[Boatanchors] [Heathkit] FS: Heath Cantenna
Rob Atkinson
ranchorobbo at gmail.com
Sun May 10 07:40:55 EDT 2015
>To be blunt anyone who thinks that the dangers of PCBs or mercury or lead or cadmium are overblown needs to do some studying.
>
You can study all you want until pigs fly but it won't change the fact
that if you have a capacitor or transformer or anything else with PCBs
in it and you know what you are doing you'll be fine. What you need
to know is to not come into extensive contact with the stuff.
I know of equipment with PCB caps still used commercially with
stickers warning of the content (for future disposal purposes) and no
one is dead yet.
As I write this I have a pair of large GE 100 mfd 3 KV oil caps 10
feet away from me that were made in the 1940s and clearly say Pyranol
on them. I'm doing okay.
The PCB warnings are geared towards the most ignorant--people who
might be dumb enough to think oil from a transformer can be used as
sun tan lotion.
In fact that's the case with all of the warnings and prohibitions from
the safety zealots. None of this is directed at Richard K., but
rather the non-ham hand wringers in society who are on the way towards
having everyone get wrapped in bubble wrap before going outside.
Lead paint is fine....if you don't eat it or grind it into powder and
spray it into the air. Ditto for asbestos. But the hand wringers act
as if we're all putting paint chips on our corn flakes for breakfast,
not to mention getting rid of lead solder. Now that might be prudent
for a sweat shop with people soldering all day long. But I happen to
like lead solder and I think an occasional bench job with it for a few
minutes isn't going to fry my head.
Part of the reason for all this goring my ox is that now, RF Exposure
has come on the Safety Nuts radar. It makes no difference that there
are hams 95 years old exposed to RF all their lives--logic doesn't
work with these people. Any tiny amount of doubt or uncertainty --
any "results are inconclusive" and that's all they need: RF is Bad,
because, if your career and income is based on RF hysteria, are you
going to say "Well looks like RF is okay after all" and put yourself
out of a job? And there are some hams, HAMS who buy into and help
promulgate this nonsense.
Sorry for the rant, but the fun is gradually going out of everything.
73
Rob
K5UJ
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