[Johnson] Ranger relay sockets

[john]

>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "David Harmon" <K6XYZ@comcast.net>
>
>> John....that's a silly solution but I am not the only one of those
>> thousands of hams that remove that fused line cord and that
>porcelain
>> connector thingie.
>> I don't care about the metal hacking of something that is clearly a
>> dangerous design.....

Hi David,

I don't consider using common sense and basic safety principles (grounding
chassis, grounding again through the 3 wire cord, and thinking about
what I'm doing) as "silly" but you're free to.  

>> Johnson should have and probably did know better.

Not in the context of when it was designed and produced. Cars didnt come
with seat belts till relatively recently, nor airbags, anti lock brakes,
radial
tires, etc etc. I don't think you could call that "silly", it's just the way
things were then. Similarly, Johnson designed with the technology of the
day, and satisfied (quite well, thank you!) consumer expectation. They were
extremely successful at doing so.  If you think EFJ gear is dangerous, check
any one of the literally millions of AC/DC receivers sold to the consumer
market back then. Each is, in my opinion, far more likely to be dangerous,
particularly since the targeted consumer was not as technically
knowledgeable as the typical ham was.

>> This is kinda like this country...someone has to step up to the
>plate  and do what needs to be done instead of talking nice and
politically >>correct.

Uh...ok.

>> These things WILL be changed on all similarly wired rigs that come
>> through this station.

That's certainly your choice. I'll look forward to another two decades or
so with rigs that are sensibly protected and not hacked with irreversable
mods, and with an operator that uses his head whenever working on,
building, or operating them. Each of the dozens of transmitters here, is
fused*, equipped with a 3 wire cord, grounded to station ground, and most
of all, operated
carefully, with  an understanding of the risks of the technology.

Edgar would be proud.

 "Safe" is a plastic transceiver.

John K5MO

* fused under chassis, with no additional holes drilled