[sdiy] Feline synthesis problems

[Glen]

At 05:58 AM 4/10/03 , Richard Wentk wrote:

>It turned out the toy shop owner was also a cat owner. In fact he had five 
>of them. Cats like warm places, and the top of a JX3P can definitely get 
>quite cosy when it's been on for a while. So warm cat -> relaxed cat -> 
>very relaxed cat -> unique synth problem you'll never see mentioned in a 
>service manual.
>
>Moral - it's not just stuff going in at one end you need to worry about. 
>Stuff coming out the other can be a synth problem too.

I recently bought a digital Kenwood stereo receiver at a thrift store for
$5.00. After changing a fuse and two power transistors, it worked very
well. It was one of the best bargains I had ever found in a thrift store. I
was very happy at the time. However, I happened to be at my girlfriend's
house when I was restoring this receiver, and she has several cats...

After having it up and running for only a couple days, one of my
girlfriend's cats jumped on top of the receiver, while it was in operation.
I quickly grabbed the cat and removed him from the top of my stereo,
fearing that his fur would end up inside the stereo's cooling vents in the
top of the case. Unfortunately, as I pulled him away from the unit (with
him clawing and fighting every inch of the way), he managed to vomit
directly into the stereo's cooling vents! The unit was powered up at the
time, and began to make a sickening humming sound and its control panel got
very dim. I dropped the cat as quickly as I could and turned the radio's
power off, but it was too late of course. The interior of the unit was
flooded with caustic cat vomit.

I've spent several hours cleaning the unit, and eventually had to order a
service manual to proceed with repairs. That manual costs several times
what the stereo cost me. I have yet to determine which parts need replacing
now, or what those parts are going to cost.

For me, the bottom line is to keep all animals as far away from your prized
electronic devices as possible--unless the electronic device in question
happens to be a cattle prod.

(No, I don't hate animals. I just don't think people should let animals
take over their home and ruin their belongings. I don't slobber on the
cat's chew toys, and I certainly don't want him slobbering on any of my toys.)

later,
Glen