House wiring? (slightly off-topic)

[harry]

Hello Mainly Lurker...

I agree with the vibration post.
Do you live near a highway or airport... that can do it !!!

Do you buy "quality" lightbulbs... or "K-mart" bulbs. Often
the cheap bulbs are exactly that... I once lost 3 lightbulbs
in 5 minutes in a droplight.  Replacing the bulb with a GE,
Phillips, etc. solved the problem.

Voltage surges seldom destroy a lightbulb. They are too short.
Only long term overvoltage is a problem with bulb life...
(unless the surges are VERY VERY high...)  I used to run
a light  show where we pulsed bulbs with rectifed DC (160V)
and they survived a long time... but turned on constantly they
die within a minute !)

Most equipment will tolerate a +/- 10% voltage range no problem.
Newer stuff can often do +/-20 (if it has a switching power supply)
Wall wart equipment is probably more sensitive...

Try using the fluorescent replacement bulbs they have today. They are
nearly immune to vibration / overvoltage !

If you are worried about the synths... you will need a line voltage stabilizer.
These are expensive.  If you find out that you line is just too high or too low
(as a rule) you could use an autotransformer. These can be dangerous !!! I used
to use one bacl in New York... where brownouts are the rule !  But if you boost
the
line... then it goes HIGH at the same time.. double whammy !!!

Funny Story: A TV repairman tried to skirt a service call by insisting the set
was
fine and it was a brownout.  Dad said "Kid- go get the Variac !" (the serviceman
was
awed !!)  Service guy says... tuen it up.. up.. up... there... SEE !?

Dad says "whats the voltage read kid ???"  I said "150V steady !" Service guy
says
"turnitdown turn it down TURN IT DOWN... Well I guess the set IS bad....."

H^) harry

IXQY at aol.com wrote:

>  Hello everyone,
>  I mainly lurk here and try to absorb as much info as I can. A lot of it
> tends to bounce right off though..  ; )   In the near future, I intend to
> post some questions pertaining to modifying my small but growing modular, but
> for now I have a slightly off-topic problem that hopefully someone can help
> with.
>
>  I moved into an 18 year old house a little more than a year ago. In this
> house, I have a problem with light bulbs burning out really often. I probably
> replace anywhere from one to five light bulbs a month (!). This is throughout
> the house and is not limited to one or two light sockets. It also happens
> throughout the year, so I don't think it's related to my central AC unit,
> which I previously had thought.  Some light bulbs go out as I'm turning them
> on and others go out while they are already on.
>
>  For the few times a month that I turn on my synths, I wonder if there is any
> electrical damage being done to them by whatever is destoying the light
> bulbs. The only explanation that I can think of is that the house wiring is
> substandard. Hopefully this is not the case, as I would think this would be
> an expensive repair bill.
>
>  Any help or thoughts are apreciated,
>  Andrew Sanchez