y Dave (Chmln) is MIA

[phoenix_rising]

That explains a lot. I have been looking to get into communication with him about the Firebird Club. Dave we need to talk. I will call this weekend. I have been very busy with the job search lately but I want to get started on some things for this summer for the club.

[WMCC Gary]

Welcome Back DAVE!!!!!!

[TSTONE]

welcome back from the dead - what happene to the computer?

[SoulTerror]

Any updates on your bird?

[CHMLEON]

Welcome back, Dave! And here we thought you got sick of us.

No, I would never get sick of this bunch. I did get fed up with my leaking t-tops and placed the bird in storage early last year, but the creative juices are flowing again and I will be looking for same parts in the near future.

That explains a lot. I have been looking to get into communication with him about the Firebird Club. Dave we need to talk. I will call this weekend. I have been very busy with the job search lately but I want to get started on some things for this summer for the club.

Sounds good, being that I don't have a computer right now I will not be able to serve in the capasity that I did previously. I do still have all me membership forms, newsletter, and website templates for anyone that is able to use them.

I am currently saving up to build a new Intel i7 based computer system, that is why I will computerless till about mid-summer. With the new computer I am hoping to test out some new web 2.0 stuff out.

I still have the same phone number, but if you need it I will PM it to you.

[CHMLEON]

welcome back from the dead - what happene to the computer?

The motherboard went bad (exploding capasitors) and it damages the CPU too. It was an old Dell gx270 Intel 2.8Ghz small form factor PC and it would cost to much for me to repair it so I junked it and stated saving a little each week for the new computer.

[meissen]

Ah, the damn exploding capacitor espionage story continues. Formula was stolen from one company to be used by another capacitor company but the guy making the formula was keen to what was going on and the formula that was stolen had a few ingredients missing which would prevent the exploding.

Here's a story I found, though they don't mention about the guy knowing his formula was being stolen:

A scientist steals a secret formula for an electrical product from his Japanese employer and takes it to China. Then it is stolen again and turns up in Taiwan. But something goes wrong - and thousands, perhaps millions, of computers and electrical goods in the West begin to burn out or explode.

A scientist steals a secret formula for an electrical product from his Japanese employer and takes it to China. Then it is stolen again and turns up in Taiwan. But something goes wrong - and thousands, perhaps millions, of computers and electrical goods in the West begin to burn out or explode.

It sounds like the plot of a thriller, but it's reality. Thousands of computers have failed and nobody is sure how many more products might go wrong because their capacitors - essential components to control the power supply - were made with faulty materials.

"It could be all the way through to TV sets, hi-fis and even lighting power supplies," said Dennis Zogbi, president of Paumanok Publications, an expert on the market for "passive components". These are mundane electrical items such as resistors and capacitors that sell by the millions and whose reliability is essential. "People want Western quality at Chinese prices," he said. "Well, you can't have both."

The story began in 2001, when a scientist whose name is still unknown left the Rubycon Corporation in Japan and began working for the Luminous Town Electric company in China. Both companies made electrolytic capacitors. In China, the scientist developed a copy of Rubycon's electrolyte, the filling of which allows the capacitor to store and release electrical energy.

Later that year, the scientist's staff defected to Taiwan, taking with them a copy of the electrolyte formula so they could set up their own company. Taiwan supplies 30 per cent of the world's electrolytic capacitors and most of the big PC manufacturers get their machines assembled in Taiwan. But the defectors mis-copied the formula. After a few hours of operation, the electrolyte would leak hydrogen gas, before bursting the metal body of the capacitor. The electrolyte would then leak its brownish filling and could cause a fire.

"The only company that publicly confirmed it to us is IBM," Mr Zogbi said. Dell Computer, the world's biggest computer seller, has privately confirmed that the problem exists. Mr Zogbi said that even when the alarm had been raised, some companies in Taiwan were unwilling to listen.

Two questions remain: how many of the faulty capacitors are still in use, waiting to fail? And which company supplied the flawed formula? Mr Zogbi said most of the faulty parts had been tracked down. "But some of the large computer manufacturers just won't admit the problem," he said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...ut-539299.html

[92conv]

Welcome back Davey Boy, we missed you!! Hope to see the T-top conversion the spring.

[Phantom409]

Welcome back DAVE!!!

[MP81]

Yeah, Brian - I remember that one...