Unusually cheap and crappy machine control station.

[@----.__]

These control boxes are amazing, I put one on my mother-in-law's life support machine...

[@LeviathanRX]

Yeah because it's hard to push the "Stop" button, you are such a kind son-in-law =)

[@peckelhaze6934]

@@LeviathanRX Or sister-in-law.

[@jameslawrence8734]

@@peckelhaze6934 Even more outlandish... could be a daughter-in-law

[@lolocfmjpwp0kjcxsa]

Such a versatile word, "amazing". One can use it almost anywhere. Even for DNR....

[@hkhjg1734]

LeviathanRX why explain the joke? it’s pretty obvious

[@Flashy7]

The construction relies on the high current welding the contacts so it will be rock solid :)

[@kjsud5546]

"what are these made of, these contacts" I'm guessing recycled lawn furniture & cat food cans

[@linagee]

It's made of tears and dreams of enslaved humans. :-/

[@kjsud5546]

@@linagee you're thinking of iPhones

[@WCM1945]

@@kjsud5546 Or almost every other cellphone on the market.

[@SigEpBlue]

The only reason that box uses TWO screws to secure the lid is because they haven't yet figured out how to secure it with only ONE. I'd really love to see those switches take the "3 A, 250 VAC, 600 V MAX" the sticker is claiming. My guess is that those 'contact' dimples will be where holes will be blown through.

[@WCM1945]

It one didn't have to open it to install the wiring, it would have been glued.

[@robwigglezz944]

Looks like a "bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up" remote

[@godfreypoon5148]

More like bed goes u... u... ... up? ... bed goes ... ... ... doesn't go down at all.

[@WCM1945]

@@godfreypoon5148 Bed goes up until body is compressed flat against the ceiling. No scream-detecting safety system :D

[@WaltonPete]

New Chinese invention - brassish alloy? "Makes super great your connecting electric!" 😉

[@templebrown7179]

Brass isn't magnetic, but nickel aluminum bronze is! C63000 "NAB" is 5% nickel and 4% iron. It's strong, light, corrosion resistant, and pretty conductive!

[@bolton368]

You mean chinesium

[@seannot-telling9806]

@@bolton368 Scrap metal trash. Well it looks to be a real item. But who knows what is in the stuff made in China. Could have a little extra chinesium content. A quote from AvE "Cheap junk, yes. Bargain, yes. The sum is worth less that the parts. AvE Tap and Drill Chart!"

[@user-neo71665]

Just about to say the same thing. Pretty common alloy used in conductors.

[@bolton368]

I love that stuff it tastes a bit funny till it's been welded

[@RFC3514]

Aluminium bronze did cross my mind, but I don't think I've ever seen it used for something like this. It's generally used for "wet" stuff (steam valves, boat engine parts, etc.). I guess in terms of raw materials it's cheaper than plain brass, but it's generally more expensive to make stuff out of.

[@alex_lightning4523]

based on an older Telemecanique system that is not manufactured anymore. Much of their old technology went to china, for example the ZB2 Machines wich were then also copied there, so know there are several manufacturers. They still sed the old Schneider/Telemecanique typ ZB2

[@UKMonkey]

Not suitable for high voltage - not suitable for low voltage ... fantastic.

[@thetesseract2237]

Medium voltage maybe?

[@wargamingrefugee9065]

@@thetesseract2237 Not even that, they are even shipped in sealed static proof bags.

[@jankcitycustoms]

oh, so they work with static voltages?

[@rayceeya8659]

OMG I have a cardboard box full of these things in the warehouse at work and you just gave me a great idea.

[@andrewmorton9683]

Let me guess........ bonfire?

[@craiglinn2782]

I work at Crouse-hinds in Syracuse NY, USA. Right now I Put together the Control Stations Such as the one shown in the video. The plastic is Krydon or "Fiberglass Plastic". I Used to mold the enclosures and the S/A or "Subassembly parts" for the push buttons. Let me know If you want a control station from Crouse-Hinds or some Explosion proof Product we make. Right now my main focus is on RPE Industrial connecters and FSQ explosion proof interlocking receptacles. I also Build explosion proof clocks! You can check out some of these Items on ebay.

[@ryanmalin]

Craiglinn I’m sure if you sent one to Clive he’d do a review. Sounds like a pretty cool job that you’re proud of. I used to to food service control systems. Now I do supermarket refrigeration and industrial ac.

[@jkobain]

07:20 - Yeah, having the killswitch popped out because of this little screw is the most exciting part of this control unit usage.

[@happysprollie]

"It's brass-ish ... with stuff in it". Sorry. Too sciencey.

[@AttilaAsztalos]

Yelluminium, surely...

[@jlucasound]

Steve, it is Brassium. It is in the genetic make up of some humans. I have it in my blood. Women will come near me and be "sort of" attracted but then they "click" on to the Ferrite carrier. Usually a football quarterback or some guy with lots of money. I can't afford to have the medical procedure to correct this. For some mysterious reason, Gold and Diamonds (Non-ferrous) have an attracting affect. Almost as strong as Neodimium magnets. Hmmm. Harbor Freight does not sell these. I will continue my research...

[@wargamingrefugee9065]

@@jlucasound Kind sir, yours is the most under appreciated comment I've stumbled upon in quit some time. Very well played. :-)

[@mavos1211]

I worked in a building next to Euston station and to get to the plant room office you had to walk past 4 large cabinets housing all the elevator switch gear which was very high amp/voltage stuff and in their infinite wisdom because it used to overheat and trip they opened all the cabinets and placed fans in front of them so there was lots and lots of trip hazards right into live 3 phase circuits and heaven help you if you wanted to get the metal ladders out to go lamp replacing!

[@Kristjan10a]

Industrial components are AWESOME :) I love to buy stuff like this for no reason :) Love to see more industrial stuff. If u can then would like to see cheep controllers and stuff :) love your videos and cheers from estonia.

[@PaulSteMarie]

One think I've encountered before is that switches with silver contacts can handle much more current, but require a larger minimum voltage for reliable operation. I've got some tiny pcb mount slide switches rated around 100mA with gold-plated contacts, but 4A with the silver contacts. The downside is that the high-current requires 10V for reliable operation, especially if it's usually left in the off position. The gold-plated version only needs 50mV for reliable operation. www.apem.com/us/25000n-series-200.html

[@rhkips]

That first button is all the warning I need to keep away from this thing. "FOR" instead of "FWD?" Can't say I've seen that before... LOL

[@RFC3514]

It's just missing the previous buttons: "WON", "TOO" and "TRI".

[@mxslick50]

Love the "Push bottom" in the listing....

[@oscarbear1043]

When only the best will do!

[@ABaumstumpf]

Many switches in series is not really a voltage-problem. A voltage controlled system does not really care about the resistance of the switches. The 4-20mA can get eaten up by the switch-resistance. The benefit of the current control is that it is slightly more resistant to EMI and detecting a broken connection is easy.

[@Geethreeohm]

It's a cunt for fault finding especially in a mine / elevator shaft when the thing won't work and you are coming up a rope 🤣

[@felenov]

I am a elevator engineer. In Russia we often have 24V AC on lifts up to 9 floors. Some control systems use 48V. Because the transformer has the 24V tap used for the floor indicator on the first floor and the next tap is 48V. 96V is used on the УЛ, УЭЛ, УЛ-2, УЛ-Г lift control system. The board is powered with 24/48V they are multivoltage. The УЛ and similar control stations are infamous for the faults. The most common is FF 43. Also FF 29 means the board is gone good luck repairing it.

[@jmm1233]

yeah this box breaking so many safety regs , especially with that stop button

[@johndododoe1411]

If you refer to easy-press mushroom stop buttons, their particular rules might not apply to functional (= normal operation) stop buttons. But still any unreliability in those still pose a clear danger.

[@Furiends]

You should build a Robert Goldberg style "industrial machine" with all these components just to be artistic and silly. Make it do some functions like turn on sets of lights and simple motors. Maybe for fun turn on a fountain pump that fills a bucket that trips a fill level sensor that turns on a interlock, etc.

[@richardhalliday159]

Exactly, I buy very regularly from China, loads of electronic parts, components and modules etc and am always amazed how they do it particularly an item costing less than the price of one of our 1st class stamps shipped free, moreover I have seldom been let down, the wait you take for granted as the norm. Always a pleasure Clive.Regards

[@RavenLuni]

I wonder if that 'alloy' is just recycled scrap metal that wasnt perfectly sorted

[@AlexLaw_Qld]

This is the Yellow Metal equivalent of Compressed Horse Shit.

[@charlesballiet7074]

yep chinese pot metal

[@WineScrounger]

Surely they wouldn’t do anything like that? 🤣

[@DieCastoms]

the brass could have nickel in it, that'd account for it being a little attracted to the magnet. nickel might make it more resillient to tarninshing or make it stiffer alloy, maybe. I'm clearly no metalurgist, just know that nickel can be picked up with a magnet.

[@Bodragon]

Maybe there's some nickel in that brass. Nickel is magnetic. >

[@AlexLaw_Qld]

A common element in bulk scrap "Brass" Chinesium alloys

[@Bodragon]

@Meghnad (Who roars like thunder behind the clouds) I doubt that even a substantial amount of nickel in the _"brass"_ would have any detrimental effect regarding its electrical conducting properties since its electrical profile is quite similar to that of brass. >

[@marcus_w0]

I tried to send back a quite heavy router spindle because it rattled like hell. The seller then agree to give me a full refund and i could keep the unit. I agreed and changed the bearing myself. no rattling anymore - the cheapest tool in my shed now ;)

[@chaseman113]

I sincerely hope some poor soul doesn’t actually have to use one of these things at their workplace.

[@redpheonix1000]

That product number "ZPB-3" *almost* resembles a Schneider one

[@alex_lightning4523]

Telemecanique (Part of the Schneider group) made something like this in the past

[@Berkeloid0]

I've heard that the reason they can ship things so cheaply from China is because it's subsidised by the Chinese government to promote exports. I don't know if that's true, but they also seem to bulk ship things to another country where international postage is cheaper, and send it from there. I've had Chinese components arrive in Australia apparently posted from the Philippines, Fiji, Malaysia, etc. It's usually pretty obvious when they do this, because it takes 25-35 days to arrive as opposed to the 10-15 days when it comes direct from China.

[@zh84]

I think there is also a rule that national postal organisations have to pay into the International Postal Organisation to get their products shipped internationally. China doesn't pay enough, so the postage is also being subsidised by the other countries.

[@templebrown7179]

I believe it depends on the seller. I have had Chinese products shipped from Malay, Filipino, and Thai warehouses, and also had them just forwarded, as evidenced by labels under the one with my address. Some components are even made by Chinese companies in the countries the ship from, as is the case with some Malay semiconductor products.

[@tonywalton1464]

I've had stuff from China to the UK forwarded via Kazakhstan and Georgia (country, not US state). The best I've seen was via the Solomon Islands - that's about 4000 miles in the wrong direction.

[@thomasherzog86]

@@zh84 correct. china pays per weight, not per shipping which doesnt cover the costs of the delivery in destination. no big deal 1800 when it was meant for letters - the US therefore will leave the UN treaty of the UPU this fall and have their own fees.

[@thesunexpress]

It's probin' time!!1!' Side note: I was hit with what turned out to be ~400 volts in an Otis elevator. It was at a newly handed-over Marriott hotel complex. Some Marriott big-wigs were on the scene for the construction company's official hand-over of the property to the hotel chain. Apparently the back-o-the-house service elevator we were in wasn't properly grounded & the stainless steel interior, along with the stainless steel floor level switch, were both in need of a hapless git to complete the circuit. It knocked me off my feet. I've never seen an elevator full of old dodgy executive bastards turn pale white in their faces in such little amount of time. Lucky for them, the property was outside of US territory, so I couldn't sue them for all the money they have. Side side note: WHO IN THE HELL WANTS A RECESSED STOP SWITCH AT AN INDUSTRIAL WORK SITE?!?! It needs to be big, obvious & easy to press in an emergency....which s what stop switches are for!!!

[@Xclub40X]

Mr president, are you going to push the red button or not? *president pushes button* You've just summoned an elevator, you pressed the wrong button *presses other button labelled elevator* Mr president, you've just summoned another elevator

[@jasonk9779]

I have some of these that I have turned into GO buttons for QLab in the theatre using old keyboard control boards. Seem to work fine.

[@PatrickOTreat]

I built something similar back in the day for our hog 500. I used keyboard innards and made a remote for go/stop/bump for all playbacks and a few other functions and called it a 1/4 hog. I also made one that was just go/stop for the main playback and called it a 1/8 hog.

[@WaltonPete]

Magneting? Clive creates a new word. I shall use it at every opportunity.

[@Mike_5]

'Push Buttom' on the ebay listing was the clue maybe originally destined for some sort of sexual device

[@n2n8sda]

Makes you wonder what Clive was searching for when he found that

[@bigbadjohn10]

Until you mentioned it I had never thought about poking about in lift controls. Just off to get myself a strong piece of uninsulated wire and find myself a lift to investigate. 😜

[@maxsnts]

Many times, "you buy cheap... you buy twice". Not always, but many times

[@SigEpBlue]

Yep, totally agree. That goes for equipment, instruments, and much more. I still cringe when people ask me, "what's a good, cheap multimeter I can buy?"

[@sixstringedthing]

I have it on good authority that "poking about with elevators" is an excellent way to get yourself fried, mangled, or possibly both.

[@russellhltn1396]

Something you touched on but is something rarely acknowledged: switches have a *minimum* voltage and current rating. Go below that and they will not be reliable long-term. The voltage is too low to break down any oxidation. But you really have to dig to get those minimum specs.

[@misterhat5823]

Yep. Try switching line level audio with relays. You quickly find out that the contacts oxidize and there's not enough current to prevent it.

[@dogwalker666]

You need to use gold flashed contacts cost more but used for low voltage speed control

[@72polara]

I dealt with a problem involving too low of current. It was in a locomotive that was converted to run on natural gas. The throttle lever activated relays that normally had heavy loads on the contacts, but now just fed the inputs of a PLC with basically no current flow. I could see the relays pull in, but the inputs to the PLC didn't always change. Solution was simple, some low resistance, high wattage resistors to provide a load to keep the relay contacts clean.

[@russellhltn1396]

@@72polara Exactly. I read about it in a manual dealing with driving an IBM Selectric, but saw it in person with a building management system. Air pressure sensors drove a large MicroSwitch(TM) that was rated for "amps" but was driving TTL electronics. Sorry, 5V at a few mills doesn't cut it. The electronics kept seeing the fans starting/stopping because the oxidized contacts that couldn't clean themselves.

[@mickkennedy1344]

Never use Chinese XLR microphone cables, they're incorrectly wired and will destroy the Phantom power supply in your PA amp or digital studio recorder, it happened to me -- too costly to rectify.

[@Azlehria]

Or you could just grab a meter and verify their wiring. I've always had to terminate my own XLR cables, anyway. Never had the luxury of using off-the-shelf.

[@adrianrabbage4996]

Could be a bit of Nickel in the alloy being attracted to the magnet?

[@matthewellisor5835]

You beat me to it.

[@WaltonPete]

"Mission critical"? "Houston, we have a problem..." 😜

[@billyb4223]

Had a German made one of these on my lathe to control the coolant. Interestingly the coolant pump in three phase but it’s so weak that you can bridge the contacts with a capacitor and run it off 1ph. Dry running is a little hot, but with a whole tank of coolant in there it happily whirs away!

[@wimwiddershins]

Random alloy that looks like brass but isn't. Yay!

[@kardeef33317]

That controller is a fire hazard .bet the plastic burns great.

[@Frankhe78]

Needs to be tested! (outside)

[@jimb032]

JW would have normally done that for us. :(. Clive let us down. Lol

[@jakp8777]

For safety applications you would use 2 N.C. contacts to a safety controller typically. I rarely use 120V for control circuits.

[@liamguy2820]

Lift control circuits in the UK typically run on 240VAC mains

[@jakp8777]

Liam Guy even modern lifts designed in Europe like Kone, Schindler, etc? Old American or really simple relay logic industrial designs use 120VAC but about 95+% is 24VDC. I’d assume elevators use DC control voltage.

[@liamguy2820]

Yep most modern lifts in the UK use 240V control systems; however they're digital. Lift motors tend to be 415VAC

[@Marzec309]

I did notice something interesting. Apart from the linking bar, all the contacts are identical. One heck of a way to save on manufacturing cost.

[@MostlyInteresting]

In the US at least the FOR is usually FWD. REV is normal though.

[@wargamingrefugee9065]

Obviously it's an amphibious switch. REV means ASTERN in Landlubberese.

[@SeanBZA]

Most old lifts use 100VAC controls, and more modern ones moved to 48VAC ( so they could pass SELV regulations) and 24VAC. This lower voltage, in combination with having enough contact current ( typically 30-50mA, an ideal contactor operate current) will keep most decent contact surfaces clean and oxide free, and will not erode them too fast in use. Problem comes with using 24VDC and lower current, as then you get oxides building up on the contact, and the current when breaking is not enough to cause a small arc to clear them by melting the surface in a plasma. Even worse is some use 5V logic rails, there you absolutely need sealed platinum palladium contacts with a heavy gold plate, not the old silver alloy slug.

[@sharg0]

Gah! Brass IS an alloy with the base metals copper and zinc. Other elements are also added for various reasons. In reality all metals we use in daily life are alloys, the only exceptions I can think of is really high grade wiring for audio which can use close to pure copper and some surface platings like chrome. (And of the machinist's rant.)

[@mr-brimz]

The price reflects the quality. Ok for a doorbell button.

[@bubbahogg-buga4613]

probably catch fire

[@tncorgi92]

@@bubbahogg-buga4613 well that's one way to find out that someone's at your door.

[@gordonlawrence4749]

Personally I'm not convinced it would be OK for a doorbell button.

[@horatiopugwash9183]

Yeah, a doorbell that falls to bits after one press 😏

[@Treddian]

@Dave Micolichek The button design is only half of the problem. The doorbell's inability to deal with a stuck button is the other half.

[@Newmath907]

You are AWESOME BigClive!!

[@blancsteve4819]

The Tesco school of competition; Bankrupt local business with under-priced junk then jack up the price.

[@HidekiShinichi]

Unless you have government backing that is not possible to do without losses and lack of actual planned effect.

[@pjkentucky]

That has been Walmart’s SOP in the U.S. for decades.

[@misterhat5823]

@@pjkentucky Except they've yet to jack up the price.

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

Supermarkets make no profit from groceries in the UK. Maybe a penny for every tin sold

[@jkmacgyver]

@@misterhat5823 I hope your kidding.. notice they dropped the "Always Low prices" started carrying liquor and removed 3/4 manned cash registers within the last few years? Dont hire full time workers either. If at all possible I still go to the little man. Especially for something like ribeye steak where there's an actual butcher instead of prepacked mexican meat.

[@peto22]

Limit switches are not used on new machines. Those wear out. We use inductive sensors, photocells and laser distance sensors but not any mechanical limit switces.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

peto22 All those complex non-mechanical sensors may have a better economic lifetime, but may be subject to more severe safety risks (lower probability but higher consequences). The way different severities are weighed when assessing total danger can be very different depending on point of view. The key levels where this changes is where a risk becomes unsurvivable by the entity making the decision or conversely causes a major situational boost for that entity. The entity in question may be a person, company, country etc. For example, moving a risk of bankruptcy-inducing economic loss to an insurance company would change it from a highly weighed existential risk to a less weighed survivable risk of higher insurance cost. However the same physical danger may still be an existential risk for a product buyer such as someone owning the building they live in, thus creating a disparity.

[@areyouundoingthatorwhat9181]

Looks just like the rubbish that was fitted to the tail lifts on my pals fleet of Luton's,not only did they repeatedly fail to make contact but the slightest knock would see them shatter like a boiled sweet!

I think you should post it back to China and get your £2.84 back. Like those very cheap goods that come with a warranty, but you have to post the goods back if they fail, which is cost prohibitive, so in reality there is no warranty.

[@OscarSommerbo]

Unclaimed packages from China are burned rather than shipped back to China. It is just too expensive to ship it back.

[@kazumahikineet3090]

Maybe it's better this way.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Great video Clive

[@Blayk133]

"Buttom" 🤣🤣

[@crazygeorgelincoln]

Well it looks nice, a while back I bought the cheapest torpedo switches I could find, now they were impressively shit.

[@WineScrounger]

That’s pretty crusty. I especially like the sub-flush Stop button that creaks down and doesn’t quite get there without the necessary wiggle. Oh, happy day. I get what you’re saying about low voltage control circuits, on the farm machinery I work on it’s routine to use a 24v pendant control with lots of switches for this and that. One of the major bothers is the contacts going crusty and not making properly, and if it’s the emergency stop button, it’s not going to run. It doesn’t help that farmers are really hard on electrical stuff.

[@lukeparker8559]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned that because of the colour and its mild magnetic attraction I would guess this is copper zinc nickel alloy otherwise known as nickel bronze.

[@AlexLaw_Qld]

Just a little cheaper and they'd make good project boxes... ;-)

[@kevinberry358]

You should do a vid on the most important wire in a house . Not many understand the importance of the earth wire .

[@michaeljarcher]

When they do a remake of Blake 7, this would be perfect for the set dressing. Maybe a switch for Orac. :-) I think Clive would be in silicon heaven if he visited Huacheng Bei electronics market in Shenzhen. China. It's a goldmine of bollocks and crap.

[@phils4634]

Been there! You can buy tat for every conceivable application! Some good stuff too - many "Big Name" electronics Manufacturers off-load their seconds via this market - usually very minor cosmetic damage - and you can get some pretty good stuff for a VERY good price!

[@springwoodcottage4248]

Super interesting and useful. As I understand it, this procedure has to be user initiated. If for some reason the power went out when unexpected, could you have a capacitor ready charged that would keep the machine going while a differentiator circuit or similar on the main supply signals the loss of power to the processor which then causes a shut down to occur while the capacitor provides the needed power for this shutdown. It would be easier with batteries as you would just initiate shut down and some pre-specified battery voltage. One could do the same sort of thing on a re-boot, again sense the main power coming on and then operate the restart software. As I understand it Raspberry Pi can use enough power that one might need a super capacitor in some situations. Perhaps there are practical reasons this would not work but it was instantly what I thought you were about to show when your title said "Safe Shutdown...." Thanks for sharing!

[@1kreature]

Those contacts are slightly magnetically attracted but Copper, Zinc and Beryllium is Diamagnetic and should have been repelled! Maybe they use nickel or nickel plating?

[@dj_paultuk7052]

Re Lifts. All the latest systems that ive seen in the UK going into the latest apartment blocks all seem to be IP based, and use PoE to throw power down CAT5 cable. CAT5 seems to be the answer for everything these days !.

[@bigclivedotcom]

They are often using a canbus network, but only for the call plates and non critical control systems. The safety circuit on the doors will always have to be a physical circuit that breaks power to part of the control system.

[@hoggif]

Copper plated aluminium passes magnet test well too. Aluminium is better than steel in conductors though.

[@ConanRider]

The alloy probably isn't magnetic. It's probably just Lenz Effect. When you move the magnet over the metal (or place the metal on the angled magnet) you induce eddy currents which interact with the magnets magnetic field.

[@zx8401ztv]

Im sure you can improve the switches, use the xray device :-D

[@garyhardman8369]

Hi Clive. I know that you watch SMA Auto... I've just found another car channel which you may find amusing: Vice Grip Garage. The guy brings back to life, old cars which would otherwise end up on the scrap heap. He also has a wicked sense of humour...

[@andchip.s]

Thanks for the recommendation, looks good, seems to be a down to earth kind of guy. :-)

[@michaelwebber4033]

It has a very similar part number to some Schneider equipment although they look nothing like Schneider gear

[@joystickmusic]

This is why it is good if your beep-circuit actually relies on the quality of the contact. My fluke meter's circuit does not. It produces a very clean beep, which tells me nothing about the reliability of the contact.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I prefer the "scratchy" beeper. It tells you a lot more about the connection.

[@steverpcb]

Most metals aren't magnetic with the exception of iron, nickel, cobalt, gadolinium, neodymium and samarium, so the contacts have at least one of those in them. As for industrial use - forget it even if the contacts were reliable, just think about it as a pendant control for an overhead hoist while wearing heavy duty gloves, you need to be able to feel which one you need to press !

[@RFC3514]

Technically, all metals are magnetic. Just not _ferromagnetic._ Actually, to be even _more_ pedantic, it depends on the structure of the material. An alloy of ferromagnetic metals can be non-ferromagnetic, and vice-versa (ex., Heusler alloys). Chemistry is weird, but I'm pretty sure metallurgy is magic.

[@Black3ternity]

Damn that continuity sounds like my Artemide Tizio lamp. Crackling and dazzling. I took it to bits because I knew the head was fancy mounted and I wanted to repair it. End of story: I got smoke from the head: 12v AC for a H1 halogen lamp through a threaded rod that connects via a metal sleeve to the lamp is making arcs. Not my idea! Original Design! Swapped it for a new head with a GY6.35 head now. Might tinker around with the head and see if I can resurrect and Frankenmonster it just like clive does with everything he gets his hands on.

[@fargogemini694]

I often wonder how Chinese post works. If we post from the Uk to another country does the post office keep all the money or do they have to pay something towards the other counties cost

[@jaedenspider877]

Now we have something that can only be suitable for low voltage DC Edit: where can I buy one? is it on eBay?

[@bigclivedotcom]

This one came from eBay.

[@georgeprout42]

Boeing standard (back when I was in Boeing London Service Centre, in Reading) was up to 3 ohms (according a calibrated avo 8, not the other gear we had) was acceptable for a closed switch. Mostly using 28V DC, and all kit was designed with that in mind. Not that I'd like to see this controlling the engines 🤣

[@shana_dmr]

3 ohms sounds like these switches were supposed to have quite exciting DC arcs during normal operation, until they're more resistors than switches and should be replaced;)

[@georgeprout42]

@@shana_dmr Even "simple 28V or not switch inputs" had/have an incredible amount of filter circuitry. They're pretty much 'anything' proof. So much over engineering. It oddly made me happy when I finally spotted a design flaw - which they immediately rectified with a Service Letter to all airlines and free upgrades. (Yay kudos, followed by bonus overtime)

[@kimsleep4111]

Kids you heard it from Clive himself..."Dont Poke Around In The Electricals Of Elevators"!!

[@GadgetBoy]

Brass is very slightly paramagnetic, so you'll see attraction to strong magnets.

[@gazzaka]

Having said that, I had my shirt torn off by a HUGE British radial arm drill after my loose sleeve (I know) got caught in the brill bit, and the stop button didn't seem to keen to work lol Good old days eh?

[@mikecawood]

Have a horseshoe magnet with a keeper, once the keeper is installed it is harmless.

[@keithking1985]

Iv worked in a few places that had control's like that and loads of machines with similar buttons and I remember getting a shock of some when switching them off. One place we had to use a broom handle to switch it off. Never knew why that happened until now!! It must have been an inductor somewhere in the circuitry.. Can't for the life of me remember where that was where ya need the brush handle🤔

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's sounds like a grounding/bonding issue or possible static discharge?

[@Xclub40X]

They use the same boxes on those stannah stairlifts. . .only your version would turn a stair lift into a fast actuating, high velocity OAP launcher, if an upstairs window was open..

[@icanseeyou2004]

its very similar to our industrial bay door control switches

[@ShadowzGSD]

'FOR' lol, that rings alarm bells on its own when they can't copy the letters 'FWD'

[@RFC3514]

Joke is on you. The first button summons the FOReman, the second summons the REVerend.

[@ShadowzGSD]

@@RFC3514 The FOReman called the REVerend because you pressed the third button and it STOPped you from living.

[@NightWolfx03]

I need to send you one of the pendants from one of the cheap hoists I have to deal with, if you look up the LA137 (ebay and amazon sell them now) switch, they like to melt on some of the cheap hoists because they are doing the actual motor switching in the pendant.

[@adeeponionbrah]

How can you make sense of that ohmmeter when it’s flashing different numbers constantly?

[@28YorkshireRose12]

The simple question is this, if you saw a bit off the bottom of a table leg, will this switch box fit in the gap so created, in such a way as to rectify the wobble thus induced? If so, it will serve a practical purpose. If not, I suggest you don't saw the leg off your table! Otherwise, it will add ballast to your waste bin. It's all basic science really.

[@billbrowning3021]

We use 48VDC and 125VDC controls in our substations.

[@hevimetallimias]

Where I live we use 24VDC on small circuit controls, 48VDC medium length, and 230V mains AC on long run circuits. Labeling errors are often causes of accidents. But I personally treat every circuit as if it was mains circuit until I know for sure, should be any electricians rule.

[@gordonlawrence4749]

A company I used to work for used 24V then 28V then eventually 48V due to the contact malarkey. Cost a fortune to upgrade everything. They would not listen when I said all they needed to do was use better quality contacts. Two years later they finally listened and I reduced failures by a factor of 100 for only a 5% cost increase. The damage had already been done though and they went to the wall.

[@stewartcaldwell5299]

It may work better after going over the metal and plastic with a set of die files. I also have a jar of silver contacts from old light switches.

[@Squeetube]

Without fail whenever I request a refund for a low cost product from China on eBay they grant it every single time without asking for the item to be shipped back. It recently took 3 attempts to find an obscure bi pin globe and I now have a ton of spares of random sizes sitting about.

[@ManWithBeard1990]

What worries me is that they use the same piece of metal to bridge either the NO or NC contacts. Seems to me that would encourage arcing between the NO and NC contacts. I am by no means an expert on switches but that seems like poor design to me.

[@mattwragg6966]

looks like a gear selector for a bus

[@kimsleep4111]

Now with "Brass-Like" connectors!!

[@saiskanda]

Hi Clive! Consider ordering on Banggood, Gearbest,Aliexpress etc... You might get an even better deal! ;)

[@soarer282]

nope, they are the same price as the ebay listing even with the sale on aliexpress. Also eBay do not give you the random% off sale bullshyte that is all too common on those sites. I use aliexpress (takes longer to find good stuff due to checking for scams like overpriced shipping etc...) or ebay.com (international site, because the Australian site tries to overcharge for EVERYTHING). If low price is what you seek check out alibaba.com (quickly becoming a aliexpress clone, but from manufacturers not dropshippers).

[@gordonlawrence4749]

My last 3 orders on Banggood did not arrive. I don't use them any more.

[@flanflanjp_]

Registered Chinese businesses do not pay any international shipping.

[@balthromaw6305]

6:20 brass assembly, though that slight magnetic pull might be due to magnetic induction in the brass, that is a neodymium magnet after all