Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by gadget

I had BSA that was positive earth, not 100% sure of the reason why it was wired that way tbh, I was once told that super tankers were wired positive earth in order to keep crustaceans/ barnacles to a minimum from sticking to the Hull!
Don't know if it's true and never felt the need to look it up but interesting theory. Perhaps BSA thought it might keep the rust at bay! ... clearly didn't work.

They did find that vehicles where the positive battery terminal was earthed to the body that vehicles rusted a lot more, so that is the reason given for changing the grounding to the negative of battery to bodywork. Electrons flow from negative to positive while conventional flow is nominated as from positive to negative ( they originally thought positive ions were responsible for electrical flow, and they did flow from positive to negative ) ,in electrical flow the ions don't move, it is the holes the electrons leave behind in valency band when they move that flow from positive to negative - maybe with positive earthed the 'holes' flowed into the vehicle bodywork

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Bibio

if everyone changed the name Ground to Common (COM) in when referring to DC then we would all get along better. we can keep the word Earth in AC.

vehicle chassis connections be it positive or negative are just an extension of the battery terminal they are connected to not an earth or a ground. they are a common that is used as a 'tie point' to supply voltage easier.

You're correct about vehicle systems not being technically "earthed" or "grounded". However, I don't know why you seem fixated on AC and DC systems being fundamentally different when it comes to tieing to the reference of Earth.

An AC common (often the "Neutral") might be earthed/grounded or it might not. Both can function perfectly well, especially in multi-phase systems. (An alternator output on a modern car/bike is a 3-phase AC example that works without earthing.)

Also, in non-vehicle DC it is quite normal to electrically connect one pole to Earth, for safety or EMC reasons. In that circumstance I think it would be correct to refer to it as earth/ground as well as common.

At the risk of confusing things, some systems have centre tap. E.g. an industrial 110V supply is actually +/-55V with a centre-tap earth connection in the interests of safety. The only DC-based example I can think of off the top of my head is an audio amplifier circuit - not my area of expertise but I imagine the centre 'common' connection of XLR balanced connections are actually earthed/grounded in some way too.

Your underlying original gripe is valid and shared though: Earth/Ground/Common are being treated as synonymous when they're not!

[Seeker]

Our local weather forecast:
"It will start out grey but then become sunny".

Actual:
"It started out sunny and has now become grey".

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Ruffy

You're correct about vehicle systems not being technically "earthed" or "grounded". However, I don't know why you seem fixated on AC and DC systems being fundamentally different when it comes to tieing to the reference of Earth.

An AC common (often the "Neutral") might be earthed/grounded or it might not. Both can function perfectly well, especially in multi-phase systems. (An alternator output on a modern car/bike is a 3-phase AC example that works without earthing.)

Also, in non-vehicle DC it is quite normal to electrically connect one pole to Earth, for safety or EMC reasons. In that circumstance I think it would be correct to refer to it as earth/ground as well as common.

At the risk of confusing things, some systems have centre tap. E.g. an industrial 110V supply is actually +/-55V with a centre-tap earth connection in the interests of safety. The only DC-based example I can think of off the top of my head is an audio amplifier circuit - not my area of expertise but I imagine the centre 'common' connection of XLR balanced connections are actually earthed/grounded in some way too.

Your underlying original gripe is valid and shared though: Earth/Ground/Common are being treated as synonymous when they're not!

The best phrase I ever heard was 'don't sweat the small stuff' ...... and all this 'is it ground, common or earth' means nothing to 90% of the population who are not electrical designers or research scientists... many words and phrases creep into our wonderful language and take root, and become commonly accepted and well understood - and pretty harmless really - if you say to many 'lay' people 'check the voltage from point 'A' to earth or ground they will check it to body or frame of vehicle, they won't drive a copper stake into the ground next to vehicle and use that.

This gripe goes into 'room 101'....

[daktulos]

Insurance! A year's extra NCB, and a year's worth of depreciation, but the insurance has gone up by £70. Time to shop around again.

[gadget]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The best phrase I ever heard was 'don't sweat the small stuff' ...... and all this 'is it ground, common or earth' means nothing to 90% of the population who are not electrical designers or research scientists... many words and phrases creep into our wonderful language and take root, and become commonly accepted and well understood - and pretty harmless really - if you say to many 'lay' people 'check the voltage from point 'A' to earth or ground they will check it to body or frame of vehicle, they won't drive a copper stake into the ground next to vehicle and use that.

This gripe goes into 'room 101'....

Lol, made me chuckle!

[timwilky]

Replacement doorbell arrived yesterday. Restores faith in ebayers, Now she needs to go bck to her supplier.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by Seeker

Buying a laptop battery week 5

It must be me. I assumed that when I placed an order for a battery for a Lenovo 330S-15ARR, that is what I'd get. Well, I got a battery that is the right shape and it fits but when I start researching it's actually for a Lenovo Yoga xxx. It's the wrong voltage and double the power (which would have been nice). On further investigation, Lenovo don't list any upgraded batteries for the 330S. If I can find this out why can't the seller?
They've now offered to send me another battery (of the same type they previously sent) and I can keep the first one (instead of an RMA, I assume). I suppose if this continues long enough I'll be able to start selling them myself. I pointed out the futility of this and that I'd need a direct replacement not one the right shape. I suspect a refund will not be forthcoming, Chinese companies don't seem to like refunds in my experience.
Watch this space...

It might be easier to buy a new laptop.

Still going...the laptop battery story, still on week 5.

I explained all the above to them and gave them the part number on my original battery and received an email saying: "We're sorry you ordered the wrong battery".

This annoyed me, so I went back to their website, put in my laptop's details and it, again, showed me the battery they'd originally sent, ie the wrong one.
I took a screen grab and forwarded it on to them. They didn't comment but are sending me the proper battery. Should arrive about 8 weeks after I first ordered it.

Meanwhile, I ordered a new laptop today (not a Lenovo). I'll donate the Lenovo to a school (with new battery).

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The best phrase I ever heard was 'don't sweat the small stuff' ...... and all this 'is it ground, common or earth' means nothing to 90% of the population who are not electrical designers or research scientists... many words and phrases creep into our wonderful language and take root, and become commonly accepted and well understood - and pretty harmless really - if you say to many 'lay' people 'check the voltage from point 'A' to earth or ground they will check it to body or frame of vehicle, they won't drive a copper stake into the ground next to vehicle and use that.

This gripe goes into 'room 101'....

Wasn't my gripe originally, so you need to refer back to Bibio. But if others' are going to "sweat the small stuff", as you put it, then I like to help them to be accurate!

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by daktulos

Insurance! A year's extra NCB, and a year's worth of depreciation, but the insurance has gone up by £70. Time to shop around again.

An extra paltry £70!
Check this one out. Bought my youngest a pile of Chinese 125cc (bought him a car, he is learning, won’t get a test until next year I doubt) and run a quote through MCN website.
RAC came back the cheapest (£542 third party, can buy a new Chinese bike cheaper then fully comp insurance price)
I phoned them, to add me as a named rider, over 20 years riding experience and no claims the quote goes UP £300.

Insurance for my Tiger 800 is £80 a year fully comp (could have got it for £66 if moved insurance)