works fine.

Terry Kennedy

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May 27, 2020, 4:06:26 AM5/27/20
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On Saturday, May 2, 2020 at 6:24:48 PM UTC-4, jf...@my-deja.com wrote:
It was meant as a joke.  I still use SnPb eutectic solder, and I think my ~1 kg is a lifetime supply  I think I can blame this for my dumbness, since I used to hold the solder in my teeth during construction and repair.

I grew up in a time where in elementary school you got to dip your hand up to the wrist in a bottle of mercury, vaporize iodine into a room-filling purple cloud, and play with large chunks of the alkali metals. I once was responsible for inventorying a bulk donation from an industrial laboratory (let's leave them anonymous) to the college I was working at. On opening a metal crate, I had the distinctly unpleasant sensation of ozone forming in my mouth. I shut the box and took off - they had shipped us a Cobalt-60 source in error. More recently, I've ordered and received various electronic components from a seller in the Ukraine. An Elektronika clock was among the items and as you may know, I refurbish these with all new tubes, etc.This clock was absolutely filthy inside with the most bitter dust you could imagine. Not that I was tasting it on purpose, but I didn't realize I needed a full respirator. I asked the seller where these items came from and he replied "a disused industrial premise approx. 150km NNW of Kiev". AKA Chernobyl. this does not reassure me about radiologic inspection of items coming into the US, though to be honest I'm sure the actual radioactivity was low.

After all that, I'm not worried about leaded solder. And since people opening and eating products assembled with lead solder seems unlikely, many ROHS
Message has been deleted

Terry Kennedy

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May 27, 2020, 4:10:33 AM5/27/20
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On Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 4:06:26 AM UTC-4, Terry Kennedy wrote:
After all that, I'm not worried about leaded solder. And since people opening and eating products assembled with lead solder seems unlikely, many ROHS

[Hit Post too soon by accident] 

.. many ROHS goals could be accomplished by making products longer-lived, easier to repair, and enforcing safety regulations at recycling centers.

jf...@my-deja.com

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May 27, 2020, 9:50:53 AM5/27/20
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We kept ours in an Erlenmeyer flask, and I could never get my hand past the bottleneck.

Instrument Resources of America

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May 27, 2020, 10:46:33 AM5/27/20
to 'jfeng@my-deja.com' via neonixie-l

Get a pan off of the stove that you use to cook in every day, pour it in there, THEN stick your hand in it. After playing with it, pour it back into the flask, and put the pan back on the stove. Problem solved!!!    Ira.

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IRACOSALES.vcf

jf...@my-deja.com

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May 27, 2020, 10:59:19 AM5/27/20
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That is a lot of mercury.  I don't think we kept more than a pound.  Also, I don' tknow how you get the Hg completely out of the pan, since ISTR that we would use the Hg to shine up nickels and pennies.

alb.001 alb.001

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May 27, 2020, 11:53:15 AM5/27/20
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The high school I went to in the 1960's was refurbishing the chemistry lab and they simply discarded all the bottles of chemicals into waste bins in what was the playground behind the school.  I looked thru the bins and took many jars of chemicals home including red mercuric oxide. When I got home, I put the mercury compound in one of my mother's frying pans and put it on the stove and heated it up.  The compound decomposed to produce liquid mercury with some vaporizing.  I took it off the stove to let it cool.  I am sure I must have inhaled some mercury but never became symptomatic of any poisoning - I was both lucky and stupid as I did not appreciate what the toxicity of mercury was.  Doing stupid chemistry things stayed with me with many further adventures in university.

Pharma Phil


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newxito

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May 27, 2020, 2:14:25 PM5/27/20
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Last year I had an amalgam filling removed. The dentist and her assistant wore spectacular gas masks and I had a huge tube from a fume extractor in front of my face. After the treatment I received 10 selenium pills for detox. I was really impressed :-)

gregebert

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May 27, 2020, 2:35:22 PM5/27/20
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I still have a small vial of mercury I removed from light switches almost 50 years ago. 

There is a "pellet" with metal on both sides, separated by a glass or ceramic bead. When the switch is tilted up, the mercury makes electrical contact to both metal sides and a hole inside the ceramic bead. I was 10 years old at the time, and we were very nervous about breaking the bead because some mercury compounds are explosive (mercury fulminate). After debating a few days, we cracked it open and course we were enthralled with the mystery liquid, but we knew it was toxic and never touched or heated it.

Nicholas Stock

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May 27, 2020, 2:58:05 PM5/27/20
to 'Greg P' via neonixie-l
Elemental mercury gets a bit of a bad rap...it really isn't as deadly as people make out....minimal acute exposure will not do much harm (did amalgam fillings really impair the life expectancy of most that had them?). Chronic exposure to the vapor will cause issues however. Mercury salts and organo-mercury compounds are the ones to be concerned about ingesting or even touching, but even then the hullabaloo about eating too much Tuna is a bit over-blown (IMHO)....how many nursing Japanese women don't eat sushi? LOL. I know of one particularly nasty case of mercury poisoning however...


...not a nice way to go....and the exposure was very minimal....beware dialkyl mercury!


On Wed, May 27, 2020 at 11:35 AM gregebert <greg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I still have a small vial of mercury I removed from light switches almost 50 years ago. 

There is a "pellet" with metal on both sides, separated by a glass or ceramic bead. When the switch is tilted up, the mercury makes electrical contact to both metal sides and a hole inside the ceramic bead. I was 10 years old at the time, and we were very nervous about breaking the bead because some mercury compounds are explosive (mercury fulminate). After debating a few days, we cracked it open and course we were enthralled with the mystery liquid, but we knew it was toxic and never touched or heated it.

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Mac Doktor

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May 27, 2020, 8:00:49 PM5/27/20
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On May 27, 2020, at 11:53 AM, alb.001 alb.001 <alb...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

 I was both lucky and stupid as I did not appreciate what the toxicity of mercury was.  Doing stupid chemistry things stayed with me with many further adventures in university.

Forget elemental mercury vapor, ingesting the mercuric oxide would have been a lot more fun.

In the late '70s our chem lab in High School was straight out of the '50s. Nice old-fashioned benches and sinks but no fume hoods or anything more sophisticated than a pair of plastic goggles. Anything we couldn't pour down the sink went into a large ceramic crock in the back corner of the room. I can't remember now if it had a lid or not. Some guy came twice year to empty it.

In the summer before my senior year I took Chemistry II which consisted of eight weeks of solid lab work for four hours a day. One Monday we walked in and there was a haze filling the entire room. We opened all of the huge windows (10~12' ceilings, steam heat and no A/C) and stood out in the hall for an hour. It had no distinct odor to it so we never did figure out what it was or where it came from.

One day the teacher asked me to help him refill the small hydrous ammonia reagent bottle we used in the classroom. I held a glass funnel while he poured what was probably less than half a liter into the bottle from a jar that must have been several liters. We held our breath as the liquid filled the reagent bottle. As soon as it was full I yanked out the funnel, put it in the sink as fast as I could without breaking it and jabbed the stopper in. At the same time the teacher set the other bottle on the bench and screwed the cap on as fast as possible. As soon as our hands were free we ran out of there like two bats out of hell and stood in the hall gasping for air while tears ran down our faces.

Then there was the time we were making some HCL and I got a tiny whiff. Man, that was as close to feeling like I was going to die in my entire life. Those poor sods in WWI. I can actually imagine what it was like.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact."—Carl Sagan, Psychology Today, 1996

martin martin

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May 27, 2020, 8:07:19 PM5/27/20
to neonixie-l
I have a box of mercury tubes with contacts.  They were removed from switches and those old hood lamps on car.  
They still are cool to look at


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Nicholas Stock

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May 27, 2020, 10:11:51 PM5/27/20
to 'Greg P' via neonixie-l
Sounds like the good old days Terry! Chemistry is (alas) my forte....not sure how I ended up being a medicinal chemist, but sometimes life leads you in strange directions and places. Back when I started senior school (high school for those in the US), we made aspirin in class......I distinctly remember the sweet smell of benzene (used as the solvent for the reaction).....that certainly wouldn't happen today....My 1st year graduate tutor (Professor Charles Rees - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rees) used to tell us they washed their hands in the stuff!! In my career I've certainly used some nasty chemicals (HMPA, dimethylsulfate etc...)...I'm usually leery of anything with a skull and crossbones on the bottle. As for smells, using 300 mL of tert-butyl mercaptan isn't for the feint of heart either....we had the fire-brigade called out a few times on that one...

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alb.001 alb.001

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May 27, 2020, 10:56:13 PM5/27/20
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Talk about ammonia.   The thing I fear most when driving, especially on a highway is a tanker carrying anhydrous ammonia.  Several have crashed with resultant release of clear low-hanging clouds of ammonia gas.  If you drive thru one your lungs instinctively close and you suffocate while driving at speed.

Watch out !!   Pharma Phil

 

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alb.001 alb.001

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May 27, 2020, 11:00:18 PM5/27/20
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I still have some GE silent mercury wall switches still in original packaging.  I also have a plastic bottle with about 5 pounds of pure mercury which I used to play with.

Pharma Phil

alb.001 alb.001

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May 27, 2020, 11:27:04 PM5/27/20
to neonixie-l

There is an auction from the province of British Columbia Canada of some old physics lab equipment which includes a Dana 3800A nixie multi-meter.  They don't ship so you would need to live nearby or have friend who can get it for you.

Regards  Pharma Phil

Frank Palecek

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May 28, 2020, 11:20:15 AM5/28/20
to neoni...@googlegroups.com

You must have attended the same H.S. I did!  Your description fits everything I remember except we had a face shield with no goggles only when handling chemicals.  I wonder what happened to the barrel of waste that was in the back of the room? 

 

Our teacher once put some mercury in a dish and we all used silver quarters to show how the mercury would attract to the silver.  Then go and spend the quarters in the lunch room.

 

Frank

Robert G. Schaffrath

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May 28, 2020, 11:36:31 AM5/28/20
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My late father was a Professor of Chemistry and we often had "interesting" chemicals at home (Benzene, Diethyl Ether, Pentane, Carbon Tetrachloride (CCL), Butyl Acetate, Lab Alcohol, Toluene, Xylene and Sodium Hydroxide right off the top of my head). He also collected elements and I still have a 1lb bottle of mercury safely stored as well as a very nice Honeywell mercury switch from a furnace (a substantial blob of mercury and being in a sealed tube, the mercury is bright and shiny without any oxidation).

I do recall back in the early 1970's when OSHA came into existence and started promulgating rules, how perturbed my father was at all the changes the university had to make in the chemical storeroom. CCL and Benzene were classified as carcinogens and moved into a newly built store room for such chemicals as well as requiring new handling procedures (no more just using it out on an open lab table). Sadly, approximately 25 years later in 1997 at age 75, he passed from bladder cancer most likely caused by exposure to the many organic chemicals like Benzene and CCL over the many decades. I recall reviewing my health history with my primary care physician and discussing parents health history with him. He recalled being in medical school and drawing lines on his skin with Benzene along with the other med students. Who knew?

Robert

Mac Doktor

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May 28, 2020, 4:03:36 PM5/28/20
to neoni...@googlegroups.com
On May 27, 2020, at 10:56 PM, alb.001 alb.001 <alb...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

Talk about ammonia.   The thing I fear most when driving, especially on a highway is a tanker carrying anhydrous ammonia.  Several have crashed with resultant release of clear low-hanging clouds of ammonia gas.  If you drive thru one your lungs instinctively close and you suffocate while driving at speed.

One night I was listening to the scanner and they started toning out every fire department and rescue squad for 30 miles around. The cooling system at a local poultry plant leaked and they have to evacuate over a hundred people. Eight had to be take to the hospital which used up three quarters of the ambulances in the area. The others were treating people on site. Fortunately there were no other major incidents for several hours and even then they had rescue squads from 30 minutes away filling quarters.

I highly recommend the book Hostile Waters. It's about a Soviet nuclear missile sub that had a seawater leak into one of the missile tubes. There was a reaction with the solid rocket fuel that progressively filled the entire boat with nitric acid vapor. It's a harrowing story. You can't put the book down. It's on Amazon (buy a used copy):



They made a movie out of it. I haven't seen it but a friend told me it was crap compared to the book.


On May 27, 2020, at 10:11 PM, Nicholas Stock <nick...@gmail.com> wrote:

I distinctly remember the sweet smell of benzene (used as the solvent for the reaction).....that certainly wouldn't happen today....

When I worked for a local printer the pressmen used copious amounts of something called "blanket wash". They poured the stuff onto lint-free rags and cleaned the printers with it. No gloves. I'm not sure but I think it was largely or entirely straight up benzene.



As for smells, using 300 mL of tert-butyl mercaptan isn't for the feint of heart either....we had the fire-brigade called out a few times on that one...

That's funny. I live next to a major highway and I occasionally get a whiff of something like that. Always seems to be after dark. I wonder what it could be?

One of the guys on the Old Christmas Lights list told us that he used to chew the silvery tinsel they put on Xmas trees back in the Good Old Days. It was of course elemental lead. He said it had a very nice sweet taste.

My freshman year in college we had a two hour lab once a week. I was appalled. No one knew how to pour from a reagent bottle or how to keep a scoop from being contaminated and the grad students running the lab didn't blink a lash. In High School our teacher spent three days on procedures and techniques like that. 


That summer chemistry class was a blast. I had nitric acid stains on my hands the rest of the year.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”–Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon

Nicholas Stock

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May 28, 2020, 4:15:13 PM5/28/20
to 'Greg P' via neonixie-l
For those interested..


Odo(u)r threshold is <0.33 parts per billion. 300 mL is probably enough for an entire cities gas lines.... :) I used a lot of bleach to clean the glass ware after that reaction.....LOL.

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Paul Andrews

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May 29, 2020, 8:21:38 AM5/29/20
to neonixie-l
This guy is always a good read: https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2009/06/11/things_i_wont_work_with_thioacetone

gregebert

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May 29, 2020, 10:08:52 AM5/29/20
to neonixie-l
Oh, that darn Sulfur is a mischievous element.....sulfides, mercaptans, thio-this, and thio-that.

My favorite is aluminum sulfide: It slowly decomposes in air to produce H2S, the well-known rotten-egg stink.
It looks like dirt. I put a few crumbs in a co-workers toolbox as a prank.

Every morning, he opened it up to a ghastly stink bomb, but throughout the day it dissipated. Next morning it's stinky again. Now thinking he movie "Groundhog Day".
Finally after a week I confessed.

Nicholas Stock

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May 29, 2020, 10:43:54 AM5/29/20
to neoni...@googlegroups.com
Derek Lowe is bit of a ‘celebrity’ in medicinal chemistry circles...super smart and a good writer...

Sent from my iPhone

On May 29, 2020, at 07:08, gregebert <greg...@hotmail.com> wrote:


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Mac Doktor

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May 29, 2020, 5:40:16 PM5/29/20
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On May 29, 2020, at 10:43 AM, Nicholas Stock <nick...@gmail.com> wrote:

Derek Lowe is bit of a ‘celebrity’ in medicinal chemistry circles...super smart and a good writer...

I've been trying to re-find his articles for years. I couldn't remember the domain name or his tag line. Thanks to Paul for the link.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor”

"Never install version point-zero of anything"

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