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Units - Font Sizes

2008-05-05T23:52:00.001-07:00

DIN 16507-2
This draft standard defines (among many others) the following two font measures:

Font size (German: Schriftgröße)
This is the baseline distance for which the font was designed. A font should normally be identified and selected by this size, because the intended baseline distance is much more relevant for practical layout work than the actual dimensions of certain characters.

Font height (German: Oberhöhe)
This is the height in mm of letters such as k or H. Typically, the font height is around 72% of the font size, but this is of course at the discretion of the font designer.

If we write say “Helvetica 5.0”, then this means we have a font that was designed for a 5 mm line spacing. It will typically have an H that is 3.6 mm or 10.2 points tall (72% of 5 mm). Calculations become trivial: in a 60 mm high column, we can write exactly 60 mm / 5 mm = 12 lines. The baselines of text become neatly aligned with a millimeter grid, and if millimeters are used to describe both font size and font height, their relationship becomes easier to handle than if different units such as mm and points were used. Layout designers do not have to juggle any more with conversion factors such as 72.27 and 25.4. If you write “Helvetica 5.00/5.25” then this means that you use exactly the same font as above, but with 0.25 mm more baseline skip than it was designed for.

DIN 16507-2 contains a list of preferred metric font sizes, together with the corresponding preferred 72% font heights in mm. The table below shows in addition to these values from the standard also the corresponding preferred 72% font heights in Postscript points for easier comparison with the old font sizes. Note: the point sizes of US fonts do not always refer to the k/H height that is defined by DIN as the font height. Some font manufacturers (e.g., Knuth) also refer to the size of taller characters such as “(”, so be careful not to convert incompatible measurements and try to find out the baseline distance for which a font was originally designed of you want to convert properly to metric sizes.

Again: The font size refers to the baseline distance for which the font was designed, and is used to generally identify the font. The font height is the actual height of characters such as H or k. The font height is typically 72% of the font size as a preferred value, but this is of course left to the discretion of the font designer. One writes “Courier 6.0” to get the Courier font designed for 6 mm baseline distance (where the height of an H is typically 4.3 mm or 12.2 pt), and one writes “Courier 6.0/9.0” to get the same font but to use it with 50% more space between the lines.

Other proposals

Authors such as (Ó Brógáin, 1983) argue instead that font sizes should be based on the x-height. This clearly has a number of advantages:

The x-height can easily be measured directly in a sample printout and is not an invisible dimension found only in font data.
Whether two fonts appear to have the same height is primarily determined by whether their x-heights match.

The concept of x-height is also present in Greek and Cyrillic typography. Hebrew, Arabic and Devanagari glyphs can be aligned quite nicely with a Roman x-height, too.
Recommended baseline distances are often related to the x-height (2 seems to be a very common factor), therefore using the x-height as a reference dimension will in practice often also lead to round measurements for the baseline distance.

Possible disadvantages of using the x-height as the reference dimension for denoting a font height might:

In some applications (e.g., traffic and warning signs in some countries), text is commonly written uppercase only, or consists only of digits, so there are no visible lowercase letters as a measurement reference. However, as the fonts used in these applications usually also include lowercase characters, therefore the x-height is always well-defined (except for some numeric-only display devices such as 7-segment LEDs).

Chinese characters are more easily aligned with the H-height of Roman characters. However, as East Asian fonts typically also contain Roman lowercase characters, the x-height is always a well-defined quantity here, too.

Draft proposals for an international standard on font sizes drawn up in the late 1970s were based on the height of capital letters and did not find international agreement.

Both x-height and the size of capital letters is an attribute stored in existing font files, therefore scaling font sizes such that the x-height or H-height matches a specified length in millimeters is quite trivial to implement on top of existing font management mechanisms.
An idea that might at least be worth considering is to define a series of preferred font sizes. Unlike the values given in DIN 16507-2, this could be a geometric series in which the quotient of neighboring sizes approximates a root of the square root of two. The international standard paper sizes were designed to be magnified and reduced by factors of sqrt(2) or sqrt(sqrt(2)), and for example standard technical drawing pen sizes follow the same progression. Such a series of standard font sizes could either be designated in a millimeter length and made available via pull-down menus, or it could be designated by an index number, as is already done for ISO paper sizes.

Units - Metric Typographic Units

2008-05-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

Typography is an old art. Long before the introduction of the international standard system of units (“metric system”), printing equipment manufacturers all over the world have established a bewildering variety units to measure length, many of which continue to be used today:

· 1 point (Truchet) = 0.188 mm (obsolete today)
· 1 point (Didot) = 0.376 mm = 1/72 of a French royal inch (27.07 mm)
· 1 point (ATA) = 0.3514598 mm = 0.013837 inch
· 1 point (TeX) = 0.3514598035 mm = 1/72.27 inch
· 1 point (Postscript) = 0.3527777778 mm = 1/72 inch
· 1 point (l’Imprimerie nationale, IN) = 0.4 mm
· 1 pica (ATA) = 4.2175176 mm = 12 points (ATA)
· 1 pica (TeX) = 4.217517642 mm = 12 points (TeX)
· 1 pica (Postscript) = 4.233333333 mm = 12 points (Postscript)
· 1 cicero = 4.531 mm = 12 points (Didot)

The printing and publishing software market is at present dominated by manufacturers (Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, Quark, etc.) located in the United States, the last country on the planet that has yet to make significant progress towards the introduction of modern standard units. As a result, the use of standard units is far from well established in digital typography, to the significant annoyance of users all over the world.

The main problems are:

The dominant unit of length, the Postscript point, has with 25.4/72 = 0.352777... mm a very inconvenient relationship to the most widely used length units (meter and millimeter).
There exists no well-established practice for denoting a font size. [One example of a somewhat established convention is to specify the length of an “em” in PostScript points. Historically, the “em” was the width of the widest metal type in a font, which was for Roman fonts typically the capital letter “M”. Today, the control points of digital font outlines are stored in terms of coordinates inside a unit square. This square is a vague equivalent of the historic maximum metal type size and its side length has become the modern incarnation of the “em”. As a result, no easily measurable dimension in a text matches the point length that designates a font size]
Resolutions of output devices are still frequently specified in dpi (dots per inch), which is the reciprocal value of the pixel size multiplied with 25.4 mm.

With the metric system, we have now a well established, consistent, and globally accepted set of length units, ranging from subatomic to cosmological dimensions. The use of archaic ad-hoc special purpose units has become obsolete and should be strongly discouraged.

It is time that the typographic community finally abandons its current unit mess in two ways:

Adopt the metric system
Denote font sizes based on a measurable characteristic length of the printed glyphs
Metric typographic units are already used in Japan and to some degree in Germany and other European countries. However, the market dominance of US-originated typographic software without proper support for metric units at all levels currently hinders the further deployment of metric typographic practice.

The German draft standard DIN 16507-2 suggests that all length measurements in digital typography should be specified in millimeters. It suggests further that dimensions should be multiples of 0.25 mm, or where a finer resolution is required multiples of 0.1 or 0.05 mm.

No more points, picas, ciceros, inches, etc. and all their awful conversion factors.
Japanese typesetters use the unit Q (quarter) for font sizes, where 1 Q = 0.25 mm, i.e. the same modulus recommended by DIN 16507-2.

This measure coincides nicely with the most common pixel size on computer monitors. For example a typical CRT screen has a display area of 320×240 mm, divided into 1280×1024 pixels, which makes each pixel 0.25 mm large.

Electrical - Installation Of Wiring System

2008-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wiring in Steel Conduit System

1 Type of Cable

Wiring system installed in conduits shall be non-sheathed copper cables. Cables for 3 phase circuit shall be 450/750V grade or above.

2 Concealed Steel Conduit System

Unless otherwise specified in the Particular Specification or on the Drawings, conduits shall be concealed within walls, floor slabs, false ceilings, or other suitable space.
Chase for conduit to be concealed in wall, column or beam shall be vertical or horizontal.

3 Surface Conduit System

Where surface conduits are specified, they shall be fixed by distance (spacing) saddles, and shall run in a vertical or horizontal direction.

Conduit boxes, adaptable boxes and metal boxes for accessories shall be securely fixed to walls, ceilings or other substantial parts of a structure by means of suitable brass screws correctly spaced. The fixing of these boxes shall be independent of the fixing of the associated conduits.

Particular precaution shall be taken in situations where the high temperature cables may be touched, or where they may touch other materials.

4 Minimum Size of Conduit

The minimum outside diameter of any conduit shall be 20mm.

5 Flexible Conduit

Flexible conduit shall be used as short as possible and in any case shall not exceed a conduit run of 2m. (Note : PVC pliable conduit may be used in place of steel flexible conduit wherever appropriate. In such case, requirements in Sub-section B1.3 shall apply.)

6 Conduit Continuity

The steel conduit installation shall be mechanically and electrically continuous throughout and effectively earthed. Where the circuit protective conductor is formed by the conduits, the terminal of a socket outlet shall be connected by a separate circuit protective conductor having the same cross-sectional area and type as the live conductor to an earth terminal incorporated in the associated
metal box or enclosure.

Flexible conduit shall not be used as a circuit protective conductor. A separate circuit protective conductor having the same cross-sectional area and type as the largest live conductor shall be drawn into the flexible conduit for earth continuity. This circuit protective conductor shall be fixed to an earth terminal incorporated, at each end, in the metal boxes or enclosures onto which the ends of the flexible conduit are locked.

7 Joint in Conduits

Joint in steel conduits shall be made by means of a solid coupler into which the adjacent ends of the two conduits shall be inserted to approximately half into it and screwed up tightly in order to make the conduit run mechanically and electrically continuous. No threads on either conduit shall be exposed.

Running couplings shall not be used. In case where such a coupling cannot be avoided approval from the Architect must be obtained before it is adopted. In this case, the coupler shall be screwed up tightly onto the short threaded portion of one conduit, the threaded portion of which shall project approximately half way into the length of the coupler. The threaded portion of the mating conduit shall also project approximately half way into the coupler. Electrical continuity shall be ensured by
tightening up a hexagon locknut against the coupler. Any exposed threads on either conduit shall be painted with at least two coats of antirust paint.

8 Provision of Adaptable Box

An adequate number of suitably sized adaptable boxes shall be provided in all conduit runs to enable cables to be drawn in and out easily without damage. Adaptable boxes shall be provided immediately after every two bends, or after a bend plus a maximum straight run of 10m, or after
a maximum straight run of 15m.

9 Spacing between Conduits

Adjacent or parallel conduits cast in concrete shall be separated by a spacing of not less than 25mm so as to allow concrete aggregate to pass and set between them.

10 Termination of Conduits at Metal Casing of Equipment

Where a steel conduit terminates at a metal casing, a coupler and a brass male bush shall be used. The brass male bush shall be screwed into the coupler or adaptor from the inside of the metal casing through a clearance hole drilled in the metal casing to suit the bush. Both the conduit and the bush shall be screwed tightly into the coupler or adaptor so as to grip the metal casing securely for mechanical and electrical continuity.

Threads on the steel conduit shall be at least half the coupler length. Connection between flexible conduit and the adaptor shall be securely fixed. No threads on the metal casing shall be allowed. In the case of flexible steel conduit, a brass adaptor together with a brass male bush shall be used. The brass adaptor shall comprise two parts, an inner core and an outer ferrule. The inner core shall screw into the bore of the conduit together with an outer ferrule which caps off the
end of the conduit, so that the adaptor can provide an extremely strong joint. The core shall lock against the outer ferrule and isolate any sharp cut edges in the conduit.

Where a metal casing is painted or enamelled, the electrical continuity between the conduit and the casing shall be achieved by means of a separate circuit protective conductor connecting the conduit and an earth terminal of the casing. Alternatively, a copper continuity connector may be placed between the bush and the metal casing. The cross-sectional area of the separate circuit protective conductor or the copper continuity connector shall have the same current carrying capacity as the largest live conductor drawn into the conduit in accordance with the IEC 60364. Neither the paint nor the enamel shall be damaged or removed in order to achieve the electrical continuity.

11 Conduit Bend

Conduit shall not be bent with an acute angle. The internal radius of the bend shall not be less than 2.5 times the outside diameter of the conduit.

12 Conduit Crossing Expansion Joint

Where a steel conduit crosses an expansion joint, special arrangement shall be made to allow relative movement to occur on either side of the expansion joint. A separate circuit protective conductor shall be installed to maintain an effective electrical continuity across the expansion joint. The circuit protective conductor shall have a crosssectional area rated to suit the largest live conductor drawn into the conduit in accordance with IEC 60364.

13 Use of Extension Ring

An extension ring shall be fitted to a conduit box where the plaster wall finish (including plaster) is more than 35mm from the conduit box. Only extension rings of the correct depth shall be used. Under no circumstances shall multiple extension rings be permitted.

14 Prevention of Ingress of Foreign Matters

During the building construction, all open ends of the conduit termination, which are liable to be filled with water, moisture or other foreign matters, shall be plugged with approved conduit stopping plugs;
paper, rag or similar materials shall NOT be used for this purpose. Steel conduit boxes in similar circumstances shall also be similarly plugged to prevent concrete aggregate or plaster from entering into the boxes during building construction.

15 Prevention of Accumulation of Water or Moisture

The conduits shall be so laid to prevent accumulation of condensed moisture and the ingress of water in any part of the installation. Approved type of sealant for the prevention of condensed moisture shall be applied to ceiling conduit outlets installed in a cooled space subject to the influx of warm air.

16 Conduit Laid Direct in Ground

Steel conduits laid direct in ground or buried in soil shall be painted with two coats of bituminous paint and wrapped with selfamalgamating tapes or other wrapping materials for protection against
corrosion and approved by the Architect.

17 Fixing of Distance (Spacing) Saddle

Saddles, for the support of surface conduits, shall be provided throughout the entire route at regular intervals. The spacing between adjacent saddles for steel conduits shall not be more than those. Each bend of a surface conduit shall be supported by a saddle on either side of the bend, and the saddles shall be fixed as near to the bend as practicable.
Saddles shall be fixed with brass screws in expanding plugs or other purpose-designed fixing devices approved by the Architect.

18 Conduit Installed Outdoors or in Damp Situation

Where steel conduits are installed outdoors or in damp situations, all conduit fittings and conduit accessories shall not be placed in contact with other metals with which they are liable to set up electrolytic action. In addition, where the conduit installation is subject to weather, the conduit fittings and conduit accessories shall be provided with weatherproof sealant or other materials to ensure that the installation is completely weatherproof.

19 Swabbing Out of Conduit

Conduits shall be swabbed out and free from moisture before wiring work is to commence. The swabbing operation shall be witnessed by the authorised representative of the Architect. Only approved draw-in tape or steel wire of appropriate size and absorbent cloth shall be used.

20 Fire Barrier

Where a conduit passes through fire resistant structural elements, such as walls and floors designated as fire barriers, the opening made shall be sealed according to the appropriate degree of fire resistance of the wall and/or floor. In addition, where a conduit is installed in a channel, duct,
ducting, trunking or shaft which pass through such elements, suitable fire-resistant barriers shall also be provided to prevent the spread of fire.

21 Identification

Conduits, where required to be distinguished from pipelines or other services, shall use orange (BS colour reference No. 06 E 51 to BS 4800) as the basic identification colour in compliance with BS 1710.

22 Cable Capacity of Conduit

The number of cables drawn into a conduit shall be such that no damage will be caused to the cables or to the conduits during their installation.
In determining the size of the conduit, the “unit system” method shall be adopted.

23 Method of Drawing Cables into Conduit

Conduit system shall be completely erected before cable is drawn in and there shall be adequate means of access for drawing cable in or out. Cables shall be drawn into a conduit by using approved draw-in tape or steel wire of the appropriate size. Under no circumstances shall the use of lubricants, e.g. grease, graphite, talc power, etc., be permitted to assist in the drawing the cables.

24 Segregation of Cables of Different Circuit Categories

Separate conduits shall be provided for cables of different circuit
categories or using different voltage levels.

25 “Looping-in” Wiring System

Each cable in a run shall be of one continuous length and wired on the
“loop-in” system. No joint in cable run shall be allowed.

26 Grouping of Cables in Conduit

Conduits running from a distribution board to the final distribution point may each contain all live conductors of a number of final circuits provided that the effective current-carrying capacity of all circuits, upon taking the correction factors into consideration, shall exceed the rating of their respective over-current protection devices and all conditions as stipulated in Sub-section 22 above are satisfied.
For conduits serving final circuits direct from a distribution board or from an adaptable box used as a final distribution point, each conduit shall contain all live cables of one final circuit only except in the case of lighting final circuit where two circuits with 1.0mm2 or 1.5mm2 cables will be permitted in a 20mm diameter conduit.
The neutral cable of a lighting final circuit using single core cables may be routed in the conduit direct to the lighting point without passing through the switch box.

27 Termination of Bonding Conductors at Conduit Installation

For surface conduit installations, the supplementary bonding conductors shall be terminated at the nearest conduit or conduit box forming an integral part of the conduit installation.
For concealed conduit installations, the supplementary bonding conductors shall be terminated at a copper earthing terminal fitted inside a metal box forming an integral part of the conduit installation. The metal conduit box shall be located as near as possible to the bonding position and the exposed part of the supplementary bonding conductor shall be made as short as possible.

Electrical Safety Glosary - 01

2008-04-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Ampere (amps)
A measure of electrical current flow.

Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI)
Provides protection from fires caused by effects of electrical arcing in wiring. An AFCI device will de-energize the circuit when an arc fault is detected.

Circuit
The path (usually wire) through which current flows between an electrical energy source and an electrical device, appliance or fixture.

Circuit breaker or Fuses
Protect against overcurrent and short circuit conditions that could result in potential fire hazards by opening a circuit path in case of an overcurrent.

Electrical faults
A partial or total failure in an electrical conductor or appliance.

Energized
Electrically connected to a source of potential difference, or electrically charged so as to have a potential different from that of the ground.

Gauge
Standard or scale of measure for circuit conductors.

Ground
Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)—Provides the best available protection against severe shock and electrocution. A GFCI device will de-energize a circuit when it senses a difference in the amount of electricity passing through the device and returning through the device, or a “leak” of current from the circuit.

Grounded/grounding
A conducting connection, whether intentional or accidental, by which an electric circuit or equipment is connected to the earth, or to some conducting body of relatively large extent that serves in place of the earth.

Overcurrent
Any current in excess of the rated current or ampacity of a conductor. May result in risk of fire or shock from insulation damaged from heat generated by overcurrent condition.

Outlet
A contact device installed along a circuit for the connection of an attachment plug and flexible cord to supply power to portable equipment and electrical appliances. Also known as receptacles.

Three-pronged plugs and outlets
Grounded appliances and outlets (unless marked otherwise) have a third socket or prong. The third wire, or grounding conductor, provides a path from the frame or housing of grounded electrical appliances back to the circuit breaker panel to permit current flow in event of an electrical fault in the equipment. When a ground fault occurs, the circuit breaker can trip to remove
energy from the faulty equipment but does not respond quickly enough to prevent the risk of severe shock.

Short circuit
An abnormal electrical path.

Voltage (volts)
A measure of electrical potential

Wattage (watts)
A measure of power or the rate of energy consumption by an electrical device when it is in operation, calculated by multiplying the voltage at which an appliance operates by the current it draws (Watts = Volts X Amperes).

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : New Protection

2008-04-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

New Protection—Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs)

Newer arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) can help prevent fires that often result from problems at the outlets, switches and frayed and cracked cords connected to the circuits. The AFCI senses the particular signature of an arc—where electricity has to jump through an insulating medium—and, like the GFCI, acts immediately to shut off the circuit, thus reducing the risk of fire associated with arcing faults.

AFCIs are currently required by the National Electrical Code® in new construction in all bedroom circuits, but should be considered in all homes and all general purpose receptacles. Consult a qualified, licensed electrician to determine if your home is compatible with AFCI protection.

Other technology

Over the years, we have begun to safety engineer our electrical products to include some of the same technology that has been applied to our electrical systems. Immersion detection circuit interrupters (IDCIs) and appliance leakage current interrupters (ALCIs) are typically found on hair dryer and specific appliance cords.

They operate in slightly different ways but perform essentially the same function. Leakage current detection interrupters (LCDIs) are protective devices that help prevent fires due to damage to cords. They are presently being built into the plug cap of room air conditioners. If the cord is damaged, the LCDI circuitry detects an abnormal condition and immediately shuts off power. LCDI technology is also available in select extension cords and power strips.

Batteries

When used correctly, batteries provide a safe and dependable source of power. However, if they are misused or abused, overheating, leakage, or in extreme cases explosion or fire, can occur. Follow these safety principles when using batteries:

Always follow warnings and manufacturers instructions for both the batteries and the battery-operated product. Use only the correct type and size battery indicated.
Check the contacts of both the battery and the battery-operated product for cleanliness.
Always insert the batteries correctly with regard to polarity (-/+), matching the positive and negative symbols of both battery and product. Putting them in backwards, the product will sometimes still operate, but may inadvertently charge the batteries resulting in venting or leaking.
Remove and safely dispose of exhausted batteries immediately.
Replace all batteries in battery-operated products at the same time and with the batteries of the same type and manufacture.
Do not short circuit batteries. When the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of a battery are in contact with each other, the battery can become short circuited. For example, loose batteries in a pocket with keys or coins can be short circuited possibly resulting in venting or explosion.
Do not heat batteries.
Do not crush, puncture, dismantle or otherwise damage batteries.
Do not charge non-rechargeable batteries.
Keep batteries out of reach of small children.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Test and Protect!

2008-04-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Test and Protect!—Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs)

Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs)—which protect against accidental electric shock or electrocution by acting immediately to shut off the circuit if they sense a ground fault, or “leak” of current off the circuit—have been in homes since the early 70s on circuits that come within six feet of water. Homeowners, however, should consider having GFCI protection on general purpose receptacles throughout the home.

There are outlet GFCIs protecting everything in that outlet and downstream on the circuit, circuit breaker GFCIs protecting the entire circuit, or portable GFCIs that protect just at the point of use.

A GFCI-protected outlet can provide power without giving an indication that it is no longer providing shock protection. Be sure your GFCI is providing protection from fatal electric shock by testing it monthly and after every major electrical storm.

You should test your GFCIs monthly and after every major electrical storm. Here’s how:

# Push the “Reset” button of the GFCI receptacle to prepare the unit for testing.
# Plug in a night light and turn it on. Light should be ON.
# Push the “Test” button of the GFCI receptacle. Light should go OFF.
# Push the “Reset” button again. Light should go ON.

A light plugged into the GFCI receptacle should go out when the test button is pushed. If the light remains on when the button is pushed, either the GFCI is not working properly or has not been correctly installed. If the “RESET” button pops out but the light does not go out, the GFCI has been damaged or was improperly wired and does not offer shock protection at that wall outlet. Contact a qualified electrician to correct any wiring errors or replace defective GFCIs.

If you have a home without GFCIs, consult a qualified, licensed electrician about adding this important protection, or purchase plug-in units or a portable GFCI to provide individual receptacle or load protection.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Small Appliances and Tools

2008-04-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Small Appliances and Tools

Follow these simple safety precautions with all your small appliances and tools:

Make certain all small appliances and tools are approved by an independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), ETL-SEMKO (ETL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA). (See example on page 18.)
Use small appliances and power tools according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Unplug all small electrical appliances, such as hair dryers, shavers, curling irons, clothes irons, and toasters, when not in use.
Be sure you have ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection anywhere electricity and water are within six feet of each other, such as in your kitchen, bathroom and outdoors, to protect against electric shock. For more information, see the section on GFCIs, page 25.
Take any damaged electrical appliance or tool to an authorized repair center, or cut the cord, safely dispose of the item, and purchase a new one.

Tips : Even an appliance that is not turned on, such as a hairdryer, can be potentially hazardous if it is left plugged in. If it falls into water in a sink or bathtub while plugged in, it can electrocute you. New hair dryers should always have a safety device called an appliance leakage circuit interrupter (ALCI) on their power cords to protect against electrocution.
Never reach into water to get an appliance that has fallen in without being sure the appliance is unplugged or the circuit is shut off.
Never reach into water to get an appliance that has fallen in without being sure the appliance is unplugged or the circuit is shut off.

Tips : “Tucking in” an electric blanket or placing additional coverings on top of it can cause excessive heat buildup, which can start a fire.
Do not tuck in electric blankets.
Don’t allow anything on top of the blanket while it is in use. This includes other blankets or comforters and even pets sleeping on top of the blanket.
Do not use electric blankets on children.
Never go to sleep with a heating pad that is turned on. It can burn you. Newer heating pads have an automatic cut off switch.

Tips : Sleeping with a heating pad that is turned on can cause serious burns even at relatively low settings.
Check to make sure power tools have a 3-prong plug or double-insulated cords, and consider replacing old tools that have neither.
Use a properly grounded 3-prong adapter for connecting a 3-prong to a 2-hole receptacle.
Consider using a portable GFCI when using power tools.
Replace guards that have been removed from power tools.
There have been many recalls of power tools due to problems with the safety guard sticking. Be sure your model has not been recalled, as this hazard poses a serious risk of injury.
Check power tools before each use for frayed cords, broken plugs or cracked housing.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Portable Space Heaters

2008-04-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Portable Space Heaters

Portable space heaters can be a blessing in a cold and drafty house in the deep of winter. But space heaters, and any electrical product with a heating element, can demand a lot of power. By their nature, they also produce a lot of heat, and, if not used carefully, can become a fire hazard. Make sure to follow these safety principles with portable space heaters:

Plug portable space heaters directly into an outlet; do not use an extension cord.
Make certain the circuit into which you plug a space heater can adequately and safely handle the added demand.
Never remove the grounding feature on a plug by clipping or grinding off the third prong.
Use an adapter to connect the heater’s 3-prong plug, if you do not have a 3-hole outlet. Make sure the adapter ground wire or tab is attached to the outlet ground.
Relocate heaters away from passageways and keep all flammable materials such as curtains, rugs, furniture or newspaper at least three feet away.
Unplug and safely store portable space heaters when not in use.Plug portable space heaters directly into an outlet; do not use an extension cord.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Light Bulbs

2008-04-15T09:13:00.001-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Light Bulbs

We’ve come to take the light bulb for granted, but there is a wide variety of bulbs available that provide different levels and quality of light, and that demand different levels of power. Make sure you are selecting the bulbs that are appropriate for your intended use and for the power rating of the intended lamp or fixture.

Use a bulb of the correct type and wattage. If you do not know the correct wattage, contact the manufacturer of the lamp or fixture.
Read and follow light bulb manufacturers’ safety instructions.
Make sure bulbs are screwed in securely —loose bulbs may overheat.
Place halogen floor lamps (torchieres) away from curtains, beds, rugs or other furnishings. These lamps can become very hot and can cause a fire hazard. Consider replacing halogen torchiere lamps with models that use cooler, more efficient fluorescent bulbs.

A bulb of too high wattage or of the wrong type may lead to fire through overheating. Some ceiling fixtures and recessed lights can trap heat.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Surge Protection

2008-04-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Power strips and surge protection

Power strips give us the ability to plug more products into the same outlet, which can be a help, but also a hindrance to safety if used inappropriately. Power strips and surge suppressors don’t provide more power to a location, just more access to the same limited capacity of the circuit into which it is connected.

The circuit likely also still serves a variety of other outlets and fixtures in addition to the multiple electrical items you might be supplying with the power strip. In addition to the tips above, keep these safety principles in mind when using power strips and surge suppressors.

Be sure you are not overloading the circuit. Know capacity of the circuit and the power requirements of all the electrical items plugged into the power strip and into all the other outlets on the circuit as well as the light fixtures on the circuit.
A heavy reliance power strips is an indication that you have too few outlets to address your needs. Have additional outlets installed where you need them.
Understand that surge suppressors only protect the items plugged into it, not back along the circuit into which it is connected.
In the event of a large surge or spike, such as a lightning strike, the surge suppressor is a one-time-use protector and will likely have to be replaced.
Consider purchasing surge suppressors with cable and phone jacks to provide the same protection to your phone, fax, computer modem and television.
Not all power strips are surge suppressors, not all surge suppressors can handle the same load and events. Be sure the equipment you buy matches your needs.
For homes in areas with a high incidence of lightning, consider having a surge arrestor installed at the fuse box or breaker panel for whole house protection

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Extension Cords

2008-04-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Extension Cords

Extension cords can be very helpful in delivering power right where we need it. However, no matter what the gauge or rating of the cord is, the extension cord is designed as a temporary solution, not as long-term extension of your household’s electrical system. With continuous use, the extension cord can more rapidly deteriorate, creating a potentially dangerous electric shock or fire hazard. In addition to the same safety tips that apply to power cords, keep the following principles in mind when using extension cords.

Extension cords should only be used on a temporary basis; they are not intended as permanent household wiring. Unplug and safely store extension cords after every use.
A heavy reliance on extension cords is an indication that you have too few outlets to address your needs. Have additional outlets installed where you need them.
Make sure extension cords are properly rated for their intended use, indoor or outdoor, and meet or exceed the power needs of the appliance or tool being plugged into it.
Assume 125W per amp when calculating power (wattage) to determine if the extension cord you intend to use is properly rated for the appliance being connected to it.
Replace No. 18 gauge cords with No. 16 gauge cords. Older extension cords using small (No. 18 gauge) wires will overheat at 15 amps or 20 amps.
Change the cord to a higher rated one or unplug some appliances, if the rating on the cord is exceeded because of the power requirements of one or more appliances being used on the cord.

Tips : Overloaded extension cords can and do cause fires.
Use cords with polarized and/or three-prong plugs.
Buy only cords approved by an independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), ETL-SEMKO (ETL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Power Cords

2008-04-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Power Cords

Power cords, part of electrical products and appliances, connect the item to the power supply by plugging into the outlet. They need to be kept in good condition. Even an electrical item that is in otherwise good working order can still represent a shock and fire hazard if its power cord is damaged.

Check to make sure electrical cords are intact and in good condition, not frayed or cracked.
Check to make sure lamp, extension, telephone and other cords are placed out of the flow of traffic. Cords stretched across walkways may cause someone to trip. If you must use an extension cord, place it on the floor against a wall where people cannot trip over it.
Whenever possible, arrange furniture so that outlets are available for lamps, entertainment products, or appliances without the use of extension cords.
Check to make sure furniture is not resting on cords.
Check to make sure electrical cords do not run under furniture or carpeting, or behind baseboards.
Check to make sure electrical cords are not attached to the walls, baseboards, etc. with nails or staples. Disconnect power before removing nails and staples from on or around electrical cords.
Do not attempt to repair cords yourself. Take any item with a damaged power cord to an authorized repair center, or cut the cord, safely dispose of the item, and purchase a new one.

Tips : Cutting off the cord when disposing of a damaged electrical product reduces the likelihood of someone else “salvaging” the item and bringing the hazard home with them.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Fuses

2008-04-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

Fuses

Replacing a correct size fuse with a larger size fuse can present a serious fire hazard. Doing so will allow excessive current to flow and possibly overload the outlet and the house wiring to the point that a fire can begin.

Be certain that correct-size fuses are used (if you do not know the correct sizes, have a qualified, licensed electrician identify and label the sizes to be used).

NOTE: Fuses should be rated according to the wire that makes up the branch circuit, not the connected load. Most of the screw-based fuses used should be 15 amperes. Ensure that all fuses rated higher than 15 amperes are compatible with the branch circuit wiring.

Edison-base/S-type Fuses

Consumers sometimes replace a fuse that repeatedly “blows” with a higher ampere rated fuse. Although the new fuse may not open, it also may not protect the branch circuit. Doing so masks the real problem of too high a demand being placed on the circuit. The fuse will not open at the appropriate load for that circuit.

Instead of using an inappropriate fuse, take something off the circuit to bring the demand to an appropriate level.

To prevent future installation of fuses that allow currents too high for your wiring, your fuse panel should be converted to S-type sockets that accept only fuses of the correct amperage rating. If you have Edison-base fuse sockets, have them fitted with the S-type socket inserts.

If fuses continue to “blow,” keep track of which branch circuits are affected and which appliances are in use when the power outage occurs. Consult a qualified, licensed electrician to correct the problem.

Electrical Safety—The Checklist : Fuses/ Circuit Breaker

2008-04-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity, Plug Into Electrical Safety—The Checklist

With your circuit map and power audit done, it’s time to take a run through the house with a keen eye on safety. Use the following checklist on a regular basis to ensure your home remains electrically safe year in and year out. If you haven’t already had an electrical inspection performed by a qualified, licensed electrician or electrical inspector, this list can also help identify clues that an inspection and/or repairs are needed.

Fuses/Circuit Breakers

Fuses and circuit breakers are safety devices located in your electrical panel that help prevent overloading and fires.

They stop the electrical current if it exceeds the safe level for some portion of the home electrical system. Overloading means that the appliances and lighting on the circuit regularly demand more electrical current than the circuit can safely deliver.

If the demand for electrical current exceeds the safety level, a fuse opens once and must be replaced to reconnect the circuit. A circuit breaker “trips” its switch to open the circuit, and the circuit is reconnected by closing the switch manually.

DoCoMo Subsidiary interTouch renamed

2008-04-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that interTouch Pte. Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, has been renamed DoCoMo interTouch Pte. Ltd.

In January, DoCoMo interTouch wholly acquired Singapore-based MagiNet Pte. Ltd. to solidify its position as a premier Asia-Pacific provider of high-speed broadband connectivity services and video applications to the hospitality industry. DoCoMo interTouch now serves a total of 25 million hotel guests annually at approximately 1,000 hotels in 62 countries of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, with a growing presence in the Americas.

DoCoMo interTouch is now consolidating the operations of the former interTouch and MagiNet companies for increased efficiency.

Going forward, DoCoMo interTouch is committed to expanding and upgrading its offerings under the DoCoMo brand to provide the industry's most convenient and reliable broadband services to hotels worldwide.

(Attachment) Consolidation of subsidiaries of DoCoMo interTouch About NTT DoCoMo NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company. DoCoMo serves over 53 million customers, including 42 million people subscribing to FOMA™, launched as the world's first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA in 2001.

DoCoMo also offers a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including i-mode™, the world's most popular mobile e-mail/Internet service, used by more than 47 million people.

With the addition of credit-card and other e-wallet functions, DoCoMo mobile phones have become highly versatile tools for daily life. NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.com.

e-SMART (R) Technologies

2008-04-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

e-SMART(R) Technologies to Deliver 20 Million Super Smart Cards

e-SMART(R) Technologies, Inc., (Pink Sheets: ESMT); with its parentcompany, IVI Smart Technologies, Inc., ("e-SMART"(R) or the "Company") ispleased to announce that it has executed a contract with the Samsung S1Corporation, (part of the Samsung family of companies) to deliver toSamsung 20 million "I AM"(TM) cards, the Company's most advanced SuperSMART(TM) Card.

Pursuant to the contract, Samsung S1 shall make an irrevocable purchaseorder for each order and shall pay the full amount in cash to e-SMART(R)within 30 days of the placement of each order. e-SMART(R) will deliver 20million "I AM"(TM) Super SMART(TM) Cards over a two year period to SamsungS1.

Deliveries of the first order of 10 million cards are planned to begining June 2008 and continue through March 1st 2009, with the orders of thesecond 10 million delivered over the following 12 months.

Although it is too early to predict exact profitability, the Company believes the Samsung orders may produce profits in excess of $100 million. As announced inprevious press releases, it is the Company's intention to move in theimmediate future to the Bulletin Board, followed by a move to the NASDAQ orthe American Stock Exchange as soon as possible.

Positive Attitude Behaviors

2008-04-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Daryl R. Gibson

One of the ones that keeps coming up is a request for tests that would predict whether
someone has an attitude that is positive or not. There are a lot of personality tests that attempt to predict how someone looks at life -- but even the best test is just a simulation.

Instead, the best way to predict whether a person will have a positive attitude or not is to look at their basic behavior to life.

More than just a belief, deeper than just education, personal behavior is an Indication of who you really are, not just who you say you are. As the old adage goes, "I couldn't hear what you were saying because your actions were speaking so loudly."

What are the behaviors (or if you speak the Queen's English, behaviors) common to someone who has a positive mental attitude?

Positive people act as if there will be a million tomorrows

We all know people who act as if the world will end any minute. These "Chicken Littles," named after the famous childhood story about the Chicken who runs around screaming "The Sky is Falling," constantly believe that the worst possibility is right around the corner.

In my lifetime, I've heard numerous people predicting the "end of civilization as we know it." All of them have been wrong, so far.
Negative people classify anything new as "evil." They classify anything old as "good." They refuse to have hope for the future, because they don't believe in it. Positive people are hopeful people. They aren't blind to the world around them, but they tend to see the beauty, not the ugliness.

A negative person will look at the clouds in the sky and expect a catastrophe. A positive person will look at the clouds and see the beauty that is in them.
While a positive person acts as if there will be a million tomorrows, a negative person usually stays mired in a million yesterdays.
Positive people concentrate on the here and now

Just because they believe in the future doesn't mean positive people live in it. They know that the "here and now" is the only life we have. They make the most of the time they have, because they have a lot of things to accomplish.
Positive people concentrate on the "here and now," not the "there and then."
Positive people see the best side of others

Most of us have something in our life, our looks, or our character that we're not too proud of. We have flaws in our character. While the negative person concentrates on those flaws, in himself or others, the positive person will concentrate on the best parts, not the worst.

Think about the most positive person you know. Have you ever heard him/her say anything bad about someone else? If you have, it's likely it was accurate, but most of the time, you have likely heard that positive person pointing out the good points of another person.

We all have the opportunity to see the best in others -- and as Abraham Lincoln said, "If you look for the worst in people and expect to find it, you surely will." We should constantly strive to look for the best in others.
Sure, we all have flaws -- but those flaws are what make us interesting.
Positive people are goal-oriented

Why goals? Let me quote from Earl Nightingale: ""People with goals succeed because they know where they are going...It's as simple as that."
Positive people choose their destination -- they don't just allow themselves to be pushed along by the prevailing winds.

Positive people know where they're going, and they want to get there. Negative people don't know where they're going, and they don't want to arrive.
Positive people work to make the world better

There are all sorts of contributions they make -- from planting flowers to coaching kids baseball teams. No matter what they do, they work to make the world better, because they believe they can make a difference. Negative people never feel they can make a difference in life -- and so they never do.
Positive people take responsibility for their own moods and actions

While negative people blame the stars, karma, God, and other people, positive people know that more than anything else, their own actions dictate their future success. Positive people do not let their moods be dictated by the weather, the news, or the TV schedule. They know that their moods are under their own control, as are their actions. They accept the blame, or the credit, for the actions they have made, and give credit when it belongs to their co-workers.
Positive people do not give up

Positive people have learned that persistence pays off. They don't give up at the first sign of trouble, but keep going until their goals are reached. Like the bulldog, they grab hold of their quarry, and hold on tenaciously.

Well, how did you do? Do you have a few places where you could do better? Are there some chinks in your armor? Be positive toward your abilities, keep your hope focused on the future, and stay positive.

To grow up the value of business

2008-04-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

So many people especially that have operational in the business want to know, how to grow up the value of them trade of business. Of course that is a normally question.

As basically to know the value of the business is beginning from:

Goodwill
Factory and Equipment
Equipment Facility Permanently Installed
Material Stock
Work in progress
Intellectual Property
Obligation

Goodwill

Goodwill is an asset intangible that as symbol of reputation of the persistence of potential business or term used to reflect the portion of the market value of a business entity not directly attributable to its assets and liabilities; it normally arises only in case of an acquisition.

Factory and Equipment
Factory and equipment can mean as the machine, motor, tools and peripheral, accessories and computer

Equipment Facility Permanently Installed
This case is related with the rent of the building, what kind of the equipment facility that installed in building of rent that want to using for operating of business, can be sale, get or change that appropriate with the own of business. Example: air conditioning, stove, rack and other machine.

Material Stock
The value of the business as generally promote by advertise for to sale include goodwill, permanently equipment facility, dynamic inventory and stock at valuation (SAV).

Work in progress
Some of business be sale include with value that give to contract and work progressive to do with customer.

Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property is the collective name to every patent right that protected by patent registry, design or brand of company, license of business or company name, copyright and confidentiality. The scope of Intellectual property can be as the customer list, industrial process and trade of technical.

Vendor Obligation
The obligation of vendor as really not include calculate with value to sale. As generally the buyer not want to buy of:

Money Obligation
Credit Obligation
Responsible order in the future

M & E > Tower Specification

2008-04-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Introduction

PSD is considering to purchase and erect Steel Structure Telecommunication Towers as per the attached Annex

1. TOWER SHALL MEET AND COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS :

Towers shall meet and comply with all relevant International Standards including but not limited to EIN11A-222-E, F Or equivalent European Standards.
Tower shall be designed by or under the direct supervision of a registered profession & engineer, specifically experienced in the design of microwave towers. All design and analysis computations and installation drawings shall be certified and stamped by a licensed Professional Engineer.
Required Tower shall be, angled, galvanized, self-supporting type and require
low maintenance, low maintenance.
The Contractor shall employ a quality control program that will ensure that
engineering, fabrication, erection and relevant activities meet the requirements
of this specification.
Contractor is required to provide complete erected Tower and also complete
plans, assembly drawings which summarize the Tower components and
foundation specifications, other documentation showing the necessary
marking and details for the proper assembly and installation of the material
including the design yield strength of the structural members and the grade of
Structural bolts which to be used.
Manufacturer is required to fill in and sign the compliance list provided with
tender, the compliance list will be considered as a vital part of project
documents.
All documents relevant to this project shall be printed in English Language.
The life cycle of the Tower shall be 50 years minimum.

2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS :

All hardware must be hot dipped galvanized in accordance with the Provisions
of ASTM A-153 or equivalent.
Wind load, to be designed for a basic wind speed of 160 kilometers Per hour.
Antenna loading: As per Annex 1.
Tower shall be designed, as defined in EI4AJTIA- 222. Ice load shall be
included on the Tower structure, antennas’ appurtenances, wave guides and
transmission lines.
Tower sections shall be of bolted construction to permit in- service
replacement of members. Shop welding shall be kept to a minimum and field
welding is not permitted.
Twist angle permitted shall be less than 0.25 degree.
All K-braced or reversed K-braced sections shall be designed to include a
structurally stable configuration of internal bracing at the midpoint of
horizontal members.
Connections shall be detailed and designed to minimize stresses attributable to
eccentricity
High strength bolts confirming to relevant international standards (e.g. ASTM
A-325 or A -449) shall be used in all calculated load carrying connections All
threaded fasteners shall be of adequate length that a minimum of two threads
shall protrude beyond the nut or locking device when the nut is properly
tensioned.
Space of 3 mm or greater between parallel or crossing members shall be filled
with single thickness plates or ring fills. Stacked washers shell not be used for
any reason for this purpose.
Hardened flat washers shall be provided for all oversized of slotted holes.
Anchor bolts shall be designed such that their projection above the concrete
allows for one leveling nut below and two full-sized nuts above the base plate
of the tower.
Under no circumstances shall ‘dissimilar metals’ be used in contact with one
another.

3. DESIGN CALCULATIONS AND DRAWINGS

Three complete sets of the Tower drawings, one set of the tower grounding
system and one set of design calculations for each tower shall be furnished to
PSD in print and electronic form All submittals must bear a Professional
Engineer’s stamp.
The Contractor shall submit structural calculations, foundation, and erection
drawings for each Tower site location. Complete structural calculations are
required covering all parts of the structures and all relevant items. Actual
stresses and corresponding allowable stresses shall be listed for the vertical,
diagonal and, girt members of the tower twist, sway, and displacement
calculations shall be Made and identified for each microwave antenna. When
computer printouts form a portion of the calculations, the Contractor shall
include sufficient information to allow an independent engineer to thoroughly
review the design.
The drawings include the station name, tower height, manufacturer’s name,
manufacturer’s model number, antenna path azimuths, and elevation and plan
views of the tower indicating the tower orientation In addition, the Contractor
shall furnish section assembly drawings showing all tower members with their
part numbers, splice plates, ladder mounting details, bolt sizes and types, and
any other Information necessary to identify each Tower component.
Grounding system Drawing shall provide detailed information about the
grounding system, showing lengths, elements dimensions, elements
connectivity, quantities, layout and method of interconnection with shelter
grounding system. All pertinent requirements of above sections of this specification are
applicable to the towers accessories listed in following sections

4. CLIMBING LADDER:

Climbing ladder and climbing devices shall be provided.
Provisions shall be made and all material pervaded for the installation of an
internal climbing ladder from the base to the tower top. The rung width shall
be at least 40.0 cm with the step diameter being a minimum of 1.6 cm; the
maximum adjacent rung spacing shall be 40.0 cm. The step spacing shall be
uniform throughout the ladder length.

5. WAVE GUIDE SUPPORT

Waveguide Ladder, Provisions shall be made and all material pervaded for the
installation of an internal waveguide ladder from the base to tower top. These
ladders shall provide secure support coax runs for at least 10 runs of coax
along the tower length. The ladders have 0.9 to 1.2 meters rung spacing.
Waveguide Bridge (Cable Tray) shall provide support and protection of
waveguide to equipment shelter, Tower and shelter are 5 to 8 meters apart.
Waveguide support structures shall be grounded in accordance with the tower
grounding specification.

6. CONNECTIONS AND LOCKING DEVICES

All members shall be connected with galvanized structural bolts unless
otherwise approved by PSD.
The contractor shall provide bolts, nuts and lock washers in a quantity 5% in
excess of the actual bolt count, for each size required for each Tower.
All towers will be provided with the correct size and length of anchor bolts
necessary to carry the anticipated Tower loads. If the Tower loads require
more than one bolt per leg, they shall be shop welded into a cluster to
eliminate the need for a template during field installation.
All threaded fasteners shall extend not less than 2 threads beyond nuts and
locking devices.

7. REST PLATFORMS

Rest platforms shall be placed at intervals 15 meters.(45M/60M Towers Only)
A rest platform will consist of a level platform of grating which allows room
for two persons.
Safety hand rails shall be provided around the rest platforms.
Work platforms with safety hand rails shall be provided around Microwave
antennas.

8. TOWER LIGHTNG

Obstruction lighting systems shall be supplied with the towers and installed as
required CAA.
An electronic device equipped with a photoelectric cell that change over lights
on and off automatically from dawn till dusk and provide alarms indicating
beacon or/and power failure.
Obstruction lighting system shall be capable of indicating when light is turned
on or off.
Contractor shall submit schematic, installation drawing and specifications of
the obstruction light system he is providing.

9. GROUNDING AND LIGHTNING PROTECTION

Towers shall have a complete grounding system which conforms to the
minimum requirements of EIA RS-222-F, “Protective Grounding”.
The grounding system of tower shall achieve a resistance to earth less than 5
ohm.
The grounding system of tower shall be interconnected with shelter grounding
system to provide a common ground potential to the communications site.
This shall include lightning protection, electric service and antenna system
ground.
The grounding system may consist of, but is not limited to, the following
components:

- Tower ground ring.
- Ground radials.
- Grounding electrodes.
- Tower ground bus bar.
- External ground bus bar.
Tower ground ring shall be buried and encircles the tower structure and
provide a means of bonding ground rods together and bonding other
grounding electrode system components together.
The Tower ground bus bar shall be an integral part of the tower construction
or vertical waveguide ladder it should be large enough to accommodate all
coaxial cable connections and connection to the grounding electrode system.
The tower ground bus bar shall be physically and electrically connected to the
Tower, it shall be installed below the transmission line ground kits, near the
area of the tower at the point where the antenna transmission lines transition
from the tower to the shelter.
Near end ground bus bar shall be installed at the point where the antenna
transmission lines enters the shelter (or building), and shall be connected to
the external ground ring using the straightest possible downward run of 35
mm2 csa (#2 AWG) or larger bare solid or stranded tinned copper conductor,
it should be large enough to accommodate all coaxial connections and
connection to the grounding electrode System PSD.
Each leg of the towers shall be bonded to the tower ground ring using
grounding conductors of 35 mm2 csa (#2 AWG) minimum, bare tinned solid
or stranded copper conductor.
Tower grounding system shall be connection ready to be interconnected with
shelter (or building) ground.
Exothermically welding shall be used for connecting grounding system
elements, other methods of connection shall not be used.
Each tower must be equipped with a lightning rod fastened at the extreme top
of the tower, the lightning rod shall be made of galvanized steel, with
minimum dimensions of 1.6 cm diameter by 1.2 meter long, shall be attached
so as to extend a minimum of 45 cm above the highest point of the tower,
including all attachments.

10. Tower Base Excavations:

All excavation works shall conform to relevant Jordanian codes.
The contractor shall insure that each foundation excavation is accurately
located, sized and plumbed as specified on the drawings.
All topsoil shall be separately removed and stockpiled for rater use in the final
Back-filling process. No waste from excavations shall be spread on the
property without the approval of the PSD. Excavated material, unsuitable or
not required for Back-filling shall be removed from the site and disposed of
by the Contractor in local authorities Specified dump areas.
Site Safety Measures & Tools are the responsibility of the contractor.
Excavation shall not be left open .

11. Tower Base Foundations :

All materials, cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, water and admixtures
shall conform to relevant Jordanian codes.
Foundation designs shall be based upon the soil characteristics and parameters
listed in the site geotechnical report supplied by PSD.
Foundation shall be designed for maximum structure reaction resulting from
the specific loads.
Foundation drawings shall indicate structure reactions, material strengths,
dimensions, reinforcing steel and embedded anchorage material type, size and
location.
Foundation shall use ready-mix concrete, concrete shall conform to standards
and codes adopted in Jordan.
All concrete construction methods shall conform to the standards practiced
and adopted in Jordan or equivalent international standard.
The contractor shall submit a detailed report of material specifications used in
Concrete Mix Design.
o ensure uniform production of concrete, representative samples will be
taken at the request of and under the supervision of the PSD engineer and
contractor assigned engineer for the purpose of making cubes for strength
tests. All tests shall conform to standards and codes adopted in Jordan.
In case the concrete placed by the contractor is determined, by testing "to be
defective or not accepted" in any way, the contractor shall be responsible and
at his expense for one of the following courses of action which shall be
determined by PSD:

- Removal and replacement of all defective concrete.
- The cost of design and construction changes necessary to incorporate the
inferior concrete.
All reinforcement shall conform to relevant Jordanian codes. All
reinforcement cages, anchor bolts, anchor rods, etc. Shall be accurately
positioned and secured while concrete is being poured and vibrated. Exposed
portions of anchor bolts shall be coated with tape or heavy grease prior to
pouring concrete. The contractor shall provide All bar supports, ties, spacers
and other materials required to keep the reinforcing in its proper position.
Heating of rebar in order to bend it and welding of rebar will not be permitted.
The portion of concrete surfaces exposed above grade shall be fair faced
concrete.

12. BACKFILL

All backfill works shall conform to relevant Jordanian specifications.
Material for backfill shall be furnished by the Contractor from the excavated
site material to the extent available. Additional backfill ‘similar to the site
material, shall be furnished by the Contractor where required. If excavated
material is not suitable as backfill, Contractor will replace it with acceptable
material.
Fill materials shall be placed in horizontal layers of 25cm lifts and each layer
compacted with vibrating compactors such as tampers ‘rammers, or vibro
plates to 95% modified proctor density.
The finished grade at backfilled and other disturbed areas shall conform to the
lines and grades of the site. Areas around buildings and towers shall be graded
so as to cause surface water to flow away from them.

13. TOWER ERECTION

The contractor shall furnish all necessary personnel, supervision ‘tools,
equipment and transportation required to complete the installation and
erection of all items specified herein.
Any Tower elements which sustain damage shall be reported to PSD.
Correction of damage shall not be done by contractor without the approval of
PSD.
The actual location of the tower and other structures will be determined by
PSD, Tower orientation shall be agreed upon later on between PSD and the
contractor.
The Structural members shall be accurately set to lines and evasions indicated
on the erection drawings, also the various members forming each tower bay
shall be aligned and adjusted before permanently fastening.
The contractor shall maintain a check of Tower plumpness during all phases
of the erection work. Plumpness shall be measured by means of a transit
placed so that the sight elevation angles are less than 45 degrees. At least two
sights shall be made for each check, oriented at right angles to each other and
taken within the shortest practical time interval. At all times the tower shall be
plumb within the tolerance specified in drawings. After completion of tower
construction, with all joints tight, and all appurtenances installed ‘the
contractor shall make a final check of tower plumpness in the manner
prescribed above
Field modifications including welding or burning of holes in members are not
acceptable.
Contractor shall provide a dedicated, full-time field supervisor. This
contractor-employee will be assigned and available through all phases of
construction. Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to: verification
of tower and anchor locations; finished grade and construction of foundations;
delivery and erection of tower; off-Load location and joint inspection of
construction.

14. CLIMBING TOOLS

Contractor is required to provide as an option a recommended list of climbing
tools e.g. full body harness, safety blocks, rescue and retrieval system, shock
absorbers

15. INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTRACTOR

Contractor Shall provide complete erected functioning 60 meter towers
according to specifications and requirements listed in this document.

M & E > Grounding & Bonding STP Copper Cabling System

2008-04-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

Grounding and bonding is the single most important practice for the protection of people and property. Throughout the industry, there is a misconception that grounding and bonding of shielded twisted-pair (STP) copper cabling systems is more difficult, more time consuming, and more technique sensitive. This is simply not true.

Properly grounding and bonding an STP copper cabling system is straightforward and essentially no different than grounding and bonding a UTP system. The grounding and bonding requirements specified in the current TIA J-STD- 607-A Commercial Building Grounding (Earthing) and Bonding Requirements for Telecommunications are applicable
to both STP and UTP systems. It doesn't matter which type of system you're installing!

Grounding & Bonding STP in the TR
In each TR, any metallic component that is attached to the telecommunications cabling infrastructure, or comes in contact with any other metallic component attached to the infrastructure, must be bonded to the telecommunications grounding busbar (TGB) per the TIA standard. That includes racks, ladders, enclosures, metallic cable tray, and equipment like patch panels, routers, and switches. This process is exactly the same for both STP and UTP systems.

Shielded patch panels, jacks, and cable have the grounding and bonding built in. So once the cable is properly terminated to the jack and the jack mounted to the patch panel, bonding and grounding is complete.

Grounding & Bonding STP at the Workstation

Grounding and bonding STP at the workstation is more straightforward than you might think. In a permanent link, the shield is bonded only at the TR end as previously described above. The workstation end of the permanent link is not bonded to ground. This is the same for both UTP and STP systems.

In a channel, the bonding of the permanent link shield to ground at the workstation end is accomplished by connecting a shielded patch cord between the outlet and the equipment. This results in a ground condition at both ends of the channel. It's as simple as that!

Maintaining continuity of the shield

In an STP system, the shield should completely surround the cable along its entire length, and the shield should remain continuous along the entire length of the channel. This is accomplished by using only shielded products throughout the entire channel, from cable to plug to jack to patch panel.
Proper installation is also central to maintaining continuity of the shield. When terminating a shielded jack, the shield must make contact with the connector. Because today's shielded connectivity hardware is made completely out of metal, ensuring that contact is quite simple. For example, Tyco Electronics' shielded jacks feature a spring-loaded cable strain relief that automatically provides a 360-degree contact to the terminated shield.

Proper grounding and bonding is a sizeable job whether it is UTP or STP, and there is virtually no difference in the requirements between the two. Yes, the shield must maintain continuity throughout a channel, but achieving that condition is as simple as properly terminating the shielded jack and using shielded components throughout the channel. In today's IT world, it is VITAL for customers who rely so heavily on their communication system to ensure proper grounding and bonding – whether
it's a UTP or STP system.

Electrical > Indoor Electrical Safety Check - 04

2008-04-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity,
Plug Into Electrical Safety - The Checklist

Light Bulbs

We’ve come to take the light bulb for granted, but there is a wide variety of bulbs available that provide different levels and quality of light, and that demand different levels of power. Make sure you are selecting the bulbs that are appropriate for your intended use and for the power rating of the intended lamp or fixture.

Use a bulb of the correct type and wattage. If you do not know the correct wattage, contact the manufacturer of the lamp or fixture.
Read and follow light bulb manufacturers’ safety instructions.
Make sure bulbs are screwed in securely —loose bulbs may overheat.
Place halogen floor lamps (torchieres) away from curtains, beds, rugs or other furnishings. These lamps can become very hot and can cause a fire hazard. Consider replacing halogen torchiere lamps with models that use cooler, more efficient fluorescent bulbs.

Portable Space Heaters

Portable space heaters can be a blessing in a cold and drafty house in the deep of winter. But space heaters, and any electrical product with a heating element, can demand a lot of power. By their nature, they also produce a lot of heat, and, if not used carefully, can become a fire hazard. Make sure to follow these safety principles with portable space heaters:

Plug portable space heaters directly into an outlet; do not use an extension cord.
Make certain the circuit into which you plug a space heater can adequately and safely handle the added demand.
Never remove the grounding feature on a plug by clipping or grinding off the third prong.
Use an adapter to connect the heater’s 3-prong plug, if you do not have a 3-hole outlet. Make sure the adapter ground wire or tab is attached to the outlet ground.
Relocate heaters away from passageways and keep all flammable materials such as curtains, rugs, furniture or newspaper at least three feet away.
Unplug and safely store portable space heaters when not in use.

Small Appliances and Tools

Follow these simple safety precautions with all your small appliances and tools:

Make certain all small appliances and tools are approved by an independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), ETL-SEMKO (ETL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA). (See example on page 18.)
Use small appliances and power tools according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Unplug all small electrical appliances, such as hair dryers, shavers, curling irons, clothes irons, and toasters, when not in use.
Be sure you have ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection anywhere electricity and water are within six feet of each other, such as in your kitchen, bathroom and outdoors, to protect against electric shock. For more information, see the section on GFCIs, page 25.
Take any damaged electrical appliance or tool to an authorized repair center, or cut the cord, safely dispose of the item, and purchase a new one.
Never reach into water to get an appliance that has fallen in without being sure the appliance is unplugged or the circuit is shut off.
Do not tuck in electric blankets.
Don’t allow anything on top of the blanket while it is in use. This includes other blankets or comforters and even pets sleeping on top of the blanket.
Do not use electric blankets on children.
Never go to sleep with a heating pad that is turned on. It can burn you. Newer heating pads have an automatic cut off switch.
Check to make sure power tools have a 3-prong plug or double-insulated cords, and consider replacing old tools that have neither.
Use a properly grounded 3-prong adapter for connecting a 3-prong to a 2-hole receptacle.
Consider using a portable GFCI when using power tools.
Replace guards that have been removed from power tools.
There have been many recalls of power tools due to problems with the safety guard sticking. Be sure your model has not been recalled, as this hazard poses a serious risk of injury. Check online at ....
Check power tools before each use for frayed cords, broken plugs or cracked housing.

Test and Protect!—Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs)

Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs)—which protect against accidental electric shock or electrocution by acting immediately to shut off the circuit if they sense a ground fault, or “leak” of current off the circuit—have been in homes since the early 70s on circuits that come within six feet of water. Homeowners, however, should consider having GFCI protection on general purpose receptacles throughout the home.

There are outlet GFCIs protecting everything in that outlet and downstream on the circuit, circuit breaker GFCIs protecting the entire circuit, or portable GFCIs that protect just at the point of use.

A GFCI-protected outlet can provide power without giving an indication that it is no longer providing shock protection. Be sure your GFCI is providing protection from fatal electric shock by testing it monthly and after every major electrical storm.

You should test your GFCIs monthly and after every major electrical storm. Here’s how:

* Push the “Reset” button of the GFCI receptacle to prepare the unit for testing.
* Plug in a night light and turn it on. Light should be ON.
* Push the “Test” button of the GFCI receptacle. Light should go OFF.
* Push the “Reset” button again. Light should go ON.

A light plugged into the GFCI receptacle should go out when the test button is pushed. If the light remains on when the button is pushed, either the GFCI is not working properly or has not been correctly installed. If the “RESET” button pops out but the light does not go out, the GFCI has been damaged or was improperly wired and does not offer shock protection at that wall outlet. Contact a qualified electrician to correct any wiring errors or replace defective GFCIs.
If you have a home without GFCIs, consult a qualified, licensed electrician about adding this important protection, or purchase plug-in units or a portable GFCI to provide individual receptacle or load protection.

Electrical > Indoor Electrical Safety Check - 03

2008-04-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Before You Plug Into Electricity,
Plug Into Electrical Safety - The Checklist

With your circuit map and power audit done, it’s time to take a run through the house with a keen eye on safety. Use the following checklist on a regular basis to ensure your home remains electrically safe year in and year out. If you haven’t already had an electrical inspection performed by a qualified, licensed electrician or electrical inspector, this list can also help identify clues that an inspection and/or repairs are needed.

Fuses/Circuit Breakers

Fuses and circuit breakers are safety devices located in your electrical panel that help prevent overloading and fires. They stop the electrical current if it exceeds the safe level for some portion of the home electrical system. Overloading means that the appliances and lighting on the circuit regularly demand more electrical current than the circuit can safely deliver.

If the demand for electrical current exceeds the safety level, a fuse opens once and must be replaced to reconnect the circuit. A circuit breaker “trips” its switch to open the circuit, and the circuit is reconnected by closing the switch manually.

Fuses

Replacing a correct size fuse with a larger size fuse can present a serious fire hazard. Doing so will allow excessive current to flow and possibly overload the outlet and the house wiring to the point that a fire can begin.

Be certain that correct-size fuses are used (if you do not know the correct sizes, have a qualified, licensed electrician identify and label the sizes to be used).

NOTE:
Fuses should be rated according to the wire that makes up the branch circuit, not the connected load. Most of the screw-based fuses used should be 15 amperes. Ensure that all fuses rated higher than 15 amperes are compatible with the branch circuit wiring.

Edison-base/S-type Fuses

Consumers sometimes replace a fuse that repeatedly “blows” with a higher ampere rated fuse. Although the new fuse may not open, it also may not protect the branch circuit. Doing so masks the real problem of too high a demand being placed on the circuit. The fuse will not open at the appropriate load for that circuit.

Instead of using an inappropriate fuse, take something off the circuit to bring the demand to an appropriate level.

To prevent future installation of fuses that allow currents too high for your wiring, your fuse panel should be converted to S-type sockets that accept only fuses of the correct amperage rating. If you have Edison-base fuse sockets, have them fitted with the S-type socket inserts.

Circuit Breakers

Just like fuses, circuit breakers provide overcurrent protection by opening the circuit, or “tripping” when an unsafe level of demand has been placed on the circuit.

Circuit breakers are also rated for various current levels, such as 15 or 20 amps. Breaker systems offer more flexibility for new protective technologies like ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) and arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs). They also offer you the ability to reset the breaker once ripped, getting lights up and running quickly to prevent accidents resulting from the lack of power in the home. Resetting a circuit breaker is quicker than replacing a fuse and avoids the hazards of over-sized fuses.

When resetting a tripped circuit breaker, be aware that your circuit breaker may trip to an intermediate position close to “ON” instead of the “OFF” position (sometimes it is difficult to see that it has tripped). To reset, move the switch fully to “OFF” and then to “ON.”

Before resetting a tripped circuit breaker, turn off or unplug appliances or lamps on the circuit to bring the demand back down to an acceptable level.

Outlets & Switches

Switches are used to turn the power on and off. Outlets, or receptacles, are usually mounted on a wall or floor to supply electricity through a cord and plug to appliances, lamps, TV, etc. These are the key points in our electrical systems that give us our first line of control to our electrical use, and they are critical connection points. With time and use, these connections can become loose, creating potential hazards.

Check to make sure outlet and switch plates are not unusually hot to the touch. If they are, immediately unplug cords from these outlets and do not use the switches. Have a qualified, licensed electrician check the wiring as soon as possible.
Look for discoloration as another indication of potentially dangerous heat buildup at these connections. Stand across the room and look for a tear-drop shaped darkening around and above outlet and switch cover plates.
With outlet and switch cover plates, warm to the touch may be okay, but hot is not.
Check that all outlet and switch cover plates are in good condition so that no wiring is exposed. Replace any missing, cracked or broken cover plate.
Be sure to use safety caps with unused outlets.

Power Cords

Power cords, part of electrical products and appliances, connect the item to the power supply by plugging into the outlet. They need to be kept in good condition. Even an electrical item that is in otherwise good working order can still represent a shock and fire hazard if its power cord is damaged.

Check to make sure electrical cords are intact and in good condition, not frayed or cracked.
Check to make sure lamp, extension, telephone and other cords are placed out of the flow of traffic. Cords stretched across walkways may cause someone to trip. If you must use an extension cord, place it on the floor against a wall where people cannot trip over it.
Whenever possible, arrange furniture so that outlets are available for lamps, entertainment products, or appliances without the use of extension cords.
Check to make sure furniture is not resting on cords.
Check to make sure electrical cords do not run under furniture or carpeting, or behind baseboards.
Check to make sure electrical cords are not attached to the walls, baseboards, etc. with nails or staples. Disconnect power before removing nails and staples from on or around electrical cords.
Do not attempt to repair cords yourself. Take any item with a damaged power cord to an authorized repair center, or cut the cord, safely dispose of the item, and purchase a new one.

Extension Cords

Extension cords can be very helpful in delivering power right where we need it. However, no matter what the gauge or rating of the cord is, the extension cord is designed as a temporary

solution, not as long-term extension of your household’s electrical system. With continuous use, the extension cord can more rapidly deteriorate, creating a potentially dangerous electric shock or fire hazard. In addition to the same safety tips that apply to power cords, keep the following principles in mind when using extension cords.

Extension cords should only be used on a temporary basis; they are not intended as permanent household wiring. Unplug and safely store extension cords after every use.
A heavy reliance on extension cords is an indication that you have too few outlets to address your needs. Have additional outlets installed where you need them.
Make sure extension cords are properly rated for their intended use, indoor or outdoor, and meet or exceed the power needs of the appliance or tool being plugged into it.
Assume 125W per amp when calculating power (wattage) to determine if the extension cord you intend to use is properly rated for the appliance being connected to it.
Replace No. 18 gauge cords with No. 16 gauge cords. Older extension cords using small (No. 18 gauge) wires will overheat at 15 amps or 20 amps.
Change the cord to a higher rated one or unplug some appliances, if the rating on the cord is exceeded because of the power requirements of one or more appliances being used on the cord.
Use cords with polarized and/or three-prong plugs.
Buy only cords approved by an independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), ETL-SEMKO (ETL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

Power strips and surge protection

Power strips give us the ability to plug more products into the same outlet, which can be a help, but also a hindrance to safety if used inappropriately. Power strips and surge suppressors don’t provide more power to a location, just more access to the same limited capacity of the circuit into which it is connected. The circuit likely also still serves a variety of other outlets and fixtures in addition to the multiple electrical items you might be supplying with the power strip. In addition to the tips above, keep these safety principles in mind when using power strips and surge suppressors.

Be sure you are not overloading the circuit. Know capacity of the circuit and the power requirements of all the electrical items plugged into the power strip and into all the other outlets on the circuit as well as the light fixtures on the circuit.
A heavy reliance power strips is an indication that you have too few outlets to address your needs. Have additional outlets installed where you need them.
Understand that surge suppressors only protect the items plugged into it, not back along the circuit into which it is connected.
In the event of a large surge or spike, such as a lightning strike, the surge suppressor is a one-time-use protector and will likely have to be replaced.
Consider purchasing surge suppressors with cable and phone jacks to provide the same protection to your phone, fax, computer modem and television.
Not all power strips are surge suppressors, not all surge suppressors can handle the same load and events. Be sure the equipment you buy matches your needs.
For homes in areas with a high incidence of lightning, consider having a surge arrestor installed at the fuse box or breaker panel for whole house protection

Electrical > Indoor Electrical Safety Check - 02

2008-04-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Tips For The Safe Indoor Use of Electricity

CIRCUIT MAP AND POWER AUDIT

While you cannot perform your own electrical inspection unless you’re a qualified, licensed electrician or electrical inspector, something you can do is create a detailed circuit map and perform a power audit. This is not a substitute for an electrical inspection, but it will help you establish and maintain a safer electrical system.

A good circuit map goes beyond what the sticker on the inside of the electrical panel door provides. It details every receptacle and fixture each circuit serves. To create one is a simple, though admittedly time-consuming process of shutting off a single circuit at a time and determining which outlets and lighting fixtures have been affected each time.

As you proceed, note what appliances are plugged in at each receptacle. Circuits can only handle a specified total wattage of all the electrical products connected to that circuit. If too much wattage is demanded from a circuit, serious electrical problems can result. Here is an easy equation to use to determine what a circuit can handle:

Volts x Amps = Watts
Your electrical panel will indicate your system’s voltage, and each fuse or circuit breaker is marked for its amperage. Using the equation above, a 15-amp circuit in a 120-volt system can carry a total of 1800 watts. It is not recommended that you exceed 80% of the total circuit capacity at any given time, in this case 1,440 watts.

Now, find the nameplate on each appliance indicating its power rating in watts. Note the appliance and its power rating on the entry for that circuit. Lamps and light fixtures, too, should note the maximum wattage they can take. If you cannot find the power rating, contact the manufacturer.

Some common household examples in watts:

Hair dryer ................................... 1600
Deep Fryer .................................. 1500
Portable Heater ........................... 1500
Iron............................................. 1000
Vacuum Cleaner............................. 600
Portable Fan.................................. 150
Television ...................................... 150
Computer ...................................... 150
VCR ................................................. 40
Stereo ............................................. 30
Light bulbs................ 40, 60, 75 or 100

Finally, do the math. Add up the power demand of every appliance and fixture drawing power from the circuit. A typical entry in the circuit map should look like this:

Circuit #3— Kitchen—20 amps
Total allowable capacity (80% of total capacity) = 1920 watts
Serves three receptacles along the north and west walls of the kitchen, the kitchen ceiling lighting fixture (120 watts), and light fixture over the sink (60 watts). Appliances plugged into receptacles include the coffee maker (800 watts), toaster (800 watts), radio (30 watts), phone/answering machine (100 watts).
Total demand on circuit = 1,910 watts.

If your total exceeds what the circuit is designed to provide, you may have a dangerous overload and should take immediate measures to alleviate the demands on that circuit by moving some appliances to another less taxed circuit, or by adding another circuit. In fact, you may find the total demand on your entire system exceeds the service to your home. In that case, consider contracting with your utility for a “heavy up”, or upgrade to a higher level of electrical service.

A good circuit map will let you know at a glance, which circuits are overloaded and which are still available for additional use. Also, in the event of an electric shock or electrical fire, or if you need to remove power to do home maintenance or repairs on or around a circuit, you’ll know without a doubt which circuit to shut off.

To be on the safe side, remember this rule of thumb:

For 15 amps, keep it under 1500 watts.
For 20 amps, keep it under 2000 watts.

Electrical > Indoor Electrical Safety Check - 01

2008-04-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

TIPS FOR THE SAFE INDOOR USE OF ELECTRICITY

INSPECT AND PROTECT!
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM INSPECTION

In a number of cases of electrical-related home structure fires investigated by the CPSC, homes ranging from 40 to 100 years old had not been inspected since they were built. Just like any product, our electrical systems gradually deteriorate with use, abuse, age and increased demand. Systems installed in the 70s and earlier likely never anticipated the demand we place on them today. To ensure the electrical safety of your home, your electrical inspection should be up-to-date, defects corrected, and service upgraded to meet present and foreseeable demands.

We recommends asking the following questions to determine whether you need to have your home electrically inspected:

Is your home 40 years old or older?
Has your home had a major addition or renovation or major new appliance added, such as a refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner or electric furnace, in the last 10 years?
Are you the new owner of a previously owned home?
Do your lights often flicker or dim momentarily?
Do your circuit breakers trip or fuses blow often?
Are your outlet and light switch face plates hot to the touch or discolored?
Do you hear crackling, sizzling or buzzing from your outlets?
Do you have extension cords and multiple power strips permanently in use around the house?
If you answer yes to any one of the above questions, you should consider having a qualified, licensed electrical inspector, electrician or electrical contractor perform an electrical inspection of your home. Depending on the size of the home, a basic inspection could take between 30 minutes to an hour.

We recommends that at a minimum the inspection should check the following items:

Check the capacity of the electrical service to the house and provide a load test. Is the service adequate for present and foreseeable demands?
Check the quality of the exposed wiring including the service entrance if above ground.
Check for excessive voltage drop at receptacles.
Inspect the panel box and check the condition of all connections.
Check the wiring of receptacles, switches, and light fixtures, and check for proper lamp wattages.
Verify for polarity and ground wiring at the receptacles.
Check for required ground fault circuit interrupters and test each.
Identify the type of wiring (aluminum or copper) and check for the proper size of conductors and the presence of overcurrent protection.
Check the type of wiring insulation (i.e., cloth or thermaplastic) and for wiring insulation condition and temperature rating.
Check the age and type of various components of the electrical system.
Check for presence and proper placement of smoke alarms and test each one.
Check for appropriate surge suppression, and for areas of the country that experience a lot of lightning, consider a surge arrester.

Electrical > Test Before You Touch - 02

2008-04-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Electrical Safety for Home and Work Place

Safety Can Safe Yor Live

Many injuries, deaths and property damage caused by electrical hazards can be avoided. If you are not experienced in working directly with electricity and trained to recognize and avoid electrical hazards, consider hiring a certified electrician for your electrical work. For those experienced in working with electricity, these points can help remind you of basic electrical safety practices. The first step in avoiding these hazards begins with safety. Before undertaking any type of electrical work, plan your job and include all necessary steps to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you. And always TEST BEFORE YOU TOUCH.

AROUND THE HOUSE

Understand your electrical system. Make a map showing which fuse or circuit breaker controls each switch, light or outlet.
Wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
Ensure the right circuits are turned off before starting to work.
Make sure the circuits cannot be accidentally turned back on while you are working.
Use a circuit tester, and make sure it is working properly by testing it before and after you test the circuit where you will be working.

ON THE JOB

Electrical hazards on the job can be avoided by following approved NFPA 70E and OSHA guidelines. Attention to safety is the important first step to an effective safety program. Skilled employees, trained in electrical safety procedures, should make sure they understand and follow safety precautions.

Those not trained to recognize and avoid electrical hazards, or not under the supervision of those qualified in electrical safety procedures, should avoid contact with electrical equipment and systems.

Understand the construction and operation of the electrical equipment and the hazards involved.
Identify all possible energy sources that could pose on-the-job hazards.
Know safety requirements and follow them.
Calculate the energy potential.
Select the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Remember, PPE must be worn until the electrical system is in a safe condition.
Complete a detailed job plan and communicate it to all coworkers.
Before working on or around electrical systems or equipment, identify the load circuits and disconnect. Remember, in some cases, turning power off may cause other hazards. Such hazards and additional guidance should be addressed in your work plan.
Use lock-out/tag-out procedures.
Verify that the equipment or system has been de-energized by testing.
Make sure your test equipment is working, both before and after you use it.
If at any time the job becomes more hazardous than anticipated, stop and revise the plans.

Above all, never assume that the equipment or system is de-energized. Remember to always TEST BEFORE YOU TOUCH.

Electrical > Test Before You Touch - 01

2008-04-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Electrical Safety for Home and Work Place

Understanding The Risk

Electrical hazards, while a fraction of total workplace injuries, are more likely to result in death than injuries from other causes.

Electrical accidents on the job cause an average of 13 days away from work and nearly one fatality every day.
Approximately 62 percent of an estimated 32,807 nonfatal electrical injuries occurring between 1992 and 1998 were classified as electric shock and 38 percent as electric burns.
The nonfatal workplace incidents that cause the highest number of days away from work include contact with an electrical current or a machine, tool, appliance or light fixture (38 percent), and contact with wiring, transformers or other electrical components (33 percent).
Nonfatal electrical injury occurs most often to those who work with machines or tools and around electrical wiring other than power lines.

Electrical Safety > Is your home safe?

2008-04-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

The first steps in making your home safe is knowing how the electrical system works and assessing the condition of the wiring.

Circuit breakers and fuse boxes

Take a few minutes to look at your home’s fuse box or circuit panel (usually located in a metal box on an outside wall near the electric meter). Each fuse or switch controls the electricity flowing through a specific area of your home. If too much electricity flows into a circuit, the fuse or breaker automatically creates a gap in the circuit to help prevent damage to the entire system.

Make sure all breakers or fuses are labeled clearly so you know which circuits they control. If you’re not sure, turn off the breakers or remove the fuses and have a helper find which outlets are affected.
To reset a circuit breaker, turn off and unplug the lights and appliances you were using. Then flip the breaker switch “off” first, then back to “on.” If you have push-button breakers, push it all the way in to reset.
To replace a blown fuse, turn off the appliances and lights you were using. Turn off the main switch on the fuse box and check to see which one has blown.
Be sure the replacement fuse is the proper size; using a fuse that’s too large for the circuit can cause an electrical fire.
Never substitute an object, such as a coin or a paper clip, for a fuse.
If it’s dark, use a flashlight — not a candle.

Keep in mind that circuit breakers and fuses are designed to protect your home’s electrical system — NOT to protect you and your family from electrical injuries.

A blown fuse or tripped breaker is a signal that something went wrong. The problem could be from outside your home, such as a power surge during a lightning storm, or it could be from inside, if too many devices were used in a single circuit or if the wiring was done incorrectly.

If you’re experiencing any off these problems, call a certified electrician to inspect the entire system:

Frequent tripped breakers or blown fuses
Power “blinks” (momentary interruptions)
Dimming or flickering lights
Sizzling or buzzing noises
Loose or damaged outlets
Overheating of the circuit panel or any outlets or switches

Electrical Safety > Using Eectricity Safety

2008-04-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

While most electrical fires are caused by faulty wiring or overloaded circuits, most electrocutions in the home are caused by improper or careless use of appliances and small electrical devices. Electrical accidents can occur in any room in your home — and outdoors — so always be on the lookout for opportunities to eliminate safety hazards.

Inside your home

Cover all electrical outlets and wall switches with cover plates, and replace any that are damaged.
Protect small children and pets by using plastic safety covers in all unused outlets and keeping cords out of sight and reach. A cord as short as 12 inches can strangle a child.
Don’t yank electrical cords from the wall — this can damage both the plug and the outlet.
Don’t attach a cord to another surface with nails or staples which could break the insulation. Try not to twist, bend or walk on cords.
Don’t use damaged or brittle electrical cords, even if bare wires aren’t visible.
Make sure all electrical devices are in good repair — double-insulated tools and appliances are the safest. If a damaged wire inside a tool or appliance touches the body of the device, it would be the same as touching a bare wire. Never attempt to fix an electrical appliance or tool unless the unit is unplugged.
Use extension cords only on a temporary basis, and don’t plug one extension cord into another.
If you need to plug multiple devices into a single outlet, as with a home office or entertainment system, use a quality surge suppressor with enough sockets for every component. Don’t use inexpensive outlet “extenders” with three or four sockets.
Keep all electrical devices away from water sources.
Don’t run electrical cords under carpets — this can cause them to overheat and catch fire. Also avoid running cords under furniture, which can damage the insulating cover.
If you need to turn off the power to install lighting or replace an outlet, flag the fuse or breaker switch so no one else touches it while you’re working. If you’re not sure which circuit you’ll be working on, turn off the main breaker switch or remove the primary fuse cartridge.

Outdoor Safety Tips:

All outdoor outlets, including those in garages, should have waterproof covers and GFCIs (see page 7).
If you’ll be using a ladder or pole, or working on the roof, always look up for power lines. Even wooden ladders can conduct electricity through their metal screws. Stay at least 10 feet away from overhead power lines
Don’t assume the black coating on wires is insulation — it could be just plastic weatherproofing that provides no protection from contact injuries.
Call a professional for help trimming trees near power lines, and don’t let kids climb trees near power lines.
Keep flying toys like balloons, kites and model airplanes away from power lines.
Keep electrical devices and cords away from water.
If you have a pad mount transformer (usually a large green metal box) in your yard, keep children and pets away. If the door is open or the lock is broken, give us a call to have a customer service mechanic fix it. Don’t disguise the transformer with paint or plantings — a utility worker might need to work safely around it or find it quickly in an emergency.
Teach kids to stay far away from substations, and explain what the warning signs mean. If a toy or pet accidentally gets inside a substation, give us a call — we’ll be happy to retrieve it for you.
Don’t hang signs on utility poles. Nails, staples or tacks can pose a big danger to workers who must climb the poles.
Never tamper with an electric meter (it’s dangerous and illegal), and keep it free of ice and snow during the winter.
If a power line accidentally contacts your car in an accident or during a storm, stay in the vehicle until help arrives and don’t let others approach. If a fire is imminent and you need to leave the vehicle, hop out on both feet, being careful not to touch the car and the ground at the same time. Continue hopping with your feet together until you’re as far away as possible.

Electrical Safety > Grounding

2008-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

A good ground connection is essential to the safe and reliable operation of any piece of electrical equipment. Electrical grounding ensures that if there is ever a short circuit on a piece of electrical equipment, current will flow through the ground system and trip a breaker or blow a fuse.
A grounded outlet has three holes for each plug. In a properly wired outlet, the rounded slot is the ground connection. A grounded outlet must be used correctly:

Never cut off the third grounding prong on an appliance plug.
Don’t try to install a grounded outlet in an ungrounded outlet box.
Use “cheater” adapter plugs only on a temporary basis. Use ony if the outlet box is grounded, and make sure the small metal circle or the pigtail adapter contacts the screw in the middle of the outlet.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt

For an added measure of protection, outlets near water sources, like sinks and laundry appliances, as well as all garage and outdoor outlets, should have a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). These are the outlets with the “test” and “reset” buttons.

A GFCI works by monitoring the flow of electricity through the outlet’s circuit. If there is any variation in the current, the GFCI will automatically cut off the flow of electricity, preventing injury. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, if every household used GFCIs, deaths from electrocution in and around the home could be reduced by 50 percent.

There are four types of GFCIs:

“Whole-house” devices for circuit panels that protect against external power surges. These should be installed only by a certified electrician.
Whole circuit devices for circuit panels, that are used in place of circuit breakers. These should be installed only by a certified electrician.
Receptacle-based protectors that replace standard wall outlets. You can install these yourself by carefully following manufacturer’s instructions.
“Portable” units that simply plug into a wall outlet. Any homeowner can use this type.

GFCIs should be tested every month. Plug a lamp or radio into a GFCI outlet and turn it on. Push the “test” button on the outlet; the lamp or radio should turn off immediately. If it doesn’t, the GFCI has been wired improperly or is no longer functioning.

GFCIs are inexpensive and provide the best protection against electrical hazards, and we strongly recommend using them in your home. But remember, even the best GFCI can’t offer 100% protection, so never forget other electrical safety rules.

Electrical Safety > How Electricity Work?

2008-04-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Few things improve our lives more than the electricity we use every day. At the flip of a switch or the push of a button, it’s always there to help make our homes more comfortable and secure. It’s easy to take the comforts of electricity for granted — but taking its dangers for granted can be deadly.

We want to help you get the most value from your energy, and that includes helping you use it safely.

In this brochure, you’ll find great tips on:

Checking your home’s wiring and circuit panel
Using appliances safely
Staying safe indoors and out

Read on to learn more about playing it safe around electricity!

How Electricity Work?

Before learning how to keep your home safe, it’s important to understand why:

Electricity always tries to find the easiest path to the ground.
Electricity flows easily through water.
The human body is 70 percent water.

These three facts add up to a very dangerous situation for anyone who gets too close to an electrical current. Many people think if they are shocked, they can pull away and not get hurt. But electricity travels at the speed of light, so a person has virtually no chance of pulling away without injury. Electricity can also jump through the air to find the easiest path to the ground, so injuries can occur even if no direct contact is made.

An electric shock affects the body in several ways:

Muscle contractions lock the victim into the circuit.
Chest muscles contract, causing difficulty breathing and unconsciousness.
Heartbeat is interrupted and veins are constricted.
Burns occur at the entrance and exit points of the current.
Partial or total paralysis can occur.

If an electrical emergency occurs, it’s important to know how to respond without getting hurt yourself.

Do not touch the victim until the circuit has been turned off — unplug the appliance from the outlet or turn off the power at the fuse box or circuit breaker first.
Call 911, making sure to tell the dispatcher it is an electrical accident.
If you’re sure the circuit has been turned off, administer first aid (CPR or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, if you are certified).
Always seek medical help for an electrical contact accident. Electricity burns from the inside out, so some injuries might not be visible; your heart also can be affected several hours after the contact.

Electrical > Grounding System for Electric Fence

2008-04-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

The majority of electric fence problems relate to grounding concerns. This factsheet looks at the
two methods of system grounding commonly used and how to test a grounding system.

THE EFFECT OF SOIL CONDITIONS

Electric fences are designed so the animal will complete the electrical circuit upon touching the fence wire. This forms the closed circuit required for electrons to flow. For simplicity, the standard electric fence uses the earth as the “return” leg of the circuit. This is only effective if the conductivity is good, as in moist soil.

If the soil is dry, frozen or snow covered the conductivity is reduced which reduces the effectiveness of the electric fence. For areas that receive 24 inches or less annual precipitation (or where the precipitation is poorly distributed throughout the year), a “wire return” system should be used.

GROUNDING IN MOIST EARTH CONDITIONS ( Earth Return )

This is the standard grounding situation. The moisture in the earth is sufficient to allow a flow of electrical current that will ensure a shock occurs. The critical component is the soil contact of the grounding rods. They connect the earth return current flow to the controller and must have good soil contact to ensure this flow is not restricted.

This requires:

For safety reasons, a location for the grounding system that is at least 7 feet from any other electrical or telephone grounding system and from any building foundation (especially a dairy barn) or underground water piping
A location where the wiring cannot be easily damaged or disconnected by livestock or machinery (see below regarding burial)
A minimum of 3 galvanized steel earthing rods, driven into moist earth; (these need not be located right at the fence controller but must be at a moist earth location)
A separation space between the rods of 6 feet
A continuous length of wire for connection between the rods and the controller
A standard electrical grounding clamp (noncorrosive) for each rod/wire connection.

A grounding system that will meet the Electrical Code for grounding uses the following standard electrical components:

Galvanized steel ground rods, 6 feet x 5/8 inch diameter,
Brass or copper clamps, and
#6 bare copper wire from rods to controller.

Although a smaller wire size may be adequate, a #6 wire may be directly buried which is a good method to protect the system from damage. The grounding rods can be driven 6 or 8 inches below the earth surface, say into a small dug depression. The wire can be laid into a shallow trench, clamped to the rods, then buried. The wire may be buried all the way to the fence controller.

Note that where this controller ground is near a building with an electrical service, the wire from the ground rods to the controller should be insulated to avoid ‘cross grounding’.
In addition to this main grounding of the fence controller, secondary grounding of the nonelectrified fence wire(s) may be done as explained for the “wire return” systems.

GROUNDING IN DRY EARTH CONDITIONS ( Wire Return )

In dry, frozen or snow covered conditions the earth return system is not sufficient to ensure current flow that will produce a shock.

In these conditions, one or more fence wires are used for the return circuit to the fence controller (in addition to the earth return grounding of the fence controller). This method ensures a circuit when the animal touches both an energized wire and a grounded wire (in semiwet conditions, some current may also flow via the earth return). A shock then occurs even in these poor earth return conditions (i.e. dry, frozen or snow covered).

The nonelectrified fence wire(s) are connected to the main fence controller grounding system as well as to single groundrods located approximately every ½ mile along the fence line (more frequently in very dry conditions). These ground rods are the same as the main grounding rods. To ensure the animal can easily contact a “hot” wire and a grounded wire and there by receive a shock, alternating fence wires may be electrified and grounded. However, while being more effective, it may cause maintenance problems as any debris that may contact the fence wires will more easily short out the circuit then if contacting a “hot” wire and the earth.

SALT CORE GROUND RODS

For very dry sites the main ground rods may have high resistance to current flow. This can be greatly reduced by using the following technique (which adds salt around the ground rods to increase the soil
conductivity and a clay material to hold moisture):

Auger or dig 3 holes for the ground rods that are at least 3 inches diameter by 4 feet deep, spaced 35 feet apart
Fill each hole with a wet slurry of 2 parts Bentonite (a clay material sometimes called “driller’s mud”) and 1 part coarse salt
Place a 4 foot by ½ or ¾ inch diameter stainless steel tube down the center of the hole (stainless because of the corrosive nature of salt)
Cover the area with an inch or two of sand to reduce evaporation.

The ground wire is clamped to these tubes as before.
To ensure continued low resistance, these salt core ground rods can be watered during drought conditions.

TESTING THE GROUND SYSTEM

The earth return system of grounding a fence controller relies on the soil moisture conditions for current flow and these conditions change throughout the year.

To ensure continued fence performance, a yearly grounding check should be made, preferably at the driest season the fence is being used. The following procedure should be followed:

About 300 feet from the controller connection to the fence, use 3 or 4 steel fence posts (or similar steel material) to create a dead short from an energized wire to the earth
This will reduce the fence line voltage to less than 1000 volts and put the grounding system under load with a high flow of electrons trying to get through the soil back to the energizer
Using a volt meter (suitable for electric fences), measure the voltage between the ground wire to the controller and the earth at least 3 feet from any ground rod
If the grounding system is adequate the flow will all be handled by the ground rods and the meter reading will be very low (200 volts or so)
A higher meter reading will indicate the grounding system cannot handle the flow and more ground rods are required
Add another ground rod and repeat the test.

(An optional method is to skip the meter and simply grasp a ground rod with one hand and touch the earth with the other hand. A poor ground is indicated with a shock, the severity of which will depend upon the condition of the grounding system. This is not recommended except for the foolhardy.)

Work > Project Management Check List

2008-03-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Site Name :
Project Manager :

Phase 1: Concept
_ Concept Phase Opened in project management system (PMS)
_ PPA Created
_ PPA formally introduced in Project Meeting
_ PPA Reviewed by Management Team
_ PPA Signed
_ Concept Phase Closed in PMS
_ Concept Phase Checklist Provided to Director of Marketing

Site Name :
Project Manager :

Phase 2: Planning
_ Planning Phase Opened in PMS
_ FS Created
_ FS Reviewed by Development & Design Team
_ FS Reviewed by Partner
_ Prototype Developed
_ Prototype Signoff by Development & Partner
_ FS Partner Signoff
_ Paymentech paperwork started
_ Planning Phase Closed in PMS
_ Planning Phase Checklist Provided to DOM

Site Name :
Project Manager :

Phase 3: Development
_ Development Phase Opened in PMS
_ Demo login created for partner use (through Help Center)
_ PM Marketing Form Completed by PM & Delivered to MC
_ SLA Created
_ SLA Reviewed by Management Team
_ SLA Signed
_ MC Delivery of Marketing Plan to the PM
_ Testing Plan Created
_ Paymentech paperwork completed and submitted
_ Support Orientation Document Created
_ Change Management Documents Created (As Needed)
_ Change Management Document Signoff (As Needed)
_ Development Phase Closed in PMS
_ Development Phase Checklist Provided to DOM

Site Name :
Project Manager :

Phase 4: Testing
_ Testing Phase Opened in PMS
_ Testing Plan executed
_ Help Center Review & Testing
_ Application Revisions Completed (As Needed)
_ Application Review by Management Team
_ Executive Director Signoff on Application
_ Partner Signoff on Application
_ Testing Phase Closed in PMS
_ Testing Phase Checklist Provided to DOM

Site Name :
Project Manager :

Phase 5: Rollout
_ Rollout Phase Opened in PMS
_ Application Taken Live
_ Partner demo login blocked (Help Center)
_ Partner Application Orientation & Training
_ Marketing Plan Executed
_ Post Project Review Completed by Partner
_ Project Closeout Tasks Completed
_ Post Project Review Completed by Staff
_ Rollout Phase Closed in PMS
_ Rollout Phase Checklist Provided to DOM

Electrical Safety For The Home and Workplace

2008-03-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Turning Off the Power at the Cicuit Breaker Means it's Safe to Work, Right? WRONG

Every year, people are injured or killed bycircuits they thought were safely turned off.Simply shutting off the power is not enough.Hazardous conditions can still exist.Working with electricity requires thoroughplanning and extreme care. Whether you area do-it-yourselfer tackling a weekend projector an experienced contractor, learning andpracticing safe work habits can significantlyreduce your risk.That’s why you must always TEST BEFOREYOU TOUCH. You may not get a secondchance to learn this important lesson.

Understanding the Risks

Electrical hazards, while a fraction of totalworkplace injuries, are more likely to resultin death than injuries from other causes.

Electrical accidents on the job causean average of 13 days away from workand nearly one fatality every day.
Approximately 62 percent of anestimated 32,807 nonfatal electricalinjuries occurring between 1992 and1998 were classified as electric shockand 38 percent as electric burns.
The nonfatal workplace incidents thatcause the highest number of days awayfrom work include contact with anelectrical current or a machine, tool,appliance or light fixture (38 percent),and contact with wiring, transformers orother electrical components (33 percent).
Nonfatal electrical injury occurs mostoften to those who work with machinesor tools and around electrical wiringother than power lines.

Safe Can Safe Your Life

Many injuries, deaths and property damage causedby electrical hazards can be avoided. If you are notexperienced in working directly with electricity andtrained to recognize and avoid electrical hazards,consider hiring a certified electrician for yourelectrical work. For those experienced in workingwith electricity, these points can help remind youof basic electrical safety practices. The first step inavoiding these hazards begins with safety.

Before undertaking any type of electrical work, plan yourjob and include all necessary steps to ensure yoursafety and the safety of those around you. Andalways TEST BEFORE YOU TOUCH.

Around the House

Understand yourelectrical system. Makea map showing which fuseor circuit breaker controlseach switch, light or outlet.> Wear the appropriate personalprotective equipment (PPE).

Ensure the right circuits areturned off before startingto work.
Make sure the circuits cannotbe accidentally turned backon while you are working.
Use a circuit tester, and make sure it is workingproperly by testing it before and after you testthe circuit where you will be working.

On the JOB

Electrical hazards on the job can be avoidedby following approved NFPA 70E and OSHAguidelines. Attention to safety is the importantfirst step to an effective safety program. Skilledemployees, trained in electrical safety procedures,should make sure they understand and followsafety precautions.

Those not trained to recognizeand avoid electrical hazards, or not under thesupervision of those qualified in electrical safetyprocedures, should avoid contact with electricalequipment and systems.

Understand the construction and operationof the electrical equipment and the hazardsinvolved.
Identify all possible energy sources that couldpose on-the-job hazards.
Know safety requirements and follow them.> Calculate the energy potential.
Select the appropriate personal protectiveequipment (PPE). Remember, PPE must beworn until the electrical system is in a safecondition.
Complete a detailed job plan and communicateit to all coworkers.
Before working on or around electrical systemsor equipment, identify the load circuits anddisconnect. Remember, in some cases, turningpower off may cause other hazards. Suchhazards and additional guidance should beaddressed in your work plan.
Use lock-out/tag-out procedures.
Verify that the equipment or system has beende-energized by testing.
Make sure your test equipment is working,both before and after you use it.
If at any time the job becomes more hazardousthan anticipated, stop and revise the plans.Above all, never assume that the equipment orsystem is de-energized. Remember to always TESTBEFORE YOU TOUCH.

Electrical Safety and Electrical Definitions

2008-03-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

The danger of injury through electrical shock is possible whenever electrical power is
present. When a person's body completes a circuit and thus connects a power source
with the ground, an electrical burn or injury is imminent. Most fatal injuries result from high-voltage exposure; however, people can sustain severe injuries from low voltage power if it has a high current flow.

Electrical safety is important in every work environment. The following sections cover circuit breaker loads, electrical grounding, electrical safety guidelines, and electrical emergency response.

Electrical Definitions

The following definitions help clarify general electrical safety:

Amps: the standard unit for measuring electrical current.
Watt: a unit of electrical power, equal to the power developed in a circuit by a
current of amp flowing through a potential difference of one volt.
Voltage: electromotive force expressed in volts.
Circuit Breaker: a device that automatically interrupts the flow of an electrical
current.
Breaker Box: an insulated box on which interconnected circuits are mounted.
Electrical Panel: an insulated panel on which electrical wires are mounted.
Current Flow: the rate of flow of an electrical charge, generally expressed in amps.
Electrical Load: the amount of power delivered by a generator or carried by a circuit. A device to which the power is delivered.
Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI): a GFCI detects grounding problems
and shuts electricity off to prevent a possible accident.
High Voltage: the term high voltage applies to electrical equipment that operates at
more than 600 Volts (for terminal to terminal operation) or more than 300 Volts (for
terminal to ground operation). Low voltage, high current AC or DC power supplies
are also considered to be high voltage.
Hazardous Energy Sources: this term applies to stored or residual energy such as
that in capacitors, springs, elevated machine members, rotating flywheels, hydraulic
systems, and air, gas, steam, or water pressure
Lockout: the placement of a lock on an energy-isolating device. This act prevents
workers from operating a piece of equipment until the lock is removed.
Tagout: the placement of a tag on an energy-isolating device. A tagout device is a
prominent warning device of a lockout.

Energy-Isolating Device: a mechanical device that prevents the transmission or
release of energy.

Examples include the following:

Manually operated circuit breakers
Disconnect switches
Line or block valves

Pushbuttons, selector switches, and other control circuit devices do not isolate energy. Energy-isolating devices should be lockable by means of a hasp or other type of attachment. It should not be necessary to dismantle or reassemble a device to lock it.

Authorized Employee: a person who locks out or tags out equipment for
service or maintenance. Authorized employees have been formally trained in
proper lockout/tagout procedures.

Electrical Safety : Circuit Breaker Loads

Most office and laboratory locations have 20 amp circuit breakers that serve two or
more outlets. These breakers can handle most office equipment; however, the widespread use of personal computers and associated hardware can create an electrical overload. To determine your current electrical load, follow these steps:

Check office/laboratory equipment for a manufacturer's rating label that indicates total watts or amps. Take special care to check appliances that use electricity to generate heat.
Convert the watts rating to amps: Amps = Watts ÷ 120 Volts
Total the amps for each circuit.
If the total equals more than 15 amps per 20 amp circuit, you may overloading the circuit. Move enough equipment to a different circuit to reduce the circuit load; otherwise, have the Physical Plant inspect the circuit wiring.

Electrical Safety: Electrical Grounding

Proper electrical grounding can help prevent electrical injury. Most electrical equipment is grounded with either a three-prong plug or a two-prong plug and
insulation. Because a grounding system may be defective without your knowledge,
use a GFCI to ensure electrical safety. GFCIs are required in moist or potentially damp environments.

Electrical Safety: Electrical Panels

Electrical panels or breaker boxes require special safety considerations, including the following:

Know where your panel box is located.
Do not tape circuit switches to keep a breaker from tripping.
Ensure that breaker circuits are accurately labeled within panel boxes.
Ensure that panel box doors are securely attached.
Do not block panel boxes. There should be at least 36 inches of clear space in front of a panel box.

Report, tripped breakers and refer any electrical questions to the Physical Plant.

Electrical Safety : Guidelines

Follow these guidelines for general electrical safety:

Be familiar with the electrical hazards associated with your workplace.
Unplug electrical equipment before repairing or servicing it.
If a prong breaks off inside an outlet, do not attempt to remove it yourself. Call the Physical Plant for assistance.
Ensure that outlets are firmly mounted. Report loose outlets to the Physical Plant.
Report all electrical problems, including tripped breakers, broken switches, and flickering lights, to the Physical Plant.
All appliances used in TAMUS-HSC buildings must be UL (Underwriters Laboratory) or FM (Factory Mutual) labeled.
Do not use an appliance that sparks, smokes, or becomes excessively hot, unless the appliance is specifically designed to exhibit these characteristics.
Portable electrical heaters must be placed to avoid causing a trip hazard and must be kept away from combustible material. Never leave a heater unattended. Unplug the heater at the end of the day or when not in use.
Keep electrical equipment away from water, unless the appliance is specifically designed for use around water, such as a wet-dry shop vacuum.
Use GFCIs whenever possible.
Be aware of overhead power lines when working with tall equipment.
Follow lockout/ tag out procedures, as appropriate.

Follow these guidelines for electrical plug and cord safety:

Do not remove the prongs of an electrical plug. If plug prongs are missing, loose, or bent, replace the entire plug.
Do not use an adapter or extension cord to defeat a standard grounding device. (e.g., Only place three-prong plugs in three-prong outlets; do not alter them to fit in a two-prong outlet.)
Use extension cords only when necessary and only on a temporary basis. Do not use extension cords in place of permanent wiring. Request new outlets if your work requires equipment in an area without an outlet.
Use extension cords that are the correct size or rating for the equipment in use. The diameter of the extension cord should be the same or greater than the cord of the equipment in use.
Do not run electrical cords above ceiling tiles or through walls.
Keep electrical cords away from areas where they may be pinched and areas where they may pose a tripping or fire hazard (e.g., doorways, walkways, under carpet, etc.)
Avoid plugging more than one appliance in each outlet. If multiple appliances are necessary, use an approved power strip with surge protector and circuit breaker. Do not overload the circuit breaker.
Discard damaged cords, cords that become hot, or cords with exposed wiring.
Never unplug an appliance by pulling on the cord; pull on the plug.

Electrical Safety: Emergency Response

The following instructions provide guidelines for handling three types of electrical emergencies:

(1) Electric Shock: when someone suffers serious electrical shock, he or she may be knocked unconscious. If the victim is still in contact with the electrical current, immediately turn off the electrical power source. If you cannot disconnect the power source, try to separate the victim from the power source with a nonconductive object, such as a wood-handled broom.

IMPORTANT: Do not touch a victim that is still in contact with a power source;
you could electrocute yourself

Have someone call for emergency medical assistance immediately. Administer
first-aid, as appropriate.

(2) Electrical Fire: if an electrical fire occurs, try to disconnect the electrical power source, if possible. If the fire is small, you are not in immediate danger, and you have been trained in fighting fires, use any type of fire extinguisher except water to extinguish the fire.

IMPORTANT: Do not use water on an electrical fire.

(3) Power Lines: Stay away from live power lines and downed power lines. Be particularly careful if a live power line is touching a body of water. The water could conduct electricity. If a power line falls on your car while you are inside, remain in the vehicle until help arrives.

Electrical Safety: Lockout/ Tagout Procedures

Lockout/tagout procedures are used to isolate hazardous energy sources from electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic machinery. Furthermore, when service or maintenance work is required, lockout and tagout devices help ensure personal safety from possible energy releases. All employees whose work involves hazardous energy sources must be trained in lockout/tagout procedures for their specific site or contact your component’s safety officer.

Before performing service or maintenance work on machines, turn them off and disconnect them from their energy sources. To further ensure employee safety, lockout and tagout energy-isolating devices.

Applying Lockout/Tagout Devices Only authorized employees may apply lockout/tagout devices. The following steps provide a brief outline of approved application procedures:

Notify employees that the equipment requires service or maintenance and is scheduled for shutdown and lockout/tagout.
Use established procedures to identify the type, magnitude, and hazards of the equipment's energy source. Make sure you know the proper methods for controlling the energy source.
If the equipment is currently operating, shut it down using normal shutdown procedures.
Isolate the equipment from its energy source by activating the energy-isolating device(s). Either lockout or tagout the energy-isolating device(s).
Dissipate or restrain stored and residual energy using methods such as grounding, repositioning, blocking, bleeding, etc. (Capacitors, springs, hydraulic systems, and air/gas/water pressure system may contain stored or residual energy.)
Ensure that all employees are removed from the equipment. Then, test the equipment for successful isolation by attempting to operate it.

Removing Lockout/Tagout Devices

When service and maintenance are completed, authorized employees may remove lockout/tagout devices and return equipment to normal operations. The following steps provide a brief outline of approved removal procedures:

Inspect the work area and remove any nonessential items. Make sure the isolation equipment is intact and in good working condition.
Ensure that all employees are safely removed from the equipment.
Verify that the equipment controls are in neutral or off. Remove the lockout/tagout devices and re-energize the equipment.
Notify employees that the equipment is ready for operation.

Electrical Safety: High Voltage Procedures

In addition to the guidelines associated with general electrical safety and lockout/tagout procedures, there are more stringent safety requirements for high voltage procedures.
The following list provides high-voltage safety tips. For more information, please refer to Title 29 Section 1910.269 of the Code of Federal Regulations or NFPA 70 (National Electric Code).

Ensure that only authorized employees work around high voltage equipment.
Label entrances with a High Voltage Sign.
Ensure that terminal voltage ratings can withstand surges caused by electrical faults or switching transients.
Be careful around output circuits even when the input power is off. Parallel power sources and energy storage devices can still be dangerous.
Be careful when working with power supplies that serve more than one area.
Before working in a high voltage area, inspect the power supply and check all protective devices.
Do not work alone near high voltage.
Label equipment to identify power sources. Label input power sources to identify connected power supply loads.
Attach emergency shutdown instructions and phone numbers to equipment that is remotely controlled or unattended while energized.
Before entering a power supply or associated equipment enclosure to work on hazardous energy sources, complete the following:

o De-energize the equipment.
o Open and lockout the main input power circuit breaker.
o Check for auxiliary power circuits that could still be energized.
o Inspect automatic shorting devices for proper operation.
o Short the power supply with grounding hooks.

Electrical Safety: Minimum Clear Working Space

The following table from the National Electric Code provides minimum depth of clear working space in front of electrical equipment:

Nominal Voltage to Conditions

601 – 2,500 volts : i) 3 ft , ii) 4 ft, iii) 50 ft
2,501 – 9,000 volts : i) 4 ft , ii) 5 ft, iii) 6 ft
9,001 – 25,000 volts : i) 5 ft , ii) 6 ft, iii) 9 ft
25,001 – 75 kV : i) 6 ft , ii) 8 ft, iii) 10 ft
Above 75 kV : i) 8 ft , ii) 10 ft, iii) 12 ft

Where conditions (i), (ii), and (iii) are as follows:

Exposed live parts on one side and no live or grounded parts on the other side of the working space, or exposed live parts on both sides effectively guarded by suitable wood or other insulating materials. Insulated wire or insulated bus bars operating at not over 300 volts shall not be considered live parts.
Exposed live parts on one side and grounded parts on the other side. Concrete, brick, or tile walls will be considered as grounded surfaces.
Exposed live parts on both sides of the workspace [not guarded as provided in condition (i)] with the operator between.

Computer - Tips Perawatan dan Operasi Notebook

2008-03-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Berikut adalah tips perawatan dan operasi notebook

Hindarkan notebook dari goncangan atau getaran.
Jangan meletakkan note-book pada permukan yang tidak rata/stabil.
Jangan meletakkan apa-pun yang berat di atas notebook.
Hindarkan notebook dari panas yang berlebihan atau terkenasinar matahari langsung
Jangan meletakkan notebook pada tempat dimana benda asingatau uap yang lembab bisa mempengaruhi sistemnya
Jangan menggunakan atau menyimpan notebook di tempatyang lembab
Jangan meletakkan notebook di tempat yang bisa menutupiventilasinya
Jangan mematikan powernya sampai Anda sudah menutup semua program dengan benar
Jangan mematikan perangkat peripheral apapun selama Andanotebook sedang menyala
Jangan melepas perangkat notebook sendiri
Lakukan perawatan rutin pada notebook Anda
Lepaskan kabel power sebelum memasang perangkat peripheral

Computer - Tips Membersihkan Notebook

2008-03-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

Berikut adalah tips untuk membersihkan notebook.

Untuk membersihkanpelindung plastik dankeyboard, gunakankain yang lembut, basahi sedikitdengan deterjen atau cleaningkit.
Jangan menggunakan alkohol, bahanpelarut petroleum-based, atau deterjen kasar untukmembersihkan notebook.
Jangan menyemprotkan cairan apapun secara langsungdi atas notebook, keyboard, atau layar.
Bersihkan layar dengan pembersih kaca yang lembut dan bersih secara hati-hati.
Jangan menggunakan kertas untuk membersihkan layar, kertas dapat menyebabkan goresan.

Computer - Tips Merawat Kualitas LCD Notebook

2008-03-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Berikut adalah tips merawat kualitas LCD notebook

Biarkan penutup notebook dalam keadaan terbukasekitar 10 menit setelah komputer dimatikan.
Buatlah manajemen power dari notebook Anda untukmematikan power LCD dan layar ketika sistem sedangtidak aktif.
Sebaiknya gunakan screen saver.

Computer - Tips Merawat Harddisk Notebook

2008-03-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Berikut adalah tips merawat harddisk notebook

Selalu backup file data yang ada di harddisk
Instal program anti virus untuk mengawasi virus yang dapatmerusak file Anda.
Gunakan scandisk untuk mengoreksi error yang ditemukan didirektori dan File Allocation Table.
Jangan memindahkan notebook selama harddisk sedang diakses.
Jangan menggoncangkan harddisk karena dapat membuatnya rusak.
Gunakan program perawatan harddisk seperti DiskDefragmenter dari Windows berfungsi untuk merapikan datadatayang ada di harddisk.
Instal password sistem di komputer Anda sehingga oranglainyang tidak dapat menggunakan notebook Anda.

Computer - Tips Memaksimalkan Umur Baterai Notebook

2008-03-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Berikut adalah tips untuk memaksimalkan umur baterai notebook

Jangan meninggalkan notebook terhubung ke listrik dalam keadaan tidak terpakai selama beberapa jam.
Lepaskan baterai jika Anda tidak menggunakan notebook dalam waktu yang lama
Pakailah bergantian jika Anda memiliki baterai cadangan.
Apabila anda bekerja dengan adaptor untuk waktu yang cukup lama, lepaskanlah baterai dari notebook anda.
Pastikan notebook dalam keadaan mati pada saat menggantibaterai.
Simpan baterai di tempat kering dan jauhkan dari sinar mataharisecara langsung.

Computer - Tips Merawat Baterai Notebook

2008-03-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Berikut adalah beberapa tips merawat baterai notebook

Jangan membongkar, menghancurkan, menusuk, membuka, menjatuhkan, merusak, melakukan hubungansingkat, membuang ke dalamair atau api, atau meletakkanbaterai di tempat yang suhunya di atas 60C.
Isilah baterai sesuai dengan penjelasan yang ada di buku panduan dan hanyadi area yang berventilasi. Jangan pernah menggunakan adaptor lain dari Adaptor yang telah disediakan di notebook Anda.
Jangan meninggalkan baterai di tempat yang panas lebih darisatu atau dua hari.
Jangan membiarkan baterai di notebook Anda lebih dari 1 bulan tanpa menghubungkan dengan adaptor AC.
Jangan membiarkan baterai di dalam penyimpanan lebih dari 2bulan tanpa mengisi ulang untuk mencegah over dischargerkarena akan merusak baterai tersebut.
Tempatkan baterai yang tidak terpakai dengan baik untuk melindungi lingkungan. Baterai mengandung bahan kimia yang berbahaya, sebaiknya jangan membuangnya dengan sampah rumah tangga atau sampah kantor.

Tips - Membuat Pupuk Kompos - 02

2008-03-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

Untuk menunjang intensifikasi pekarangan, telah dikaji teknik percocok tanam sistim pupuk organik pada usahatani pekarangan. Sistim ini ternyata menghasilkan volume tisik dan penerimaan petani yang lebih besar.

Selain itu anjuran terhadap teknik bercocok tanam dengan cara pupuk organik didasari atas pertimbangan bahwa para petani pada umumnya belum menggunakan pupuk dan pestisida secara intensif.

Penerapan sistim pupuk organik juga mempunyai aspek pelestarian lingkungan.Dalam teknik bercocok tanam ini dianjurkan pengolahan tanah ganda, pembuatan bedengan tinggi, penambahan pupuk kandang dan sistim tumpangsari. Karena ketersedian pupuk kandang masih terbatas maka dilakukan adaptasi dengan mengurangi pupuk kandang dan memberikan pupuk kompos.

Cara membuat kompos

Ada beberapa alternatif cara yang dipilih sesuai kondisi lokal.

Kompos Jadi Siap Pakai

Pada daerah yang banyak terdapat sampah kota dan desa yang telah mengalami proses pembusukan dan penghancuran yang cukup lama di alam terbuka, dapatditerapkan cara ini, sebagai berikut:

- Gali tumpukan sampah (garbage atau sampah lapuk) yang sudah seperti tanah
- Pisahkan dari bahan-bahan yang tidak dapat lapuk
- Jemur sampai kering, lalu ayak
- Bubuhkan 50 - 100 gram belerang untuk setiap 1 kg tanah sampah.

Bahan:

2 1 /4 hingga 4 m3 sampah lapuk (garbage)
6,5 m3 kulit buah kopi
750 kg kotoran ternak memamah biak (± 50 kaleng ukuran 20 liter)
30 kg abu dapur atau abu kayu

Cara Membuat

Buatlah bak pengomposan dari bak semen.Dasar bak cekung dan melekuk di bagian tengahnya. Buat lubang pada salahsatu sisi bak agar cairan yang dihasilkan dapat tertampung dan dimanfaatkan.Atau buatlah bak pengomposan dengan menggali tanah ukuran 2,5 x 1 x 1 m(panjang x lebar x tinggi). Tapi hasilnya kurang sempurna dan kompos yangdihasilkan berair dan lunak.
Aduk semua bahan menjadi satu kecuali abu. Masukkan ke dalam bakpengomposan setinggi 1 meter, tanpa dipadatkan supaya mikroorganismeaerob dapat berkembang dengan baik. Kemudian taburi bagian atastumpukan bahan tadi dengan abu.
Untuk menandai apakah proses pengomposan berlangsung dengan balk,perhatikan suhu udara dalam campuran bahan. Pengomposan yang baikakan meningkatkan suhu dengan pesat selama 4 - 5 hari, lalu segeramenurun lagi.
Tampunglah cairan yang keluar dari bak semen. Siram ke permukaancampuran bahan untuk meningkatkan kadar nitrogen dan mempercepatproses pengomposan.
2 - 3 minggu kemudian, balik-balik bahan kompos setiap minggu. Setelah 2 -3 bulan kompos sudah cukup matang.
Jemur kompos sebelum digunakan hingga kadar airnya kira-kira 50 -60 %saja.Kalau di daerah kita tidak tersedia kulit buah kopi, cara ke II dapat diadaptasidengan menggantikan kulit buah kopi dengan hijauan seperti Iamtoro ataulainnya.

Kompos Sistem Bogor

Bahan :

- Sampah mudah lapuk (garbage)
- Jerami yang sudah bercampur dengan kotoran dan air kencing ternak.
- Kotoran ternak memamah biak
- Abu dapur atau abu kayuCara

Membuat

Timbuni campuran jerami dan sampah setinggi 25 cm di atas bedenganberukuran 2,5 x 2,5 meter.
Timbun lagi campuran kotoran dan air kencing ternak di atas timbunan taditipis-tipis dan merata.
Timbun lagi campuran jerami dan sampah-sampah setinggi 25 cm.
Tutup lagi dengan campuran kotoran dan kencing ternak.
Timbun bagian paling atas dengan abu sampai setebal ± 10 cm.
Balik-balik campuran bahan kompos setelah berlangsung 15 hari, 30 hari dan60 hari.
Setelah di proses selama 3 bulan kompos biasanya cukup matang.

Agar pengomposan berhasil, buatlah atap naungan di atas bedenganpengomposan sebab air hujan dan penyinaran langsung matahari dapatmenggagalkan proses pengomposan.

Tips - Membuat Pupuk Kompos - 01

2008-03-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hal yang paling penting dalam proses pertumbuhan pohon adalah pupuk.

Pohon diibaratkan sebuah tubuh.

Pupuk yakni kandungan gizi yang sangat dibutuhkan. Di alam zat ini banyak, tersedia.
Bercampur dan sisa-sisa organisme yang mati dari tanaman atau hewan.Dalam sistem pertanian konvensional, zat pengguna yang sering dipakai adalah jenis urea serta yang dikenal dengan nama TSF.

Jenis itu dibuat secara besar-besaran dan dikeluarkan oleh perusahaan resmi.
Kandungannya tentu saja mempunyaizat-zat kimia buatan.Ada cara yang mudah untuk membuat pupuk di rumah, ketimbang membeli pupuk keluaran pabrik di toko pertanian. Dalam dunia PO ada dua macarn pupuk alami, dikenal dengan nama pupuk kandang dan pupuk kompos.

Pupuk kandang diperoleh dari kotoran hewan yang telah kering dan tidak berbau. Penggunaan dapat dicampur dengan tanah dengan ukuran yang seimbang. ”Sebaiknya jangan menggunakan kotoran anjing atau kucing untuk membuat pupuk kandang, kotoran yang berasal dari binatang pemakan tumbuhan lebih banyak kandungan ”gizi” bagi tanah dan tanaman.

Mengandung unsur hara yang sangat diperlukan dalam proses pertumbuhan.Bahan pernbuat pupuk kompos banyak terdapat di sekitar rumah.

Limbah dapur seperti sisa potongan sayuran, kulit buah-buahan atau dedaunan kering amat baik untuk digunakan.

Masukkan potongan-potongan ini ke dalam sebuah lubang. Dapat juga dipakai tong besar atau drum bekas.
Kernudian timbun dengan tanah. Aduk timbunan sesering mungkin untuk mempercepat proses pembusukan.
Diamkan selama lebih kurang 40 hari. Bila tanah terlihat hitam dan gembur, siap digunakan.
Media tanam ini dicampur dengan pasir, tanah, serta kompos dengan perbandingan 1:1:1.
Cara sederhana yaitu dengan sistem heap (timbun). Pola ini tidak perlu menguburnya di dalam lubang tanah. Cukup sediakan wadah besar seperti drum.
Berilah pasir pada bagian yang paling bawah. Kemudian tanah gembur di atasnya.
Masukkan bahan-bahan organik pernbuat kompos setelah itu. Bila ada, lumuri dengan kotoran hewan.
Lalu taburi gerusan kapur halus secukupnya. Taruh kernbali bahan-bahan serupa sesuai urutan.
Dengan takaran yang sama, kecuali kapur.

”Untuk menambah unsur yangdiperlukan seperti nitrogen, dipakai air seni. Hal ini hampir serupa dengan zat yang terkandung dalam pupuk urea. Pemberian air kencing itu banyak dilakukan oleh petani-petani organik di Jawa tengah.
Mereka mengumpulkan air kotor itu dan hewan ternaknya seperti sapi atau kerbau. Kemudian disemprotkan pada lahan pertaniannya. ”Air seni dari manusia pun dapat digunakan,” imbuh alumnus Universitas Padjajaran Bandung itu.
Campuran lain dapat pula ditambahkan dalam proses pernbuatan kompos, sekam, jerami, atau serbuk gergaji sangat baik sekali digunakan. Kumpulan dedaunan yang rontok di halaman belakang rumah juga bisa dipakai.

Life - Menghargai Pengorbanan Orang Tua Tanpa Syarat

2008-03-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Pada malam itu, Ana bertengkar dengan ibunya. Karena sangat marah, Ana segera meninggalkan rumah tanpa membawa apapun. Saat berjalan di suatu jalan, ia baru menyadari bahwa ia sama sekali tdk membawa uang.

Saat menyusuri sebuah jalan, ia melewati sebuah kedai bakmi dan ia mencium harumnya aroma masakan. Ia ingin sekali memesan semangkuk bakmi, tetapi ia tdk mempunyai uang.

Pemilik kedai melihat Ana berdiri cukup lama di depan kedainya, lalu berkata “Nona, apakah engkau ingin memesan semangkuk bakmi?” ” Ya, tetapi, aku tdk membawa uang” jawab Ana dengan malu-malu “Tidak apa-apa, aku akan mentraktirmu” jawab si pemilik kedai. “Silahkan duduk, aku akan memasakkan bakmi untukmu”.

Tidak lama kemudian, pemilik kedai itu mengantarkan semangkuk bakmi. Ana segera makan beberapa suap, kemudian air matanya mulai berlinang. “Ada apa nona?” Tanya si pemilik kedai.

“Tidak apa-apa” aku hanya terharu jawab Ana sambil mengeringkan air matanya.

“Bahkan, seorang yang baru kukenal pun memberi aku semangkuk bakmi !, tetapi,? ibuku sendiri, setelah bertengkar denganku, mengusirku dari rumah dan mengatakan kepadaku agar jangan kembali lagi ke rumah”

“Kau, seorang yang baru kukenal, tetapi begitu peduli denganku dibandingkan dengan ibu kandungku sendiri” katanya kepada pemilik kedai.

Pemilik kedai itu setelah mendengar perkataan Ana, menarik nafas panjang dan berkata “Nona mengapa kau berpikir seperti itu?
Renungkanlah hal ini, aku hanya memberimu semangkuk bakmi dan kau begitu terharu.
Ibumu telah memasak bakmi dan nasi untukmu saat kau kecil sampai saat ini, mengapa kau tidak berterima kasih kepadanya? Dan kau malah bertengkar dengannya”

Ana, terhenyak mendengar hal tsb.

“Mengapa aku tdk berpikir ttg hal tsb? Utk semangkuk bakmi dr org yg baru kukenal, aku begitu
berterima kasih, tetapi kepada ibuku yg memasak untukku selama bertahun-tahun, aku bahkan tidak memperlihatkan kepedulianku kepadanya. Dan hanya karena persoalan sepele, aku bertengkar dengannya.

Ana, segera menghabiskan bakminya, lalu ia menguatkan dirinya untuk segera pulang ke rumahnya. Saat berjalan ke rumah, ia memikirkan kata-kata yg hrs diucapkan kpd ibunya. Begitu sampai di ambang pintu rumah, ia melihat ibunya dengan wajah letih dan cemas. Ketika bertemu dengan Ana, kalimat pertama yang keluar dari mulutnya adalah “Ana kau sudah pulang, cepat masuklah, aku
telah menyiapkan makan malam dan makanlah dahulu sebelum kau tidur, makanan akan menjadi dingin jika kau tdk memakannya sekarang”. Pada saat itu Ana tdk dapat menahan tangisnya dan ia menangis dihadapan ibunya.

Sekali waktu, kita mungkin akan sangat berterima kasih kpd org lain disekitar kita untuk suatu pertolongan kecil yang diberikan kepada kita. Tetapi kepada org yang sangat dekat dengan kita (keluarga) khususnya orang tua kita, kita harus ingat bahwa kita berterima kasih kepada mereka seumur hidup Kita.

RENUNGAN

Bagaimanapun Kita Tidak Boleh Melupakan Jasa Orang Tua Kita.

Seringkali Kita Menganggap Pengorbanan Mereka Merupakan Suatu Proses Alami Yang Biasa Saja; Tetapi Kasih Dan Kepedulian Orang Tua Kita Adalah Hadiah Paling Berharga Yang Diberikan Kepada Kita Sejak Kita Lahir. Pikirkanlah Hal Itu??

Apakah Kita Mau Menghargai Pengorbanan Tanpa Syarat Dari Orang Tua Kita?

Hai Anak-Anak, Taatilah Orang Tuamu Dalam Segala Hal, Karena Itulah Yang Indah Bagi Allah.

Life - Tipe Manusia Hadapi Tekanan Hidup

2008-03-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

“Semua kesulitan sesungguhnya merupakan kesempatan bagi jiwa kita untuk tumbuh” (John Gray)
Pembaca, hidup memang tidak lepas dari berbagai tekanan. Lebih-lebih,hidup di alam modern ini yang menyuguhkan beragam risiko. Sampai seorang sosiolog Ulrich Beck menamai jaman kontemporer ini dengan masyarakat risiko (risk society). Alam modern menyuguhkan perubahan cepat dan tak jarang mengagetkan.

Nah, tekanan itu sesungguhnya membentuk watak, karakter, dan sekaligus menentukan bagaimana orang bereaksi di kemudian hari. Pembaca, pada kesempatan ini, saya akan memaparkan empat tipe orang dalam menghadapi berbagai tekanan tersebut. Mari kita bahas satu demi satu tipe manusia dalam menghadapi tekanan hidup ini.

TIPE KAYU RAPUH

Sedikit tekanan saja membuat manusia ini patah arang. Orang macam ini kesehariannya kelihatan bagus. Tapi, rapuh sekali di dalam hatinya. Orang ini gampang sekali mengeluh padasaat kesulitan terjadi.

Sedikit kesulitan menjumpainya, orang ini langsung mengeluh, merasa tak berdaya, menangis, minta dikasihani atau minta bantuan. Orang ini perlu berlatih berpikiran positif dan berani menghadapi kenyataan hidup.

Salah satu majalah berskala internasional pernah menyajikan topik generasi kepompong (cacoon generation). Berita tersebut mengambil contoh di Jepang, di mana banyak orang menjadi sangat lembek karena tidak terbiasa menghadapi kesulitan. Menghadapi orang macam ini, kadang kita harus lebih berani tega. Sesekali mereka perlu belajar dilatih menghadapi kesulitan. Posisikan kita sebagai pendamping mereka.

TIPE LEMPENG BESI.

Orang tipe ini biasanya mampu bertahan dalam tekanan pada awalnya. Namun seperti layaknya besi, ketika situasi menekan itu semakin besar dan kompleks, ia mulai bengkok dantidak stabil. Demikian juga orang-orang tipe ini. Mereka mampu menghadapi tekanan, tetapi tidak dalam kondisi berlarut-larut.

Tambahan tekanan sedikit saja, membuat mereka menyerah dan putus asa. Untungnya, orang tipe ini masih mau mencoba bertahan sebelum akhirnya menyerah. Tipe lempeng besi memang masih belum terlatih. Tapi, kalaumau berusaha, orang ini akan mampu membangun kesuksesan dalam hidupnya.

TIPE KAPAS

Tipe ini cukup lentur dalam menghadapi tekanan. Saat tekanan tiba, orang mampu bersikap fleksibel. Cobalah Anda menekan sebongkah kapas. Ia akan mengikuti tekanan yang terjadi.Ia mampu menyesuaikan saat terjadi tekanan. Tapi, setelah berlalu, dengan cepat ia bisa kembali ke keadaan semula. Ia bisa segera melupakan masa lalu dan mulai kembali ke titik awal untuk memulai lagi.

TIPE MANUSIA BOLA PIMPONG

Inilah tipe yang ideal dan terhebat. Jangan sekali-kali menyuguhkan tekanan pada orang-orang ini karena tekanan justru akan membuat mereka bekerja lebih giat, lebih termotivasi, dan lebih kreatif. Coba perhatikan bola pingpong. Saat ditekan, justru ia memantuk ke atas dengan lebih dahsyat. Saya teringat kisah hidup motivator dunia Anthony Robbins dalam salah satu biografinya.

Untuk memotivasi dirinya, ia sengaja membeli suatu bangunan mewah, sementara uangnya tidak memadai. Tapi, justru tekanan keuangan inilah yang membuat dirinya semakin kreatif dan tertantang mencapai tingkatfinansial yang diharapkannya. Hal ini pernah terjadi dengan seorang kepala regional sales yang performance- nya bagus sekali.
Bangun network

Tetapi, hasilnya ini membuat atasannya tidak suka. Akibatnya, justru dengan sengaja atasannya yang kurang suka kepadanya memindahkannya ke daerah yang lebih parah kondisinya. Tetapi, bukannya mengeluh sepertirekan sebelumnya di daerah tersebut. Malahan, ia berusaha membangun netwok, mengubah cara kerja, dan membereskan organisasi. Di tahun kedua di daerah tersebut, justru tempatnya berhasil masuk dalam daerah tiga top sales.

Contoh lain adalah novelis dunia Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Pada musim dingin, ia meringkuk di dalam penjara dengan deraan angin dingin, lantai penuh kotoran seinci tebalnya, dan kerja paksa tiap hari. Ia mirip ikan herring dalam kaleng. Namun, Siberia yang beku tidak berhasil membungkam kreativitasnya.

Dari sanalah ia melahirkan karya-karya tulis besar, seperti The Double dan Notes of The Dead. Ia menjadi sastrawan dunia. Hal ini juga dialami Ho Chi Minh. Orang Vietnam yang biasa dipanggil Paman Hoini harus meringkuk dalam penjara. Tapi, penjara tidaklah membuat dirinya patah arang. Ia berjuang dengan puisi-puisi yang ia tulis. A Comrade Paper Blanket menjadi buah karya kondangnya. Itu hanya contoh kecil. Yang penting sekarang adalah Anda.

Ketika Anda menghadapi kesulitan, seperti apakah diri Anda? Bagaimana reaksi Anda? Tidak menjadi persoalan di mana Anda saat ini.Tetapi, yang penting bergeraklah dari level tipe kayu rapuh ke tipe selanjutnya. Hingga akhirnya, bangun mental Anda hingga ke level bola pingpong.

Saat itulah, kesulitan dan tantangan tidak lagi menjadisuatu yang mencemaskan untuk Anda. Sekuat itukah mental Anda?

Hard Disk (HDD)

2008-03-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hard disk adalah suatu device dari PC yang berfungsi sebagai media penyimpan data (storage) dan juga termasuk ke dalam salah satu memori eksternal dari sebuah PC.
Hard disk sendiri terdiri dari berbagai komponen - komponen pembentuk hard disk dan akan dijelaskan di bawah ini.

FAT

File system yang digunakan oleh DOS dan Windows 9x/ME. FAT (File Allocation Table) terdiri dari FAT12(12bit), FAT16(16bit), dan FAT32(32bit). Batas max dalam satu file yang bias di simpan ini bervariasi FAT12=32MB, FAT16=2GB dan FAT32=4GB, sedangkan untuk batas max harddisk yang bias dikenali adalah 2 TBuntuk FAT32. Untuk saat ini versi FAT yang masih sering digunakan adalah FAT32 yakni pada Windows 9X/ME.

NTFS

New Technology File System adalah standar file system yang digunakan oleh windows NT dan variannya seperti Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 dan Windows Vistal berbeda dengan FAT, NTFS tdk bekerja dengan cluster table namun menggunakan MFT(Master File Table)

MBR

Sektor dari sebuah partisi yang ada dalam harddisk dan menempati sector pertama dari harddisk tsb. Sector pertama yang di tempati oleh MBR adalah sebesar 512 byte dan berisikan bootloader supaya harddisk tsb bias melakukan booting OS( Operating System : Windows) atau sekedar dikenali oleh system. Dalam satu MBR bias dijadikan empat buah primary partition dan sebuah extended partition

Cluster

Dalam beberapa file system seperti FAT dan NTFS, cluster adalah bagian dari kapasitas diskyang di alokasikan untuk direktori file. Cluster terdiri dari sekumpulan sector, di mana satu sector berkapasitas 512 byte.

Extended Partition

Di dalam MBR (Master Boot Sektor) hanya satu partisi yang bias dijadikan extended partition. Dimana extended partition memerlukan 512 byte dari sebuah partisi Extended Partition ini oleh system akan di sebut dengan logical drive sehingga secara otomatis ia berada di luar MBR.

Capacity

Merupakan besar maksimal daya tampung data di dalam harddisk, yang biasanya di ukur dalam satuan Byte.

KOMPONEN - KOMPONEN PADA HARDDISK

Piringan logam

Piringan logam (platter) yang berfungsi sebagai tempat penyimpan data. Jumlah piringan ini beragam, mulai 1, 2,3 atau lebih.
Piringan ini diberi lapisan bahan magnetis yang sangat-sangat tipis (ketebalan dalam orde per sejuta inchi).
Pada saat ini digunakan teknologi thin film (seperti pada prosesor) untuk membuat lapisan tersebut.

Head (berupa kumparan)

Head pada hard disk berbeda dengan head pada tape. Pada tape proses baca dan tulis (rekam) menggunakan dua head yang berbeda, sedangkan pada hard disk proses baca dan tulis menggunakan head yang sama. HD biasanya memiliki head untuk tiap-tiap sisi platter, untuk hard disk dengan 2 platter dapat memiliki sampai 4 head, hard disk dengan 3 platter dapat memiliki sampai 6 platter. Tetapi tidak berarti hardisk dengan 16 head harus memiliki 8 platter. Di sinilah kita kenal teknik translasi. Rangkaian Elektronik pada PCB (printed circuit board) , terdiri dari:

Read Preamplifier

Rangkaian penguat untuk pembacaan (read preamplifier) yang diperlukan karena signal yang diperoleh head dari piringan sangat lemah.
DSP (digital signal processor), untuk proses yang berhubungan dengan sinyal-sinyal digital, seperti konversi sinyal listrik yang datang menjadi sinyal digital yang akan dituliskan ke piringan.

Chip Memory

Dipergunakan sebagai cache buffer

Konektor

Untuk melakukan komunikasi dengan CPU. Untuk HD IDE, jumlahnya 40 pin
Spindle dan actuator arm motor controller, untuk mengontrol putaran piringan dan peletakkan head baca/tulis.

Motor dari hard disk berfungsi untuk memutar platter. Ketika komputer distart, motor ini mulai bekerja dan memperdengarkan suara yang khas. Jika suara ini tidak benar maka dapat diduga bahwa motor HD tidak bekerja dengan baik.

Kecepatan putar motor ini mulai dari 3600 rpm sampai 10000 rpm dengan arah berlawanan dengan arah perputaran jarum jam (counter-clockwise). Putaran yang sangat cepat ini mengakibatkan adanya gaya pada permukaan piringan yang disebabkan oleh udara. Gaya ini memungkinkan head untuk mengambang pada ketinggian beberapa mikro inchi di atas permukaan platter/piringan. di atas piringan. Drive semacam ini disebut bernoulli drive. "Ketinggian" ini jauh lebih kecil dibanding ukuran rambut manusia, apalagi debu dari rokok.

Jarak yang dekat ini dimaksudkan agar head dapat membaca atau menulis dengan kerapatan yang tinggi. Dengan jarak sedekat itu, Anda tidak perlu terlalu takut. Hard disk sudah dirancang agar dalam keadaan normal (harap diingat) head tidak menyentuh permukaan platter. Jika hard disk dimatikan, maka piringan akan berhenti berputar akibatnya gaya yang mengangkat head akan hilang dan head akan mendarat di piringan.

Lokasi pendaratan head sudah ditentukan pada daerah tertentu yang disebut landing zone (LZone) sehingga tidak akan merusak data yang ada pada daerah lain.
Jika dalam keadaan bekerja head sedikit saja tergoncang, maka akan menyebabkan head akan menyentuh permukaan piringan dan kemungkinan besar akan menyebabkan kehilangan data, kerusakan sebagian kecil dari piringan akan merusak head atau seluruh piringan.

Bayangkan jika pada saat tertempel pada piringan akibat ada goncangan ada perintah bergerak ke tempat lain, maka head akan meninggalkan "jejak-jejak" bad sector pada piringan hard disk. Tapi pembuat hard disk sudah merancang agar head tetap stabil dalam kondisi goncangan tertentu, saat ini goncangan yang dapat ditoleransi mencapai 70 sampai 100 kali gravitasi (70-100 G).

HEAD

Adalah komponen yang paling mahal dari hard disk dan karakteristik head sangat menentukan kinerja hard disk. Head terbuat dari bahan magnetis dengan bentuk seperti "C". Kumparan (koil) yang terbuat dari kawat mengelilingi head. Pada saat menulis, arus yang melewati koil akan menimbulkan medan magnet yang digunakan untuk memagnetisasi permukaan platter. Sedangkan pada saat membaca, medan magnet pada permukaan platter akan menimbulkan arus pada koil ini.

Data "0" dan "1" disimpan dalam piringan dalam bentuk pola-pola magnet. Head baca/tulis membentuk pola ini ke piringan ketika proses penulisan terjadi, ketika membaca head akan mengkonversi bentuk pola ini ke dalam bentuk "0" dan "1". Lapisan magnetik terdiri dari daerah-daerah mikroskopik yang disebut domain. Setiap domain seperti magnet mungil dengan kutub-kutub yang berlawanan (utara/selatan atau positif/negatif). Data "1" dipresentasikan sebagai daerah dengan kutub positif di sisi kiri sedangkan data "0" dipresentasikan sebagai daerah dengan kutub positif di sisi kanan. Ada cara efektif untuk merekam data "0" dan "1" yaitu dengan teknik flux reversal. Ketika head akan menuliskan "1" maka head akan membalik polaritas magnet, sedangkan untuk "0" head tidak akan membalik polaritasnya.

Gerakan head dikendalikan oleh actuator arm (lengan penggerak). Kombinasi dari head dan platter sering disebut head disk assembly (HDA). Actuator arm digerakkan oleh positioning motor, yaitu motor yang berfungsi untuk mengatur posisi dari lengan (dan tentu saja posisi dari head). Motor ini dikontrol oleh hard disk controller pada rangkaian elektronik di hard disk. Motor ini memiliki sistem kontrol yang amat hebat, dengan sistem feedback motor ini dapat meletakkan head baca/tulis pada posisi yang sangat akurat. Mengapa hal ini dapat dilakukan? Vendor hard disk menggunakan suatu teknik yang disebut servo positioning, teknik inilah yang memungkinkan adanya feedback dalam sistem kontrol penempatan head hard disk.

Servo sendiri berisi informasi mengenai track dsb yang sangat penting dalam proses penempatan head.

Teknik ini memiliki dua tipe, yaitu

dedicated servo dan
embedded servo.

Dedicated servo menggunakan satu permukaan dari hard disk hanya untuk servo saja. Tentu saja cara ini merugikan karena menghabiskan tempat pada hard disk. Teknik kedua (embedded servo) menempatkan informasi servo secara tersebar pada setiap track sehingga kapasitas hard disk tetap dapat dipertahankan. Pada kenyataannya, saat ini teknik kedua yang digunakan, sedangkan teknik pertama digunakan pada hard disk yang dibuat pada masa lalu.

Merawat Flash Disk

2008-03-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Jangan Terkena Air

Meski ada beberapa merk yang mengklaim waterproof, menjauhkan flash disk dari sentuhan air tetap saja menjadi langkah yang paling aman. Daripada data kamu hilang, mendingan tidak ambil resiko kan?

Tidak Terkena Suhu Udara Panas

Semua barang elektronik tak terkecuali flash disk sangat rentan dengan yang namanya panas. Apalagi terkena sinar matahari langsung. Jadi usahakan tidak menyimpannya ditempat yang panas dan terkena sinar matahari langsung. Misalnya seperti meninggalkan flash disk di dashboard mobil.

Meminimalisir Proses Write and Copy Paste File

Artinya suatu saat flash disk kita bisa mati dan tidak bisa digunakan lagi. Usia flash disk berbeda-beda, tergantung kualitas dan merk dari flash disk itu sendiri. Biasanya usia flash disk antara 10.000-100.000 kali proses hapus tulis. Jadi usahakan untuk meminimalisir proses tersebut dan juga mengedit langsung dari flash disk

Jauhkan Dari Medan Magnet

Barang-barang elektronik seperti tv dan handphone sangat tidak baik untuk flash disk. Untuk itu jangan pernah menyimpannya di dekat barang-barang sejenis yang memiliki kekuatan magnet besar. Terkadang kita sering lupa jika meletakkan flash disk dan hand phone di tempat sama dalam tas. Nah mulai saat ini, kalau pingin flash disk kamu berumur panjang, jangan lagi menyimpannya di tempat sama ya?!

Hindari Benturan Keras

Janganlah flash disk di jatuhkan dari lantai yang tinggi ke lantai dasar yang keras ataupun dilemparkan benda keras lainnya.

Selalu Melakukan Pengecekan Virus Dengan Anti Virus

Saat Pengambilan data atau pemindahan dari dari pc ke flash disk, sangat mungkin bukan hanya data yang ikut berpindah tapi juga virus-virus yang terdapat dalam komputer. Apalagi kalau kita mengambil dan menyimpan data dari internet. Waduh flash disk kamu bisa dipenuhi virus-virus pengganggu. Makanya, jangan lupa untuk melakukan ritual scan virus secara berkala dengan software anti virus yang tersedia.

Proses Eject atau Stop

Selalu melakukan proses eject atau stop sebelum mencabut flash disk dari port usb. Selain bisa menjadikan flash disk rusak, tidak melakukan proses eject atau stop juga dapat mempengaruhi file-file data yang di simpan di dalamnya.

Flash Disk Harus Selalu Dalam Keadaan Tertutup Jika Tidak Dipergunakan

Udara dan lingkungan kita penuh dengan debu dan kotoran. Jika socket flash disk kita kotor maka dapat mengakibatkan proses baca tulis sering gagal.

Cookies

2008-03-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

HTTP cookies, web cookies, atau cookies saja, adalah serangkaian teks yang dikirimkan oleh server ke penjelajah web yang kemudian akan mengirimkannya kembali tanpa diubah ke server setiap kali penjelajah web mengakses situs web. HTTP cookies digunakan untuk melakukan otentikasi, penjejakan, dan memelihara informasi spesifik dari para pengguna, seperti preferensi pengguna atau daftar keranjang belanja elektronik mereka.

Cookies yang masih tersimpan di komputer dapat mempercepat akses ke situs web yang bersangkutan. Namun demikian, cookies dapat mengurangi ruang di cakram keras komputer dan memberi peluang bagi spyware yang menyebar melalui cookies untuk masuk ke komputer.

Mengatasi Spam

2008-03-27T00:35:00.001-07:00

Spam atau Junk mail adalah penyalahgunaan dalam pengiriman berita elektronik untuk menampilkan berita iklan dan keperluan lainnya yang mengakibatkan ketidaknyamanan bagi para pengguna web. Bentuk berita spam yang umum dikenal meliputi: spam surat elektronik, spam instant messaging, spam Usenet newsgroup, spam mesin pencari informasi web (web search engine spam), spam blog, spam berita pada telepon genggam, spam forum Internet, dan lain lain.

Spam ini biasanya datang bertubi-tubi tanpa diminta dan sering kali tidak dikehendaki oleh penerimanya. Beberapa contoh lain dari spam ini bisa berupa surat elektronik berisi iklan, sms pada telepon genggam, berita yang masuk dalam suatu forum newsgroup berisi promosi barang yang tidak terkait dengan aktifitas newsgroup tersebut, spamdexing yang mendominir suatu mesin pencari (search engine) untuk mencari popularitas bagi suatu URL tertentu, ataupun bisa berupa berita yang tak berguna dan masuk dalam suatu blog, buku tamu situs web, dan lain-lain.

Spam dikirimkan oleh pembuat iklan dengan biaya operasi yang sangat rendah, karena spam ini tidak memerlukan mailing list untuk mencapai para pelanggan-pelanggan yang diinginkan. Sebagai akibatnya banyak fihak yang dirugikan.

Selain pengguna Internet itu sendiri, ISP (penyelenggara layanan Internet atau Internet service provider), dan masyarakat umum juga merasa tidak nyaman. Karena biasanya sangat mengganggu dan kadang-kadang membohongi, berita spam termasuk dalam kegiatan melanggar hukum dan merupakan perbuatan kriminal yang bisa ditindak melalui undang-undang Internet.

Efek Negatif Dari SPAM

Efek negatif dari SPAM adalah:

Waktu yang terbuang percuma. Dampak nyata yang dirasakan adalah waktu yang terbuang untuk mengidentifikasi dan membuang e-mail sampah ini. Kadang, secara tidak sengaja, e-mail bukan SPAM pun ikut terbuang, yang membuat persoalan menjadi tambah runyam.

Harddisk menjadi penuh. Harddisk yang penuh mengakibatkan mail server tidak dapat menerima e-mail lainnya; bahkan membuat sistem menjadi hang.

Pulsa telepon dan bandwidth. Bagi pemakai e-mail yang harus dial-up ke ISP, tentunya pulsa telepon dan biaya koneksi ke ISP menjadi membengkak akibat SPAM. Bagi perusahaan yang menggunakan koneksi tetap (fixed line) berarti jalur data (bandwidth) terbuang percuma dan dapat menggangu layanan lainnya yang lebih penting.

Virus dan Trojan. Bahaya lainnya datang dari virus maupun program Trojan yang menyusup dalam e-mail SPAM tersebut.

e-mail di blok. Banyak spammer (orang yang melancarkan spam) tidak menggunakan server e-mail sendiri untuk melancarkan aksinya, tetapi menggunakan server mail orang lain. Jika konfigurasi mail server kita memperbolehkan mail relay, akan berpotensi menjadi makanan empuk bagi spammer dan menjadikan mail server kita tercatat dalam daftar mail server terlarang. Akibatnya, kita tidak dapat mengirim e-mail ke orang yang menerapkan Anti-SPAM, yang menggunakan daftar ‘mail server terlarang'.

Mengapa SPAM mudah dilakukan Spammers selain umumnya menggunakan mail server orang lain, juga alamat e-mail aspal (asli tapi palsu); alamat e-mail tersebut memang benar ada tapi si pengirimnya bukan yang punya. Mengirim e-mail menggunakan alamat e-mail aspal sangat dimungkinkan karena protokol SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) yang digunakan dalam pertukaran e-mail tidak pernah memverifikasi alamat e-mail dengan alamat IP-nya. Artinya, orang bebas mengirim e-mail dari manapun (dari alamat IP apapun) dengan menggunakan alamat e-mail siapapun.

Cara mengurangi SPAM Judul tulisan di atas sebenarnya terlalu optimistik, seolah-olah ada cara yang cespleng dalam mengatasi SPAM. Sampai saat ini, tidak ada satupun cara untuk menghilangkan SPAM, yang ada adalah mengurangi SPAM. Cara yang banyak digunakan saat ini adalah mengotomatisasikan proses pemilahan antara e-mail SPAM dan yang bukan SPAM dengan menerapkan teknologi filter.

Berikut adalah beberapa hal yang dapat mengatasi SPAM :

[if !supportLists]
[endif]
Jika mungkin, gunakan e-mail lain (selain e-mail untuk bisnis) sewaktu berkorespondensi untuk hal-hal di luar bisnis, misalnya mailing list. Banyak spammer menggunakan alamat dari mailing list untuk melancarkan aksinya.

[if !supportLists]
[endif]
Aktifkan anti-virus dan personal Firewall pada PC. Kebanyakan SPAM sekarang mengandung virus atau Trojan yang dapat menggangu sistem pada PC dan jaringan. Biasanya, program Trojan tadi digunakan untuk menyebarkan e-mail SPAM ke alamat lain yang tercantum pada address book.

[if !supportLists]
[endif]
Aktifkan anti-relay atau non aktifkan relay sistem pada server e-mail. Cara ini untuk memastikan bahwa e-mail server kita tidak dijadikan sasaran untuk tempat transit e-mail SPAM.

[if !supportLists]
[endif]
Gunakan fitur dalam program e-mail yang dapat mengelompokkan e-mail. Program e-mail seperti Microsoft Outlook dan Eudora dapat mengelompokkan e-mail seperti mengelompokkan e-mail dari bos, dari internal, dari rekanan dan sebagainya. Dengan pengelompokan ini, walau tidak mengurangi SPAM sama sekali, kita dapat melakukan prioritas dalam membaca e-mail, dan e-mail yang penting tersebut tidak tercampur baur dengan SPAM e-mail.

[if !supportLists]
[endif]
“NEVER buy anything that has been spamvertised. If you do, you are PART OF THE PROBLEM.”

Teknologi Anti-SPAM Teknologi anti-SPAM, baik yang ada dan diusulkan saat ini, dapat dikategorikan menjadi empat kelompok yaitu

Filter

Reverse-lookup

Challenge-Response (CR)

Kriptografi

Teknologi Filter

Teknologi yang saat ini banyak digunakan. Filter digunakan untuk memilah e-mail SPAM dan yang bukan, berdasarkan beberapa kriteria antara lain alamat IP si pengirim, ada tidaknya kata-kata tertentu yang dikategorikan sebagai e-mail SPAM, dan kombinasi antara kata-kata tertentu beserta probabilitasnya atau yang dikenal dengan cara Bayesian filtering.

Ada salah kaprah dalam menilai teknologi filtering; banyak orang mengangap teknologi ini dapat menghentikan SPAM, padahal tidak! Teknologi ini hanya membantu memilah e-mail. e-mail SPAM tetap lalu lalang dalam jaringan, dan server mail tetap menerima e-mail SPAM. Bahkan, kebanyakan dari kita tetap perlu meluangkan waktu melihat junk mailbox yang berisikan e-mail SPAM untuk memastikan bahwa tidak ada e-mail yang sebenarnya diinginkan masuk dalam kategori SPAM.
Reverse-Lookup. Cara ini digunakan untuk mengatasi akar permasalahan e-mail aspal yang banyak digunakan oleh spammer. Dalam komunikasi mail menggunakan SMTP, mail server akan melihat indeks MX dari DNS untuk menentukan alamat IP dari si mail server tujuan. Analoginya, kalau kita mau mencari nomor telepon seseorang mempergunakan yellow pages (analogi untuk DNS) maka pertama kita mencari indeks nama orang tersebut (MX) baru mendapatkan nomor teleponnya (IP).

Tetapi, dalam SMTP, mail server si penerima tidak mengecek balik apakah alamat IP dari si pengirim telah sesuai dengan nama domain mail server-nya.

Reverse-lookup

Reverse-lookup mengusulkan mekanisme untuk melakukan pengecekan terbalik ini. Artinya jika mail server menerima e-mail dari misalkan e_webmedia@yahoo.com

dengan alamat IP 20.50.0.1 maka si mail server penerima akan mengecek apakah alamat IP 20.50.0.1 merupakan alamat dari mail server ebizzasia.com; jika ya, e-mail diterima, sebaliknya jika tidak e-mail ditolak.

Cara ini, yang disponsori oleh beberapa organisasi seperti IETF, dan Micorosoft, dan direkomendasi oleh Anti-Spam Technical Alliance (ASTA), kelihatannya cukup menjanjikan untuk menghentikan e-mail aspal. Tetapi, masih ada kendala dalam penerapannya. karena masih banyak institusi, perusahaan dan individu yang menggunakan IP dinamik dalam mengirim e-mail. Cara ini pun tidak menghentikan e-mail SPAM yang berasal dari alamat yang sah/asli.

Challenge-Response (CR)

Server mail yang menerapkan CR akan mendaftar setiap pengirim yang ‘sah'. E-mail dari pengirim baru akan ditunda pengirimannya. Selanjutnya mail server akan mengirim challenge kepada si pengirim untuk meminta balasan e-mail atau meminta mengetikkan atau mengklik pada situs tertentu sebelum e-mail benar-benar diterima. Cara ini secara tori akan menghentikan atau mengurangi e-mail aspal. Tapi ada masalah sehingga cara ini jarang digunakan. Yaitu, jika baik si pengirim maupun si penerima sama-sama menerapkan CR maka e-mail tidak akan pernah terkirim atau dikenal sengan istilah CR deadlock.

Kriptografi

Cara ini mnggunakan teknologi Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) yang dipergunakan untuk mengautentikasi si pengirim. Cara ini pun mempunyai kendala dalam penerapannya secara global.
Teknologi Anti-SPAM yang mana ? Seperti halnya kalau kita ke Dokter, kita juga butuh jawaban yang pasti untuk menangani SPAM. Tapi sayangnya, cara yang jitu memang tidak ada. Teknologi Reverse-Lookup walaupun sangat menjanjikan, tetapi penerapannya saat ini boleh dikatakan belum dapat dilakukan. Selain itu, cara ini menuntut perubahan pada mail server maupun DNS yang belum tentu diterima sepenuhnya oleh komunitas Internet. Melakukan perubahan terhadap ratusan juta pengguna Internet tidak semudah membalikkan telapak tangan.

Contohnya adalah :
Penerapan IP ver 6 yang ditujukan, salah satunya, untuk mengatasi kekurangan jumlah alamat IP yang menjadi kendala pada IP ver 4 yang dipakai saat ini. Walaupun IP ver 6 sudah diusulkan tahun 1994, tetapi sampai saat ini belum dipakai secara global. Rekomendasi penulis dalam pemilihan teknologi anti-spam saat ini adalah teknologi filter.

Teknologi ini, terutama Bayesian filter, cukup ampuh untuk memilah e-mail dan dapat digunakan sebagai pelengkap bersama-sama dengan Reverse-lookup jika benar-benar diadoptasi nantinya.

Mencegah Masuknya Adware & Spyware

2008-03-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

Spyware adalah istilah teknologi informasi dalam bahasa Inggris yang mengacu kepada salah satu bentuk perangkat lunak mencurigakan (malicious software/malware) yang menginstalasikan dirinya sendiri ke dalam sebuah sistem untuk mencuri data milik pengguna.

Defenisi

Spyware merupakan turunan dari adware, yang memantau kebiasaan pengguna dalam melakukan penjelajahan Internet untuk mendatangkan "segudang iklan" kepada pengguna. Tetapi, karena adware kurang begitu berbahaya (tidak melakukan pencurian data), spyware melakukannya dan mengirimkan hasil yang ia kumpulkan kepada pembuatnya (adware umumnya hanya mengirimkan data kepada perusahaan marketing).

Kerugian

Pencurian DataMemang, kebanyakan informasi yang "dicuri" adalah kebiasaan pengguna dalam menjelajahi Internet, tapi banyak juga yang mencuri data-data pribadi, seperti halnya alamat e-mail (untuk dikirimi banyak surat e sampah (spam)).
Tambahan Biaya Pemakaian InternetYang paling menjengkelkan dari keberadaan spyware, selain banyaknya iklan yang mengganggu adalah pemborosan bandwidth dan privasi yang telah "dijajah".

Website Ber-Spyware

Pada umumnya Website yang memberikan spyware adalah website yang memberikan layanan gratis ataupun website yang menjual produk. Contohnya adalah AOL Mail dan Grisoft.

Cara Mencegah Masuknya Adware & Spyware

Memang tidak menjamin 100% dan karena tidak ada yang 100% aman seputar hal berkaitan dengan security. Namun setidaknya kita dapat mengurangi resiko dan mencoba melakukan sesuatu daripada diam saja.

Install anti-spyware
Progam Pemburu Spyware & Adware Beberapa utilitas yang dapat digunakan untuk memburu adware, seperti halnya Ad-Aware dari LavaSoft juga dapat memburu spyware, karena memang spyware merupakan turunan dari adware. Untuk memburu spyware, anda dapat menggunakan AVG Anti-Spyware, ataupun progam anti-spyware lainnya. Sekedar memperingatkan, AVG Anti-Spyware tidak memiliki Free Version, hanya ada Full Version & Trial Version. Bila anda mendownload AVG Anti-Spyware Free Version, sama saja anda mendownload AVG Anti-Spyware Trial Version.
Mematikan Cookies
Cara ini juga dapat dilakukan dengan block all cookies atau menolak semua cookies untuk masuk ke komputer kita.
Hati-hati dalam melakukan browsing ke situs-situs yang ‘tidak jelas’ di Internet. Biasanya terutama situs-situs underground, situs-situs hacking, situs-situs crack
Khusus untuk program freeware atau gratisan, sebelum digunakan, lihat informasi di bagian review pengguna, apakah ada yang komplain mengenai spyware di dalamnya. Karena umumnya spyware ada di program yang freeware.
Usahakan tidak menggunakan program-program seperti P2P sharing dan Download Accelerator contohnya Kazaa, download plus dan sebagainya.
Lakukan Windows update secara rutin.
Spyware selama ini memang menargetkan windows sebagai platform utama sebagai sasarannya. Terbukti banyak sekali BHO – browser helper object yang dibuat untuk running atau attach ke MSIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer). Meskipun tidak menjamin bahwa IE nya akan kebal terhadap spyware tapi setidaknya mengurangi lubang-lubang security yang bisa digunakan sebagai pintu masuk bagi spyware.
Pada saat download program di Internet, kalau bisa baca dulu EULA nya (End-User License Agreement) karena biasanya di dalam klausalnya sengaja dibuat serumit dan sepanjang mungkin yang mungkin didalamnya ada klausal untuk instalasi spyware.

Ada program yang EULA sebanyak 131 halaman, siapa yang mau baca ? tapi itu memang sengaja dibuat seperti itu sehingga apabila terjadi tuntutan hukum di kemudian hari mereka punya bukti.

Lakukan update signature atau database anti-virus dan anti-spyware secara rutin
Apabila saat browsing, keluar pop-up window, jangan click ke windows tersebut tapi langsung tutup windows tersebut.
Walaupun tips di atas sekali lagi tidak bisa menjamin bakal free dari spyware, namun setidaknya kita bisa mengurangi ancaman dari spyware tersebut .

Memilih Komputer - 01

2008-03-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Pertanyaan yang paling dasar yang harus dan paling penting untuk di pikirkan dan di jawab adalah, siapakah yang akan menggunakan computer tersebut dan untuk keperluan pengerjaan apa computer tersebut dipergunakan?

Pengguna komputer tentu menginginkan komputer yang dapat digunakan untuk semua jenis aplikasi yang diperlukannya. Untuk mendapatkan komputer yang sesuai maka kita harus memilih dengan berpedoman pada faktor kebutuhan.

Faktor kebutuhan terkait dengan tujuan penggunaan komputer, siapa penggunanya dan software aplikasi yang akan digunakan.Selain dari faktor kebutuhan, pengetahuan tentang hardware computer diperlukan agar dapat memilih komponen komputer yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan.

Dalam memilih komponen komputer juga harus memperhatikan

Kemampuan kerja
Harga
Kesesuaian
Keseimbangan
Kemungkinan upgrade dari komponen yang dipilih

Analisa Kebutuhan

Langkah pertama dalam memilih komputer adalah membuat analisa kebutuhan. Dengan membuat analisa kebutuhan maka dapat diketahui spesifikasi komponen yang diperlukan serta fitur kelengkapan yang harus dimiliki komputer.

Prosedur membuat analisa kebutuhan :

Tentukan besar anggaran yang tersedia
Jelaskan tujuan penggunaan computer (operasional kerja data entry, sebagai server, sarana hiburan, multimedia, bermain games, database, pengolahan gambar, video editing, dan sebagainya)
Buat daftar software aplikasi beserta sistem operasi yang dibutuhkan.
Cantumkan semua jenis hardware beserta kelengkapan yang diperlukan untuk mengoperasikan software tersebut seperti modem, port firewire, network card, port USB, sound card, speaker, video capture, TV tuner dan sebagainya.
Tentukan persyaratan hardware minimal dari setiap software aplikasi dan sistem operasi , seperti jenis prosessor, kapasitas hardisk dan memori. Buat rekapitulasi seluruh komponen beserta spesifikasi minimum yang dapat memenuhi semua kebutuhan aplikasi.

Spesifikasi Hardware

Semua komputer baik dari jenis rakitan atau build up pada dasarnya sama, yakni disusun dari sejumlah komponen komputer. Pada komputer jenis build up juga diberikan spesifikasi dari komponen yang dipakai, oleh karena itu pemahaman tentang spesifikasi hardware diperlukan dalam menilai kualitas komputer.

Berikut adalah spesifikasi dari komponen komputer yang umum

Motherboard
Casing dan Power Supply
Prosessor
Harddisk
Monitor
Keyboard dan Mouse
CD drive

Motherboard

Motherboard adalah komponen paling utama pada komputer. Kualitas motherboard sangat berpengaruh pada kemampuan dukungan terhadap jenis dan kapasitas komponen lainnya serta batas kemampuan upgrade.

Spesifikasi yang harus diperhatikan:

Jenis Slot/ Socket Prosessor,
Jenis konektor prosessor (slot/socket) menentukan jenis prosessor yang dapat digunakan dan batasan upgrade dari prosessor. Contoh, untuk Socket 478 dapat dipakai untuk semua prosessor kelas Pentium 4 dan Celeron 4 dengan FSB 400, 533 dan 800 Mhz.
Chipset motherboard
Pilih motherboard dengan chipset terbaru yang mendukung memori SDRAM DIMM atau RDRAM RIMM, AGP slot 4X minimal dan harddisk ATA 100 minimal.
Jenis dan kapasitas slot memory
Slot jenis DDR DIMM atau RIMM adalah pilihan yang terbaik karena mendukung kapasitas memori lebih besar. Untuk kecepatan, memori terbaik adalah DDR SDRAM atau RDRAM, tetapi RDRAM lebih mahal.
Slot Ekspansi
Perhatikan jenis dan jumlah slot ekspansi yang tersedia, seperti PCI bus minimal tipe 2.1, AGP bus 4 X support (minimum) dan ISA bus. Sesuaikan slot ekspansi dengan card adapter yang akan dipasang. Sebaiknya masih tersisa slot kosong untuk memasang card adapter yang mungkin diperlukan.
Port I/O
Periksa jenis dan jumlah port I/O yang tersedia seperti USB, firewire, serial dan parallel port. Sesuaikan dengan kebutuhan piranti eksternal.
Feature
Motherboard berkualitas baik akan dilengkapi dengan fitur Power Management ACPI untuk efisiensi penggunaan daya listrik dan PnP System (Plug and Play) yakni instalasi otomatis piranti eksternal.

Casing & Power Supply

Spesifikasi yang harus diperhatikan :

Form factor
Sesuaikan form factor (ukuran) casing dengan motherboard. Form factor ATX paling populer karena lebih flexible
Drive bay
Jumlah drive bay (ruang penempatan drive seperti harddisk, CD ROM, floppy) disesuaikan dengan banyaknya drive yang akan dipasang.

Sebaiknya tersedia minimal dua drive bay untuk Harddisk, dua drive bay floppy dan tiga drive bay untuk CD atau DVD drive. Kelebihan drive bay kosong merupakan keuntungan
karena dapat dicadangkan untuk drive lain yang mungkin diperlukan.
Port I/O
Casing yang menyediakan ruang untuk port I/O di depan akan memudahkan untuk menghubungkan piranti eksternal.
Power Supply
Bila casing sudah disertai dengan power supply maka pilihlah yang memiliki daya keluaran mencukupi minimal 300 watt.

Prosessor

Spesifikasi yang harus diperhatikan:

Jenis Prosessor
Jenis boxed lebih baik dari OEM karena sudah dilengkapi dengan heatsink atau fan serta diberikan garansi 3 tahun.
Kecepatan FSB
FSB ( Front Side Bus) merupakan kecepatan asli/internal dari prosessor. Kecepatan FSB yang lebih tinggi akan lebih baik.
L1 Cache memori.
Kapasitas yang lebih besar akan lebih baik
L2 Cache Memori, Faktor kecepatan pada L2 cache lebih berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan kerja daripada kapasitasnya. L2 cache jenis on die lebih baik karena bekerja pada kecepatan FSB.

Harddisk

Yang perlu diperhatikan untuk memilih harddisk adalah

Jenis Harddisk
IDE ATA 100 sudah memadai untuk aplikasi yang umum, untuk aplikasi video atau server akan lebih baik memakai jenis SCSI karena kecepatannya lebih tinggi 10000 rpm
Kapasitas
Untuk ukuran yang menjadi standart pasar sekitar 80-120 GB. Sangan disarankan untuk memilih yang lebih tinggi karena tuntutan data yang semakin besar
Kecepatan putar disk
Kecepatan 7200 rpm sudah memadai untuk banyak aplikasi, namun untuk aplikasi yang banyak melakukan transfer data seperti editing video atau database server pilihlah kecepatan minimal 7200 rpm.
Pilihlah SATA (serial ATA) ketimbang PATA (Parallel ATA) jika mainboard PC mendukung SATA. karena beberapa faktor diantaranya, kecepatan transfer SATA yang lebih cepat (150 MB per detik) dan kabel yang digunakan SATA lebih kecil sehingga air flow di dalam casing PC tidak terganggu.
Buffer Memory
Hal yang terakhir ini adalah hal penting. banyak pembeli HDD yang tidak mengindahkan hal ini. Sebelum data HDD di kirim ke Memory utama untuk di proses, data-data tersebut selalu masuk dahulu ke Buffer Memory (seperti RAM) yang terdapat pada controller HDD. hal ini dilakukan untuk mencegah antrian yang panjang dalam membaca HDD. semakin besar ukuran Buffer yang terdapat pada HDD, maka akan semakin baik atau cepat pembacaan penulisan data.

Monitor

Yang harus diperhatikan untuk memilih monitor adalah :

Teknologi monitor
Pilihan yang tersedia adalah LCD atau CRT, Jenis CRT tersedia pilihan layar datar, semi flat atau standar (cembung). Kelebihan layar LCD adalah warnanya lebih jernih namun lebih mahal.
Ukuran monitor
Ukuran monitor adalah panjang diagonal layar dalam satuan inci. Ukuran yang umum adalah 14, 15, 17, 19, dan 21. Semakin besar ukuran monitor maka tampilan akan lebih jelas namun harganya lebih mahal.
Resolusi monitor
Resolusi adalah ukuran banyaknya elemen gambar (pixel) dalam arah vertikal dan horisontal. Nilai resolusi umumnya adalah 800 X 600 (SVGA) , 1024 X 768 (XGA) , 1280 x 1024 (SXGA) atau 1600 X 1200 (UXGA).
Monitor modern umumnya dapat diset pada beberapa ukuran resolusi yang berbeda namun harus ditunjang oleh kemampuan dari video card.
Sistem control terdiri dari analog dan digital. Monitor digital memiliki sistem pengontrolan untuk brightness, kontrast, ukuran dan posisi layar dengan tampilan menu sedangkan jenis analog memakai tombol putar.

Keyboard dan Mouse

Jenis-jenis keyboard dan mouse pada umumnya hampir serupa, Perbedaan pada jenis keyboard dan mouse terletak pada :

Konektor
Pilihan jenis konektor untuk keyboard adalah USB atau PS/2, sedangkan konektor mouse terdiri dari jenis serial, PS/2 atau USB. Jenis konektor tidak banyak berpengaruh pada kemampuan keyboard mouse
Feature
Keyboard dan mouse non standard dilengkapi dengan feature berupa desain ergonomis, tombol fungsi khusus untuk menyeret layar (scrolling) atau menampikan menu shortcut.

CD drive
Piranti pemutar CD (CD drive) antara lain terdiri dari CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM dan DVD-RW.

Berikut adalah fakta sebagai pertimbangan dalam memilih CD drive

Kemampuan baca/tulis
CD-ROM dan DVD-ROM tidak memiliki kemampuan menulis ke disc seperti halnya CD-RW dan DVD-RW.
Kapasitas data
Kapasitas CD ROM berkisar 650 MB , sedang kapasitas DVD minimal 8,5 GB yakni pada jenis dual layer, single side hingga 17 GB pada dual layer, dual side.
Kecepatan Transfer Data
Ukuran kecepatan transfer data dinyatakan dengan X-rating. Kecepatan transfer 1 X setara dengan 150 Kbps maka CD drive 52 X memiliki kecepatan transfer 7500 Kbps
Konektor
CD drive memiliki beberapa jenis konektor interface yakni SCSI, IDE, Parallel dan USB.

Faktor Pertimbangan

Selain faktor kebutuhan terdapat beberapa faktor pertimbangan dalam memilih komponen hardware yakni :

Kesesuaian (compatible)
Suatu komponen dapat dikatakan sesuai atau compatible dengan komponen lain bila dapat bekerja normal jira dipasangkan dengan komponen tersebut.
Keseimbangan
Keseimbangan berarti tidak terdapat perbedaan jauh kemampuan dari suatu komponen dengan componen pendukungnya
Upgradable
Kemudahan untuk mengganti atau menambahkan komponen untuk mendapatkan peningkatan performa.