Renron

Mark, Some of the realtors I am lucky enough to deal with (yes lucky) are actually of the sort that want to know when GFCIs were required in kitchens and garages. HONEST to GOD, today I Emailed one with information on legislation regarding how many straps had to be on a 80 gal. water heater. She asked me! I have done 3 inspections in the last month for her and I am sure more will come, the last one had mold and TONS of electrical problems. Ron

Thanks for the quick response guys. Thats what I thought also. Brian, you know your sparkie stuff. thanks bro. Mike, I think you are right about using the main panel as the sub because of a blank in the normal hole for the meter. It sure looks bonded to me! DOAH [:-banghead] About 3 feet from the bottom of this panel is a bollard-less gas regulator in the driveway. NICE .... (notice: no sleeve around the plastic line where it emerges from the driveway) SHEEESH! I have included photos Ron Download Attachment: 4375 ponderosa 003.jpg 76.8 KB Download Attachment: 4375 ponderosa 004.jpg 76.28 KB Download Attachment: 4375 ponderosa 005.jpg 51.82 KB Download Attachment: 4375 ponderosa 006.jpg 70.62 KB

Photos are in a post down 3 replys. (sorry) Yesterday, I inspected a modular home (one without wheels). There were 2 service panels attached to the outside of the residence, one on the left and one on the right. The main service feed was underground and came into the panel on the left side, it had a 200 amp breaker in it. Thats all. The other panel had a 200 amp breaker as well as all the residencial household breakers. The meter window was installed on the left side panel. WTF? My question is does this arrangement now make the panel on the right a sub-panel? and as such it would then require seperate neutrals and grounds? yes? Whomever installed it originaly used an anti-tampering screw head on the panel with the residential breakers and I could not remove the dead front cover to inspect it. After a semi-pleasant crawl underneath I found a UFER ground wire just kinda twisted around the one that came from the bottom of the residential panel. The home was tested with a sure-test analyzer and did not produce any errors. Is the panel with the residential breakers in it now a sub panel? Thanks for your wisdom as always, Ron

Norm! Guess what?..... I used the chart again today. Thanks Ron

Scottpat: You are incorrect when you say "ME is nothing more than a fancy Windows 98.". Not so, much of the operating system is from Win98 but many of the drivers for "ME" are not interchangable with Win98. Win98se is a FAR better OS than ME and it was released before ME. ME was a pseudo product that was released as something to sell between Win98se and Win2000. XP is the current favorite OS by Microsoft. It is a good choice for us non MAC users. Don't flame me, it's a personal choice, MAC or PC. Ron

Brian, Congratulations on your back up![:-bouncy] It is a wise move on your part. As luck (and computer techonology)would have it, BestBuy ran an ad in the Sunday paper here in Sacramento with the Maxtor 1 Touch 120 Gig for $170. No matter what it is next week will see a faster, smaller, cheaper, lighter, sexier one than this week. Oh well. That's 'puters. Ron

Steven, I have built over 200 computers for clients and customers as well as designed network systems for them. Dell makes some of the best "off the shelf" computers you can buy. I'm a HUGE computer game fan and build my own Overclocked systems. First one was the Celeron 266, quite a while ago. [] It is not necessary to remove the hard drives prior to donating or recycling them. There are many free programs on the net that write Zeros and Ones to the entire drive to remove personal data. It is not enough to merely "erase" or "delete" the data as that just removes the address from the FAT or index. (like tearing out the index of a book, the pages still remain) Most churches and schools will gladly accept donated computers. However they may not want the 386s or the P100s, then the dumps or computer recyclers in your area is the only bet. CZARONE wrote; "I'm still wondering why most programs can generate and open a window to tell you there's a fault, but can't tell you what to do about it!" I always wanted to know about those too, so I asked my Guru. He said those notes are not for your information they are for the programmers benifit. They mostly mean nothing to us non programmers. Ron

That vent doesn't even look horizontal, it looks like it slopes downhill. 1/4" per foot.......mmmmmm... looks like it shud drain. Ron

Brian, I'll start that I don't know much about this topic, but I use Norton AV and AD-Aware religiously. Trojans are just like their name implies, sneaky and once inside you never know what they will do. Spyware is a trojan of sorts. It is possible that this is what you have found with Norton AV. Many websites drop them in to snoop on which websites you visit and how long you are online at each site. There is a program that checks for this type of trojan or spyware. it's free for the public. AD-AWARE; http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ I have run this checker and found up to 137 spyware/trojans running in snoop mode. I think I got most of them looking for your "8X10" Glossy.[] AOL just recently got busted for this too! The privacy policy states that "The Viewpoint Media Player will soon be capable of tracking information about the content it displays and how the user interacts with it. When the Viewpoint Media Player displays Viewpoint content, it tracks the URL it is served from, as well as Viewpoint file data tagged by the author in XML. This data can include, but is not limited to: the names of objects and textures displayed, and the names of animations invoked." DSL and a router looin' better all the time? Ron

OK, I'll expose my ignorance. What is a "flying splice"? A splice outside a J box? A note on that waving mold, along with the other suspect areas of water intrusion (probably growing colonies). I'll bet it will costs more to correct and repair them than the electrical problems. Ron P.S. The Melinda Ballard mold case just settled "out of court" for an "undisclosed amount".

Nope, but I use the Ideal #155 AFCI / GFCI analyzer every job. I have not yet had the opportunity to use the AFCI function. I'm still working on the questions Douglas asked about this device, I NEVER give up! Ron

N/A, Don't turn on the fountain. Norm and all, I have used your hard work 3 times in the last 2 weeks when home owners take nightime jobs as their own electricians. Thanks for making me seem intelligent.[] Ron

Brian, Ethernet (the term) is used as a description of the protocol(format)of how the message gets sent. It is also used (incorrectly)(I do it too) as a description of the physical wiring to connect 2 or more computers. If you purchase a 8 port router than you can have 7 computers networked together, the 8th port is used as an uplink to expand the network. A wireless network (depends on the manufacturer) will allow up to (normally)255 computers or devices to access each other or the internet at the same time. New laptops that have the "Centrino"chip by Intel have a built-in wireless "NIC" already and you do not need to purchase a PCMCIA NIC. PCMCIA is the format of devices that plug into laptops, different size than desktop versions.(duh)The wireless standard is called 802.11(?)the (?) determines how fast the wireless exchange of information is. The latest and fastest is (G). Yes, wireless means you can sit on the couch, go outside, work on your car in the driveway or watch tv while surfing the web. If your creative you could mount it on the lawn mower too! Your 512MB of system memory does not affect the DSL download speed. It does effect how efficiently your programs run, and how many you can run at the same time. A balanced system works the best. Having said that, I will also say that in general having more system memory is better. Think of system memory as being the physical size of your desk. If you open a book or magazine it takes up desktop space. If you have more than 1 layer of papers on your desk then you have to move the ones on top to see the ones on the bottom. (swap files) Slows you down and clutters up the work area. The larger your work area the more papers you can access at once! This website is for sharing information and helping each of us to become better at what we do. Computers are a large part of the reporting system and should be kept current like our inspection tools. Newer ones work faster and better. I appreciate everyones help with my questions too. Thanks everyone, Ron

I inspected a 16 year old home today and found both bathrooms, the exterior, and garage recepticals all on the same 15 AMP GFCI breaker in the service panel. It seem like too much for 1 circuit to me. Funny thing is there was no GFCI circuit in the kitchen anywhere! Any help is gratefuly accepted and welcomed. Ron

Quite an interesting topic gentlemen. I wish I understood it better. Kurt said, "Over time, there has to be some atmospheric/moisture content changes in those materials, no?" Makes sense to me, moisture will eventually enter whatever envelope we try to seal. Wood is a porous material, glass on the other hand is not, how many failed seals on dual glazed windows have you seen? Ron

Ingenious how he used the sheetrock to secure the romex within 8"-12" of the "Box". Ron

Steven, After tearing apart, then having to put them back together again,(working)almost every known make of computer on earth, I'll tell ya that Dell makes one of the better Pre-built systems. They use mostly off the shelf type parts and not fits me-only stuff. Much easier to work on and upgrade. Stay away from H.P. and Compaq! Buy the least expensive memory they offer, then add your own. Easiest thing to do to a computer. The more the better, ask if it will void their warranty 1st thou.[:-banghead] Ron rebuilding the wifee's this weekend[:-propeller]

USB clone or mirror harddrives are a wonderful safety net. All harddrives crash sooner or later, it has moving parts and they wear out at some point. The maxtor one touch is easier to set up than a raid 1 setup. If your operating system is older than Windows 98se then there are no USB drivers for your computer, you can either get a new computer or upgrade your Operating System.(OS) Norm, If you only use your computer for work and do not have numerous applications installed then there is no need for you to buy a 180 GB HD to mirror a 30 GB one. If you plan to upgrade your machine later then a larger HD would make sense. Depends on your needs. How much of your HD are you using now? Newer computers will have USB 2.0 (~40 times faster than USB 1)If you don't know if you have USB 1 or 2, here is a link on how to determine: http://www.usbman.com/Guides/checking_for_usb_2.htm Speed wise USB 2 is about as fast as a 40X CD burner..... cookin' fast. Firewire is another way to connect an external HD to your network(or just 1 computer)it is ~50% to 70% faster than USB 2. If you don't have a USB 2 or Firewire (IEEE 1394) port on your computer you can buy an add on PCI card that has both for ~$25 on up. A good one will run ~$45. Either way is fast and added security from data loss. CZARONE, That was one sweet price on your maxtor 1 touch drive. Great deal! You wrote your own Script? I'm impressed, did you write code as a previous occupation? I never learned to write it myself, I've always been more interested in the hardware side. (doesn't take as much brain power) Backup often and use Anti-Virus software, It's safe 'putin. Remember Kids.... Jesus Saves, God Backs Up Ron

Carpenter Ants seem to find it the perfect abode. Another good use is around electrical J boxes, light switches, receptacle boxes. Many other uses too. Great for Halloween projects.[:-dev3] Ron

Future Geek, A 10/100 Linksys 8 port router is about $65 and a wireless router is about $70 at Best Buy . I have an older Linksys and it has never causes me any trouble. Works with both DSL and Cable modems. Both will require a NIC, (network interface card)some motherboards come with NICs built in, just look in the back and see it there is a socket that looks like a large telephone jack. If you want to use a laptop around your home in the future, go wireless now and save yourself some $$ later. If you have a friend who has experience in setting up a network or building computers invite him over for dinner and guilt him into helping you. You can do it on your own but it will be easier with help. Back to Hackers, If for some reason you wanted to leave your computer on and were terrified of being hacked you could turn off the router and/or modem, keep the kids off the the net or whatever. DON'T let your DSL provider hook you up via USB, bad bibble....tell them you want ethernet. Pictures, still looking on the net for your requested photo... I kinda get side tracked while searching thou.[:I] Ron

I should have been clearer in stating that: "the only time you are connected to the internet is when you click on the little blue "e" in the toolbar area. It seem like you are always connected because it's so fast." By "connected" I meant that your IP was being broadcast to the internet, if your computer is behind a router that is configured correctly for all intents and purposes it is invisible to the net. (BLACK HOLE) Check out this site: http://www.dslreports.com/scan Here is my scanned report: Your Results for this scan Conclusion: Healthy Setup! We could detect no interesting responses from any of the commonly probed TCP and UDP ports. It would be difficult for an attacker to know where to start without further information. TCP ALL : FILTERED No response packet was received. UDP ALL : FILTERED No response packet was received. I do not have any special software only a NAT router between my home network and the internet. I do not use Zone Alarm. After working as a computer Tech. for over 2 years on JOE AVERAGE's computer I found most HOME networking problems stemmed from using a personal firewall. Yes, I too think it is over kill. The ROUTER is always connected to the internet, and if your computer is turned on then it's connected to the router. UNLESS you have set up the router to provide STATIC IPs (usualy not the default)your computer is virtualy invisible to anyone on the net who may be looking for open ports. There is only ONE sure way to be 100% protected from hackers, and thats to never plug your computer into the net. Dial up, DSL, ISDN, Cable or Satelite. Barring that, the most secure way is with a NAT (Network Address Translation)router, software firewalls (may cause problems with LAN configurations) and current operating systems and security updates. CW stated; " Folks here have mentioned that they have never had a problem with a hacker. How would you know?" There are many utilities available for download that monitor and log the network's activity, some even alert you to ongoing and past activity. Being current with anti-virus and anti-spyware software is always recommended. Ad-aware does a good job of finding spyware and is a free download at: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ The Bottom line is if someone wants in, they'll get in. I'm more worried about the waiter at the local restauraunt stealing my Visa # than a hacker trying to look at my files. (just my take on it) By the by, I never use auto complete when filling out profiles for internet purchases and never save my Credit Card # on my computer. Ron How techincal do we want to get?

check out that signiture...? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT MIKE wHo iS tHe mystRY GUeSt? Ron

Should not be a problem as long as a fire and flames burn in a downward direction. Around here the firewall needs to extend into the attic and protect the rafters or the garage needs to be completly rocked in. Ron

Brian, That speed comparison was between DSL and Cable not dial up. My cable modem connection is well over 200 times faster than dial up.[] DSL is also a bit more "twitchy & finicky" than cable. I'm happy to answer any questions you have on this subject. I took the CCNA class, (Cisco Certified Network Associate)that was over 1 1/2 year long for fun, so I would understand the "net". Just a Geek at heart. Ron

Brian, JUMP and don't look back!!!! Ron