OT: Scam electronics
N_Cook
to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but would
like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures to
them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to some
scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in exposing
them. Adverts appearing in the respectable press, for such items ,is no
guarantee of genuinness .
William Sommerwerck
> devices sold to the public. I have full details of a couple
> particularly any giveaways or signatures to them being
> to some scam products would be appreciated -- or Web
> sites specializing in exposing them. Adverts appearing
> in the respectable press, for such items, is no guarantee
> of genuinness.
I'm not sure what you mean by "scam", other than fraudulent medical devices,
or the E-meter.
Bose's claim that the Wave radio produces "natural, room-filling sound" is a
bald-faced lie, so I'd consider the product a scam. Does that fall into your
category as scamming?
Smitty Two
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzle...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Bose's claim that the Wave radio produces "natural, room-filling sound" is a
> bald-faced lie, so I'd consider the product a scam. Does that fall into your
> category as scamming?
Isn't this where you came into the SER movie?
Smitty Two
"N_Cook" <div...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
I don't think you'll find it on the market any more, but I had an
otherwise respectable friend marketing a biofeedback type gadget for a
while. Twiddling a knob adjusted the rate at which an LED flashed. Worn
on a lanyard around the neck, it was said to slow the heart rate and
deepen the breathing. I think you were supposed to reduce the flash rate
incrementally over time, to promote a yoga-like winning combination of
relaxation and energy.
Adrian C
Shake Lights, and the rip-off 'Fake Lights' that hide batteries ...
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/features/fff.htm
--
Adrian C
N_Cook
news:8mp4c7...@mid.individual.net...
That the sort of thing I was interested in rather than "faith" type scams ,
it would be just my luck there would be a scientologist in the audience.
One of the scams that keeps resurfacing is this from 1994, when you crack
open the box there is in effect nothing inside, p40 and 43 of
http://www.skeptics.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/theskeptic/1994/1.pd
f
These scams work by the price they can set so purchasers cannot be bothered
sending back for a refund if not "satisfied with the product"
Of course with electronic smog around these days it would be possible to
grab energy from the ether and do some sort of short duration low energy
something
Ron
I`m sure you have heard about the electronic devices which fit around
your water pipes and claim to reduce limescale build up, and the miracle
petrol saver which simply clips to your fuel lines and saves you big
bucks by somehow energising the petrol.
Did you know that a great many beer cellars use a device which claims to
reduce the need for weekly line cleaning?
"By slowing the deposits of yeast, beer stone and other residue in
beer lines, cleaning intervals are extended to at least four weeks"
"it works by generating a pseudo random spread of low frequency RF
using a microprocessor, this signal is transmitted as an electrical
signal to a transducer placed around the outside of the beer line keg.
The electromagnetic field of varying frequency, which this arrangement
creates around the beer line, is what delivers the results."
http://www.cellarmiser.com/?gclid=CLKl_s3k66UCFVAf4QodbzXjng
Is it a scam? I don't know, I`ve spoken with people in the trade, and
those who use the system say it works. They say beer line cleaning is
one of the major expenses of running a bar, and reducing the frequency
of line cleaning saves an awful lot of money which far outweighs the
cost of renting the device.
Ron(UK)
JW
Message id: <ie7geu$m5k$1...@news.eternal-september.org>:
USB drives.
http://reviews.ebay.com/FAKE-SanDisk-Cruzer-USB-Flash-Drives-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001456613
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive#Fake_products
Rich Webb
The IED "detectors" reportedly being used at bomb checkpoints in Iraq.
<http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/11/04/when-antiscience-kills-dowsing-edition/>
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html?_r=3&hp#secondParagraph>
--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
William Sommerwerck
> fuel lines and saves you big bucks by somehow energising
> the petrol.
There's a new one that simply plugs into the accessory outlet.
How about the devices that are supposed to drive away vermin by sending
special signals through the power line, and/or emitting ultrasonic sound?
chrisj...@proemail.co.uk
This goes back a very long way. In the early days of "wireless", there
were devices claiming to improve reception when plugged into your
aerial (antenna) socket, or even replace an outside long wire aerial.
All they had inside was a capacitor. I think I have one somewhere.
Chris
Duh_OZ
This is a well known scam in the metal detecting world:
A nice 'breakdown' of it:
http://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/pages/common/index.pl?page=lrl&file=reports/examiner/index.dat
Bitrex
>> ...and the miracle petrol saver which simply clips to your
>> fuel lines and saves you big bucks by somehow energising
>> the petrol.
>
> There's a new one that simply plugs into the accessory outlet.
>
Archon
on Ebay Indonesia now
If the link doesn't work, search Ebay 250715961148
If you check out his earlier feedback some have rumbled this is crap,
others seem well taken in, or didn't want to admit to paying a large sum
for a box of junk.
JC
William Sommerwerck
> to improve reception when plugged into your aerial (antenna)
> socket, or even replace an outside long wire aerial. All they
> had inside was a capacitor. I think I have one somewhere.
How about "turn your house wiring into a giant antenna!". This might have
worked with LW, MW, and SW, but definitely not for TV.
William Sommerwerck
> he's hawking this device on eBay Indonesia now.
>
http://buy.id.ebay.com/buying/id/display/250715961148_Ghost-Hunter-METER-ANALYZER--Spectra-101-metaphysics-
The seller's name wouldn't be Venkman, by any chance?
Adrian C
> This is a well known scam in the metal detecting world:
>
> http://www.rangertell.com/
>
> A nice 'breakdown' of it:
> http://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/pages/common/index.pl?page=lrl&file=reports/examiner/index.dat
A nice read, thanks for sharing :)
--
Adrian C
N_Cook
news:isqeg6d1me2hnlgaf...@4ax.com...
"costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each" can anyone better 60,000 for a scam
device?
N_Cook
In the UK the consumer protection people, Trading Standards here, are not
pro-active, what about other countries? They are perfectly happy for such
scams to continue for years and will only act when someone complains to
them, then a double complaint because they do not get a refund going down
that route .
N_Cook
news:ae6f5878-a32e-47dc...@j3g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
&&&&&
I love the vero/perf board, what a give away
Archon
that probably arn't worth a tenth of what he asks and has another Ebay
name "Uncle Deal" or similar. Same crap.
JC
Adrian C
> to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but would
> like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures to
> them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to some
> scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in exposing
> them.
Big market in the supply of power factor correction devices to consumers
who due to bill measuring method (kWh instead of kVA) won't see much
difference in their electric bills. Some are proper kit sold in the
wrong market, others are bogus.
http://open4energy.com/forum/home/scam/energy_saving_scams
http://electricitysaver.com.au/home/index.php/how-does-it-work
--
Adrian C
bud--
This one also exposes some other scams.
>
> http://electricitysaver.com.au/home/index.php/how-does-it-work
>
In the US, in addition to KWH industrial sites may also meter KVAR -
reactive 'power'. Power factor correction, matched to the reactive load,
can save a lot of money at those sites. Reactive 'power' is not metered
for residential and these black boxes for residential are a scam.
Some of these scams say (or imply) that the reactive 'power' registers
on a utility KWH meter - a lie.
A couple others:
"SAVE UP TO 25% ON YOUR MONTHLY ELECTRIC BILLS!"
http://www.power-save1200.com/1200.html
"Who Else Wants To See Savings of Up To 15% Off Their Home Electric Bills?"
http://thezapbox.com/products/zap-boxes-for-your-home.html
=================
The same type of scam as the Iraq IED "detectors" were sold in the US.
Basically a fancied up dowsing rod 'detected' drugs and other items.
There were interchangeable modules to detect different things. They were
bought by police departments, schools, .... Exposed on one of the TV
news magazines like 60 minutes. I believe the US government put them out
of business.
I think many millions have been spent on the scam used in Iraq. Sold out
of England?
==============================
Some of the clip-to-your-fuel-lines-to-save-gasoline scams were just
"cow magnets".
--
bud--
Adrian C
> to the public.
OK, how about the fake cache scam on 486 motherboards? And fake chipsets?
http://www.redhill.net.au/b/b-bad.html
"black plastic things with metal legs on"
Then there is the market in counterfeit electronic parts, but those are
not marketed as magical items to normal folk, just us :-(
--
Adrian C
Meat Plow
Thing that plugged into an outlet to turn your whole house's wiring into
an antenna. All these ultrasonic pest repellents where it has been proven
the audio output is beyond the pest's hearing.
--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse
Plain...@yawho.com
wrote:
While not strictly electronic, here are a few.
The 'Cell Phone Antenna Booster (an adhesive label with a squiggly
copper pattern on it).
'Pyramid power'
'Crystal power'
Copper bracelets (to prevent arthritis)
Magentic titanium necklaces
Televangelists
And the universal one - any politician's campaign ads.
Magnets to go under the mattress.
As far as a general method of identifying electronic scams, the old
aphorism 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.' is always
valid.
PlainBill
JeffM
>>I will be giving a talk on scam electronics,
>>ie totally bogus devices sold to the public.
>>
>The IED "detectors" reportedly being used at bomb checkpoints in Iraq.
><http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/11/04/when-antiscience-kills-dowsing-edition/>
>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_theater
is, at best, being oversold relative to what it can actually do.
--and backscatter X ray gear will give more people cancer
than the number of terrorists it will locate
...but Michael Chertoff had to have something to hawk
after he passed out the revolving door from "Homeland Security".
The snake oil that I like that pops up every few years
is the "you don't have to exercise and sweat" gizmo.
It pulses "your muscles" while you lay around watching TeeVee.
The effect isn't deep enough into the body to do what is advertised.
This guy isn't selling.
Rather, he has been trying to get investors for decades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searl_Effect_Generator
He claims that his copper-disk gadget
will gather 15kW of random-wavelength energy out of the air
and convert it to usable electricity.
He doesn't mention what that kind of a radiant field
might do to a human standing next to the device.
One of my favorite radio hosts, Cary Harrison,
who is usually skeptical about things, fell for it hook, line, and
sinker
when he had Searl on his show.
Jim Yanik
news:ie7kp0$vhv$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>> I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, totally bogus
>> devices sold to the public. I have full details of a couple
>> of such devices but would like to know of a few others --
>> particularly any giveaways or signatures to them being
>> scams, without having to open the boxes. Pointers, etc,
>> to some scam products would be appreciated -- or Web
>> sites specializing in exposing them. Adverts appearing
>> in the respectable press, for such items, is no guarantee
>> of genuinness.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by "scam", other than fraudulent medical
> devices, or the E-meter.
like those "shaker" LED flashlights that didn't have the coil connected,no
magnet(just a mild steel bar),and had a pair of lithium coin cells actually
powering the LED.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com
Ron
>
> Copper bracelets (to prevent arthritis)
>
> Magentic titanium necklaces
>
> Televangelists
>
> And the universal one - any politician's campaign ads.
>
> Magnets to go under the mattress.
Well now,previously, I would agree with you there. However, for the last
couple of years I`ve had quite bad arthritis in my hands and fingers.
Bad enough to make using a screwdriver a painful experience.
Chatting with a musician chum of mine, he revealed that he wore a
magnetic bracelet to relieve his arthritis, and claimed it works wonders.
Somewhat sceptical, but willing to try anything once to rid myself of
the rotten pain, I winkled a couple of super magnets out of an old disk
drive, and made a makeshift bracelet out of a section of elasticated tube.
Three weeks later, much of the pain and swelling has gone, still a bit
stiff, but I can play guitar again and hold a screwdriver.
I don't know if it's the magnets or wishful hoping, or maybe the
arthritis got better by itself, I just know that I felt an improvement
within a few days. I don't really care if there`s a rational
exp0lanation or not.
There is one drawback, I keep getting attached to metallic objects!
Ron
William Sommerwerck
> is the "you don't have to exercise and sweat" gizmo.
> It pulses "your muscles" while you lay around watching
> TeeVee. The effect isn't deep enough into the body to do
> what is advertised.
This device is nearly 60 years old. It was called a "Relax-a-ciser", and put
voltage through your abdominals to contract them. It appears that some
people who used it lost weight. As to whether it could contract your
abdominals sufficiently to develop a visible six-pack -- it doesn't seem
likely.
William Sommerwerck
> to metallic objects!
"I am... De Clraw."
"Well, Mr Craw..."
"Not De Craw! De Clraw!"
Jeff Liebermann
<mhy...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Thing that plugged into an outlet to turn your whole house's wiring into
>an antenna.
That's what got me started in electronics. I was an 11 year old brat
reading Popular Electronics at the time. Plenty of ads for "Turn your
house wiring into a giant TV antenna" all over the place.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=4NsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33>
Inside the box was a "capacitator", which coupled the twinlead to the
AC power line. If you happen to have an AC/DC TV, with no power
transformer, you ran a 50% chance of getting electrocuted by the hot
chassis. I liked the concept, which inspired me later to invest in
the TV sales and repair business, where one could cheat the customers
without also electrocuting them. Set top antennas that look like
radar dishes, signal boosters, picture enhancers, bizarre looking
outdoor antennas, "premium" cables, garrish colored power strips, etc
are all part of the business. I've also thought of expanding one of
those cell phone "signal enhancer" stickers to TV size, but don't
think there's an area large enough on the current HDTV sets to attach
one. I was thinking that Liquid Crystal TVs might benefit from
installing a quartz crystal or other semiprecious gem stone nearby in
order to benefit from the healing properties of the stone to repair or
possibly prevent post warranty failures.
--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Ron
> On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:56:58 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
> <mhy...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Thing that plugged into an outlet to turn your whole house's wiring into
>> an antenna.
>
> That's what got me started in electronics. I was an 11 year old brat
> reading Popular Electronics at the time. Plenty of ads for "Turn your
> house wiring into a giant TV antenna" all over the place.
> <http://books.google.com/books?id=4NsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33>
> Inside the box was a "capacitator", which coupled the twinlead to the
> AC power line. If you happen to have an AC/DC TV, with no power
> transformer, you ran a 50% chance of getting electrocuted by the hot
> chassis. I liked the concept, which inspired me later to invest in
> the TV sales and repair business, where one could cheat the customers
> without also electrocuting them. Set top antennas that look like
> radar dishes, signal boosters, picture enhancers, bizarre looking
> outdoor antennas, "premium" cables, garrish colored power strips, etc
> are all part of the business. I've also thought of expanding one of
> those cell phone "signal enhancer" stickers to TV size, but don't
> think there's an area large enough on the current HDTV sets to attach
> one. I was thinking that Liquid Crystal TVs might benefit from
> installing a quartz crystal or other semiprecious gem stone nearby in
> order to benefit from the healing properties of the stone to repair or
> possibly prevent post warranty failures.
>
>
>
and go around 'blessing' folks TV sets - If you have faith brother you
WILL get a better picture...
Ron
Meat Plow
> On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:56:58 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow <mhy...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Thing that plugged into an outlet to turn your whole house's wiring into
>>an antenna.
>
> That's what got me started in electronics. I was an 11 year old brat
> reading Popular Electronics at the time. Plenty of ads for "Turn your
> house wiring into a giant TV antenna" all over the place.
> <http://books.google.com/books?id=4NsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33> Inside the box
> was a "capacitator", which coupled the twinlead to the AC power line.
> If you happen to have an AC/DC TV, with no power transformer, you ran a
> 50% chance of getting electrocuted by the hot chassis. I liked the
> concept, which inspired me later to invest in the TV sales and repair
> business, where one could cheat the customers without also electrocuting
> them. Set top antennas that look like radar dishes, signal boosters,
> picture enhancers, bizarre looking outdoor antennas, "premium" cables,
> garrish colored power strips, etc are all part of the business. I've
> also thought of expanding one of those cell phone "signal enhancer"
> stickers to TV size, but don't think there's an area large enough on the
> current HDTV sets to attach one. I was thinking that Liquid Crystal TVs
> might benefit from installing a quartz crystal or other semiprecious gem
> stone nearby in order to benefit from the healing properties of the
> stone to repair or possibly prevent post warranty failures.
Ahh yes the cell phone signal enhancer that you stuck on the back of your
phone, inside a cover when possible. And all those weird looking set top
antennas some that looked like the were right out of a Buck Rogers TV
show. Solid gold bullshit.
mm
wrote:
>I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, ie totally bogus devices sold
>to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but would
>like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures to
>them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to some
>scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in exposing
>them. Adverts appearing in the respectable press, for such items ,is no
>guarantee of genuinness .
>
Well, I've wondered about the plug in things that make a noise they
say that repels mice and rats. That was dubious, but they have
another model that does mice, rats, ants, and cockroaches, I think it
was, and I don't think that could work .
>
Baron
>> Magnets to go under the mattress.
>
> Well now,previously, I would agree with you there. However, for the
> last couple of years I`ve had quite bad arthritis in my hands and
> fingers. Bad enough to make using a screwdriver a painful experience.
> Chatting with a musician chum of mine, he revealed that he wore a
> magnetic bracelet to relieve his arthritis, and claimed it works
> wonders.
>
> Somewhat sceptical, but willing to try anything once to rid myself of
> the rotten pain, I winkled a couple of super magnets out of an old
> disk drive, and made a makeshift bracelet out of a section of
> elasticated tube. Three weeks later, much of the pain and swelling has
> gone, still a bit stiff, but I can play guitar again and hold a
> screwdriver. I don't know if it's the magnets or wishful hoping, or
> maybe the arthritis got better by itself, I just know that I felt an
> improvement within a few days. I don't really care if there`s a
> rational exp0lanation or not.
>
> There is one drawback, I keep getting attached to metallic objects!
>
>
> Ron
I seem to recall that there is some scientific basis for your
experience.
--
Best Regards:
Baron.
Jim Yanik
if your muscles contract,they use energy.
It's no different than your body's own electrical system causing the
muscles to contract.
Except that you don't have to do it consciously,it's done by the EMS unit's
electronics. EMS=electro muscle stimulation
the only difference I can see is that the EMS unit only works a few muscles
around the electrodes while moving your body will work more muscle groups.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_muscle_stimulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerve_stimulation
(TENS)
JeffM
>>magnetic bracelet to relieve his arthritis
>>
>I seem to recall
>that there is some scientific basis for your experience.
>
``ZACK``
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzle...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ie8gro$8dc$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
it was called the abtronic
Mike
N_Cook <div...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, ie totally bogus devices sold
>to the public.
Secret black boxes that can recharge your "Oyster" travel card, mobile top up,
electricity payment card etc. These can be demonstrated working at least once
before you buy it for ŁŁŁ's, and find it's an LED and battery in a plastic box.
Usually sold by a nice, honest man in a pub that's doing you a favour.
Those "food compatibility" meters that respectable honest companies like H&B
use in-store to test the resonant frequency of food samples and see if it
harmonises with the resonant frequency of your body?. Before giving you a
detailed report of foods that you are intolerant to.
Usually operated by a fully trained health practitioner in a white coat
and subsequently investigated by Watchdog for being totally unreliable,
unrepeatable, and apparently based on pseudo-science guff?
That sort of thing?
--
--------------------------------------+------------------------------------
Mike Brown: mjb[-at-]signal11.org.uk | http://www.signal11.org.uk
mm
<prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>In article <ie7geu$m5k$1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> "N_Cook" <div...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, ie totally bogus devices sold
>> to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but would
>> like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures to
>> them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to some
>> scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in exposing
>> them. Adverts appearing in the respectable press, for such items ,is no
>> guarantee of genuinness .
>
>I don't think you'll find it on the market any more, but I had an
>otherwise respectable friend marketing a biofeedback type gadget for a
>while. Twiddling a knob adjusted the rate at which an LED flashed. Worn
>on a lanyard around the neck, it was said to slow the heart rate and
>deepen the breathing. I think you were supposed to reduce the flash rate
>incrementally over time, to promote a yoga-like winning combination of
>relaxation and energy.
Wow. I got the relaxation down without any electronics, but if I
could get some energy, that would be great. Can you send me your
friend's email address.
Smitty Two
mm <NOPSAM...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
I think you know enough electronics to make your own adjustable LED
flasher, mm.
mm
<prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Oh, yeah, you're right. I'll be working on it tonight. It's only
1:30 now. I feel energetic already.
N_Cook
news:qkhfg6920mbslnas7...@4ax.com...
and plenty more ideas if you wanted to move into the hifi market
http://sound.westhost.com/satcure/scam.htm
JW
Message id: <ie7v1h$k16$1...@news.eternal-september.org>:
>Rich Webb <bbe...@mapson.nozirev.ten> wrote in message
>news:isqeg6d1me2hnlgaf...@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:18:34 -0000, "N_Cook" <div...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> >I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, ie totally bogus devices
>sold
>> >to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but would
>> >like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures
>to
>> >them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to some
>> >scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in exposing
>> >them. Adverts appearing in the respectable press, for such items ,is no
>> >guarantee of genuinness .
>>
>> The IED "detectors" reportedly being used at bomb checkpoints in Iraq.
>>
><http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/11/04/when-antiscience-
>kills-dowsing-edition/>
>>
><http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html?_r=3&hp#s
>econdParagraph>
>>
>> --
>> Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
>
>
>"costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each" can anyone better 60,000 for a scam
>device?
Some Audiophool stuff might come close if you were to put together an
entire sound system.
Geoffrey S. Mendelson
> Some Audiophool stuff might come close if you were to put together an
> entire sound system.
IMHO MOV surge surpressors are a prime example, here in 230 volt land, not
only do they short when they fail, but cheap ones without fuses have been
known to catch fire. Even when they are still working, they "leak" dangerous
voltages.
The only good ones, IMHO are the ISO-BAR ones made by Trip-Lite which use
among other things patented inductance networks to slow down the surges
and Trans-Tector ones which use silicon avalanche diode arrays.
Keeping it togehter with the post I am referring to, the Trip-Lite patents
ran out a few years ago, and someone is making Trip-Lite clones targeted
to audiophiles and large screen TV buyers. Trip-Lite units cost $50-$100
while these were well over $300 for essentially the same unit.
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to misquote it.
William Sommerwerck
> were to put together an entire sound system.
Strictly speaking, these products are not "scams", because their purveyors
almost always think they really do what is claimed for them. "Scam"
generally implies a conscious hoax, a deliberate attempt to defraud the
customer.
lsmartino
> On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:22:23 -0000 "N_Cook" <dive...@tcp.co.uk> wrote in
> Message id: <ie7v1h$k1...@news.eternal-september.org>:
>
>
>
>
>
> >Rich Webb <bbew...@mapson.nozirev.ten> wrote in message
> >news:isqeg6d1me2hnlgaf...@4ax.com...
> >> On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:18:34 -0000, "N_Cook" <dive...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >> >I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, ie totally bogus devices
> >sold
> >> >to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but would
> >> >like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures
> >to
> >> >them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to some
> >> >scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in exposing
> >> >them. Adverts appearing in the respectable press, for such items ,is no
> >> >guarantee of genuinness .
>
> >> The IED "detectors" reportedly being used at bomb checkpoints in Iraq.
>
> >kills-dowsing-edition/>
>
> ><http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html?_r=...
> >econdParagraph>
>
> >> --
> >> Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
>
> >"costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each" can anyone better 60,000 for a scam
> >device?
>
> Some Audiophool stuff might come close if you were to put together an
>
> - Mostrar texto de la cita -
What about this one:
http://www.altmann.haan.de/tubeolator/default.htm
Excerpt from the site:
"The ALTMANN “TUBE-O-LATOR" lacquer is a high performance overtone-
filter coating-compound, designed for plastic encapsulated analog- and
mixed-signal-semiconductors.
The ALTMANN “TUBE-O-LATOR" lacquer is applied only on the top surface
of plastic semiconductor packages of AD-converter-chips, DA-converter-
chips, OP-amps and discrete transistors.
After application, the overtone spectrum of these active devices
changes immediately and permanently.
The new sonic signature will be natural, full and tube-like."
I guess these products have a market, because I just found another
one:
http://www.ennemoser.com/c37theory.html
This one is another lacquer but at least the creator of it has taken
the time to construct a bogus science explanation for it.
I suppose that anyone that pays 500,00 € for a bottle with 250 ml of
varnish, and ruins their speakers with it, will for sure hear *a
difference* :-)
Plain...@yawho.com
'Get Smart'
PlainBill
William Sommerwerck
>>> attached to metallic objects!
>> "I am... De Clraw."
>> "Well, Mr Craw..."
>> "Not De Craw! De Clraw!"
> 'Get Smart'
Yes! How old are you?
mike
> On 14/12/2010 12:12, N_Cook wrote:
>> Adrian C<em...@here.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:8mp4c7...@mid.individual.net...
>>> On 14/12/2010 10:18, N_Cook wrote:
>>>> I will be giving a talk on scam electronics, ie totally bogus devices
>> sold
>>>> to the public. I have full details of a couple of such devices but
>>>> would
>>>> like to know of a few others - particularly any giveaways or signatures
>> to
>>>> them being scams , without having to open the boxes. Pointers etc to
>> some
>>>> scam products would be appreciated - or www site specializing in
>> exposing
>>>> them. Adverts appearing in the respectable press, for such items ,is no
>>>> guarantee of genuinness .
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.flashlightreviews.com/features/fff.htm
>>>
>>> --
>>> Adrian C
>>>
>>>
>>
>> That the sort of thing I was interested in rather than "faith" type
>> scams ,
>> it would be just my luck there would be a scientologist in the audience.
>>
>> One of the scams that keeps resurfacing is this from 1994, when you crack
>> open the box there is in effect nothing inside, p40 and 43 of
>> http://www.skeptics.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/theskeptic/1994/1.pd
>>
>> f
>> These scams work by the price they can set so purchasers cannot be
>> bothered
>> sending back for a refund if not "satisfied with the product"
>>
>> Of course with electronic smog around these days it would be possible to
>> grab energy from the ether and do some sort of short duration low energy
>> something
>>
>>
>
> I`m sure you have heard about the electronic devices which fit around
> your water pipes and claim to reduce limescale build up, and the miracle
> petrol saver which simply clips to your fuel lines and saves you big
> bucks by somehow energising the petrol.
>
> Did you know that a great many beer cellars use a device which claims to
> reduce the need for weekly line cleaning?
>
> "By slowing the deposits of yeast, beer stone and other residue in
> beer lines, cleaning intervals are extended to at least four weeks"
>
> "it works by generating a pseudo random spread of low frequency RF
> using a microprocessor, this signal is transmitted as an electrical
> signal to a transducer placed around the outside of the beer line keg.
> The electromagnetic field of varying frequency, which this arrangement
> creates around the beer line, is what delivers the results."
>
> http://www.cellarmiser.com/?gclid=CLKl_s3k66UCFVAf4QodbzXjng
>
> Is it a scam? I don't know, I`ve spoken with people in the trade, and
> those who use the system say it works. They say beer line cleaning is
> one of the major expenses of running a bar, and reducing the frequency
> of line cleaning saves an awful lot of money which far outweighs the
> cost of renting the device.
>
> Ron(UK)
This is worse than a scam.
People who are gullible enough to buy stuff that doesn't work for them
deserve what they get.
People who let pathogens thrive in MY beer deserve to be shut down.
Plain...@yawho.com
Old enough to have seen the episodes when they were first broadcast.
Heck, old enough to have seen 'My Favorite Martian' and 'The Baileys
of Balboa'
PlainBill
William Sommerwerck
>> Yes! How old are you?
> Old enough to have seen the episodes when they were first
> broadcast. Heck, old enough to have seen 'My Favorite
> Martian' and 'The Baileys of Balboa'.
Ditto.
Allodoxaphobia
> On Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:34:32 -0800, "William Sommerwerck" wrote:
>
>>>>> There is one drawback -- I keep getting
>>>>> attached to metallic objects!
>>
>>>> "I am... De Clraw."
>>
>>>> "Well, Mr Craw..."
>>
>>>> "Not De Craw! De Clraw!"
>>
>>> 'Get Smart'
>>
>>Yes! How old are you?
>>
> Old enough to have seen the episodes when they were first broadcast.
> Heck, old enough to have seen 'My Favorite Martian' and 'The Baileys
> of Balboa'
Old enough to have watched "Big John and Sparky".
"When you go down in the woods today, ......."
William Sommerwerck
> Old enough to have watched "Big John and Sparky".
Hmmm... That was a Sunday-morning radio program, where BJ & S read the
comics. I don't remember it being on TV.
Dave M
to the show on radio from north Alabama. I heard it on WCKY, Cincinnati.
On good days, I could pick it up on my little rocket radio (anybody remember
those?), with the clip hooked to the bedsprings.
One of the first TV series that I remember watching after we finally got a
TV was Captain Midnight. Loved the Roy Rogers movies on Saturday morning
too
--
David
dgminala at mediacombb dot net
Allodoxaphobia
You are probably correct. I do remember it being on radio. But,
my (faulty) memory claims I watched it on a 9" B&W Dumont. Many
radio shows Back In The Day attempted the move from radio to TV.
Not all were successful in doing so...
OK. I _do_ remember watching Crusader Rabbit.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :-)
Jonesy
William Sommerwerck
How can anyone "watch" anything on a 9" TV?
William Sommerwerck
> remember listening to the show on radio from north Alabama.
> I heard it on WCKY, Cincinnati. On good days, I could pick it
> up on my little rocket radio (anybody remember those?), with
> the clip hooked to the bedsprings.
Oh, God, yes. $2.50 at the drugstore. Good sound -- the bandwidth was a
couple hundred kilohertz!
Michael A. Terrell
How about a 3.5" HDTV for $41.99?
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ATSC-300&cat=TVS
--
For the last time: I am not a mad scientist, I'm just a very ticked off
scientist!!!
William Sommerwerck
> http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ATSC-300&cat=TVS
To the ad's credit, HDTV is nowhere mentioned, nor is the display's
definition. It's a pocket TV that picks up ATSC broadcasts, and nothing
more.
Dave M
Yeppers, those were the cat's meow!! I used to listen to baseball games
while in school; thread the earpiece through my shirtsleeve and lean my head
against my arm all through the class. Most teachers never caught on.
OK.. here's the big question. How did those things tune in a station with
only an inductor? There was no capacitor in those gems to make a resonant
tank.
When I was in junior high school, I had already began a subscription to
Popular Electronics and Radio-Electronics magazines, and had begun reading
and studying about circuit theory. I knew that to have resonance, you
needed an inductance and a capacitance, but was forever puzzled by the
absence of a capacitor. How did they work?
Dave Platt
Dave M <dgmina...@mediacombb.net> wrote:
>Yeppers, those were the cat's meow!! I used to listen to baseball games
>while in school; thread the earpiece through my shirtsleeve and lean my head
>against my arm all through the class. Most teachers never caught on.
>
>OK.. here's the big question. How did those things tune in a station with
>only an inductor? There was no capacitor in those gems to make a resonant
>tank.
>When I was in junior high school, I had already began a subscription to
>Popular Electronics and Radio-Electronics magazines, and had begun reading
>and studying about circuit theory. I knew that to have resonance, you
>needed an inductance and a capacitance, but was forever puzzled by the
>absence of a capacitor. How did they work?
Two possibilities:
(1) You're mistaken, and they do contain a capacitor. The page at
http://www.crystalradio.net/misc/rocket/index.shtml shows a
schematic, which includes a fixed (100 pF) capacitor wired across
the coil terminals.
(2) Some variants may not have had a discrete capacitor, but might have
depended on parasitic capacitance (e.g. the distributed
capacitance of the coil) to create a resonant tank.
--
Dave Platt <dpl...@radagast.org> AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
Jim Yanik
>> You are probably correct. I do remember it being on radio.
>> But my (faulty) memory claims I watched it on a 9" Dumont.
>
> How can anyone "watch" anything on a 9" TV?
>
>
>
closely.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com
Jim Yanik
I can remember when drugstores had lunch counters and soda fountains.
also a real wood phone booth with a rotary-dial phone.
IIRC,a call was a nickel.
Plain...@yawho.com
Sit close to it.
PlainBill
Michael A. Terrell
The end of the last line says its HDTV:
Enjoy watching your favorite TV shows anywhere with this Digital Prism
ATSC-300 Portable Handheld LCD Digital TV!
The ATSC-300 features a 3.5-inch color LCD display, integrated ATSC TV
tuner and an external antenna. It's ideal for travel, outdoor sporting
events or during emergencies. It also comes with an FM radio so you can
to listen to music or talk shows!
Plug in the earbud headphones into the headphone jack so you can watch
and listen without disturbing those around you. This portable TV
features a 320 cd/m2 brightness, 25 ms response time, and 55� horizontal
and 60� vertical viewing angles. The built-in stand holds the portable
TV upright for convenient viewing!
A Lithium-Polymer rechargeable battery is included as are AC and DC car
power adapters for use in your home or car power outlet. In addition,
its handheld design fits in a backpack or travel bag for complete
portability. Never miss a show or sporting event while you're away from
home with this Digital Prism ATSC-300 portable handheld HDTV!
<http://shop.retrevo.com/m/dailydeal?prodid=rd-s22;RVO-20101213-1&cmpid=Email>
is the 7" LCD TV I have, but I paid about $20 for it. It is part of my
hurricane emergency supplies. It fits in the case with my medicine
along with some LED flashlights, a SW radio nd a couple weeks worth of
batteries.
Dave M
> In article <NradnduQgs-GSJbQ...@giganews.com>,
> Dave M <dgmina...@mediacombb.net> wrote:
>
>> Yeppers, those were the cat's meow!! I used to listen to baseball
>> games while in school; thread the earpiece through my shirtsleeve
>> and lean my head against my arm all through the class. Most
>> teachers never caught on.
>>
>> OK.. here's the big question. How did those things tune in a
>> station with only an inductor? There was no capacitor in those gems
>> to make a resonant tank.
>> When I was in junior high school, I had already began a subscription
>> to Popular Electronics and Radio-Electronics magazines, and had
>> begun reading and studying about circuit theory. I knew that to
>> have resonance, you needed an inductance and a capacitance, but was
>> forever puzzled by the absence of a capacitor. How did they work?
>
> Two possibilities:
>
> (1) You're mistaken, and they do contain a capacitor. The page at
> http://www.crystalradio.net/misc/rocket/index.shtml shows a
> schematic, which includes a fixed (100 pF) capacitor wired across
> the coil terminals.
>
> (2) Some variants may not have had a discrete capacitor, but might
> have depended on parasitic capacitance (e.g. the distributed
> capacitance of the coil) to create a resonant tank.
Yes, the latter explanation is the theory that I have subscribed to. The
rockets that I had didn't have a capacitor. In fact, I bought a
reproduction rocket radio from a vendor at a hamfest about 10 years ago, and
it doesn't have a capacitor either. So the only reasonable explanation has
to be the coil's own capacitance. The coil is a multilayered honeycomb
wound coil, so it has lots of distributed capacitance.
Thanks for the response,