[BC] Question on Call Letters

[John Buffaloe]

I always got it playing in bands.  None of that stuff had grounded or
polarized AC plugs.  You'd be in the middle of a song and get your nose up
against the mic, and WHAM!  Blue sparks.

John A. Buffaloe
Bext Inc
888-239-8462 Toll Free
619-685-3919 Direct
901-628-6615 Cell
www.bext.com
-----Original Message-----
From: broadcast-bounces at radiolists.net
[mailto:broadcast-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Mark W. Croom
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 8:09 AM
To: Broadcasters' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [BC] Question on Call Letters

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "SteveOrdinetz" <hykker at grolen.com>
To: <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 6:17 AM
Subject: Re: [BC] Question on Call Letters


>  Rich Wood wrote:
>
>>
>>Fortunately, I knew something about electricity or I's probably be toast. 
>>If the polarity was wrong the chassis was hot. The plug wasn't polarized.
>
>
> Not sure about that particular unit, but a lot of "hot chassis" equipment 
> of that era for whatever reason the on/off switch was on the ground 
> lead...if the plug was in one way the chassis was hot when the equipment 
> was on, if it was reversed it was hot when off.  I wonder who the genius 
> was who thought of that...saw it on a lot of "All American 5" radios.
>

When I was a kid I got my first taste of that situation. 1969, Cedar Falls, 
Iowa. A friend of mine had a pair of tabletop intercoms at his house. Sorry 
I don't remember what make or anything. ISTR they were sort of blue-green in

color, speaker and key on the front panel, metal chassis; seemed very cool 
to me. Plugged my end in wrong the first time and really got bit when I 
grabbed the key to send.

He knew you had to flip the plug over if that happened. I had no clue at the

time. Kind of scary to an 8-year old kid.

Mark
MN 


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