$429 Dimmer Switch

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 08:10:48 -0800, Jim Weir wrote:


Had a double helping of bitch flakes this morning, did we Stu?

Jim

Man, I just couldn't resist!



Stu Gotts
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-Oh no! Someone having the audacity to disagree with King Weir!
-That'll make him spit out his morning latte! Stand by for the flames.


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

Any body that understands
-that tranistorized dimming system (and its just not that complicated) SHOULD
-KNOW to verify that the light chain is not shorted before sticking in a new
-transistor. A short is about the only thing I've ever seen that will kill the
-otherwise beefy 2N3055 transistor.

And any engineer that designs a dimming circuit without short circuit protection
of the output device should be staked out with ants and honey.



-
-And to Mr. Weir......the 337 is for Major repair and Major ALTERATIONS.

And reasonable men interpret MAJOR differently. I have my sources that I've
published with a Chief Counsel's opinion. They are yours to google as you see
fit.



As
-the chief inspector for a large repair station, if I see an aircraft for an
-annual with some kind of aftermarket or home made dimmer system....it better
-have a 337 associated with it....not because I'm a jerk or an a**hole, but
-because that is what the regulations require.

And again, I beg to differ with your interpretation, as does the Chief Counsel.


Unfortunately, if I ignore that
-or miss that and the owner rolls the aircraft into a ball, even if it had
-nothing to do with the accident, I could be in big trouble with the feds or
-possibly be sued by the estate and loose every thing I've worked so hard for
-these last 30 plus years.

Them's the breaks, ain't they? Both of us have our respective hineys on the
line.


I've been the biz long enough

As have I, and we can disagree without being disagreeable.



"You seek your god in rule books and idols made by men, and all the while that
god is within you. Safety is that which you know, not what somebody else thinks
it would be nice for you to comply with. Ask your FAA inspector for the
approved definition of safety. There is none. How can any agency guide toward
that which it can't even define?" (Richard Bach, "Found At Pharisee")

Jim



Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

-And any engineer that designs a dimming circuit without short circuit
protection
of the output device should be staked out with ants and honey.

Yes, I agree, however it wasn't designed with output protection and anybody
that works on it shoud understand that

- I have my sources that I've
published with a Chief Counsel's opinion.

A chief counsel doesn't survail those of us out in the field.


As
-the chief inspector for a large repair station, if I see an aircraft for an
-annual with some kind of aftermarket or home made dimmer system....it better
-have a 337 associated with it....not because I'm a jerk or an a**hole, but
-because that is what the regulations require.
-And again, I beg to differ with your interpretation, as does the Chief
Counsel.

I beg to differ with you and your chief counsel's opinion, if its not as it
came from the factory then it does not conform to its type design and needs a
vehicle of approval, what-ever that may be. I'll be glad to argue that point
to you or counsel (as long as we can avoid the flaming)


- Them's the breaks, ain't they?

Yup, its a heck of a biz....gotta love it or it'll kill ya....figuratively


- Ask your FAA inspector for the
approved definition of safety. There is none. How can any agency guide toward
that which it can't even define?"

Jim, of all the stuff of your's I've read, I must say that is a great line.....
Lets not however, miss the forest for the trees. Some legal eagle in a nice
air conditioned office hasn't a clue about what really happens out here on the
front lines of the maintenance battlefield. Those of us with grease under our
finger nails don't deal with a Chief Counsel, we deal with Aviation Safety
Inspectors that may or may not know as much as we do. Truth be told, I really
enjoy "playing ball" with the FAA, but, ya know.....if I make 'em mad enough,
they'll take the ball and bat and go home....if you know what I mean.

By the way, I'd enjoy arguing regulations with you....as chief inspector for a
repair station, that's what I do for a living. Unfortunately, my responses may
be a little delayed if it involves quoting regs. I surf news groups from home
and all my reg stuff is at work.

I've proven the Feds wrong a few times, but eaten a lot of crow along the way!


By the way Jim, didn't I read in one of your posts that you were a Ham?? Be
glad to try a sked on HF and we can really get into a spirited discussion.....I
can work 160 up to 10 with 100 watts to a dipole oriented east to west.

best 73 John

On 13 Mar 2004 22:26:18 GMT, ospam (JohnN3TWN)
wrote:

snip

By the way, I'd enjoy arguing regulations with you....as chief inspector for a
repair station, that's what I do for a living. Unfortunately, my responses may
be a little delayed if it involves quoting regs. I surf news groups from home
and all my reg stuff is at work.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/w...4cfrv1_04.html

enjoy

TC

And please to add:

http://www.awp.faa.gov/new/fsdo/ans_jan2_98.htm

http://www.awp.faa.gov/new/fsdo/ans_july1_97.htm

http://www.awp.faa.gov/new/fsdo/ans_apr3_99.htm

Jim


shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-On 13 Mar 2004 22:26:18 GMT, ospam (JohnN3TWN)
-wrote:
-
-snip
-
-By the way, I'd enjoy arguing regulations with you....as chief inspector for
a
-repair station, that's what I do for a living. Unfortunately, my responses
may
-be a little delayed if it involves quoting regs. I surf news groups from
home
-and all my reg stuff is at work.
-
-http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/w...4cfrv1_04.html
-
-enjoy
-
-TC



Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:rkp4c.18266$mM.131800@attbi_s02...
And it's not even for the Dept. of Defense! :-)

For those of you thinking about airplane ownership (and I know you're
lurking out there!), we just got the bill to replace one of the two dimmer
switches (and a few light bulbs) in our Pathfinder's panel.

$104 in parts, 5 hours labor (It's a real bitch to diagnose and get at in a
Cherokee...).

Total: $429.73.

Gotta love aviation.

That is why alot of us are building experimental planes. I have owned
several certified ships and "Never" again will I get
screwed......Happy Flying.

Ben Haas N801BH

Not to mention prohibition against soldering (unless absolutely
unavoidable) that most A&Ps have been taught.


I was never prohibited from soldering and spent hours doing it. Granted this
was 20 years ago.

One thing about these aircraft dimmer switches is that there is typically very
little service loop in the wire bundle so very often you have to lie on your
back and solder upside down. I have also seen installations where it could
take nearly an hour just to expose the switch for soldering and more to put it
back together correctly.

It always amazes me how often things were designed without any thought to
future maintenance requirements.

John Dupre'

In article ,
(JDupre5762) wrote:

It always amazes me how often things were designed without any thought to
future maintenance requirements.

I suspect your typical 30-40 year old piston single was designed mostly
to meet a sales price point. I also supect if you told the guys in the
factory who built the 1968 Arrow I fly that this plane would still by
flying 35 years later, they would have thought you were nuts.

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(JDupre5762) wrote:

It always amazes me how often things were designed without any thought
to
future maintenance requirements.

I suspect your typical 30-40 year old piston single was designed mostly
to meet a sales price point. I also supect if you told the guys in the
factory who built the 1968 Arrow I fly that this plane would still by
flying 35 years later, they would have thought you were nuts.

Most things are made for and sold at a price point otherwise there would be
no such thing as different models.

The kettle I bought yesterday for $19.99 was made for a pricepoint as was
the $9.99 kettle.

The same for aeroplanes

(JDupre5762) wrote in
:

Not to mention prohibition against soldering (unless absolutely
unavoidable) that most A&Ps have been taught.


I was never prohibited from soldering and spent hours doing it.
Granted this was 20 years ago.

There is still no prohibition against it. I went through the
"maintenance procedures" manual last night, and soldering certainly gets
short shift... but nothing prohibits it. Reading more recent articles,
soldering appears about as common as crimping (not saying it is done as
often, but rather that the two are simply considered both standard
methods for making electrical connections).

Crimping is still favored because, with the right tool, almost any moron
can do a good crimp. Soldering is like crimping without an automatic
tool - can be done just fine, but requires someone who knows what they
are doing. [But isn't that what we wish regardless?]

The key is good quality workmanship on the connection, with adequate
strain relief and anti-vibration bundling as necessary. Done right, ANY
good connection should last a lifetime.

-----------------------------------------------
James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1109-A Shady Lane fax 512-366-4331
Austin, Tx 78721
-----------------------------------------------