September 2004 

Below are listed featured articles from the September 2004 issue, Vol. 57, no. 9 © 2004 Barks Publications, Inc. ... see also September 2004 departments and columns and Previous issues.

Save postage and handling fees: Order back issues direct from our online webstore.  Back issues are $5.00 each. To purchase copies by mail or telephone, using credit card or check, contact Barks Publications, 400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60611-4104  (312) 321-9440 tel, (312) 321-1288 fax. Non-credit card orders add postage and handling:  $1.25 for first copy, plus $.50 for each additional copy. (No postage and handling is charged for orders placed on the web.)

We welcome your comments and inquiries re: subscriptions and advertising. Please include your name and contact information.  

• Examining the new and old at electrical manufacturing show    New technology and manufacturing basics on the agenda at this month's Electrical Manufacturing Expo.   Known previously as the Electrical Manufacturing and Coil Winding Show, one of the industry’s major annual fall events is being recast this year as the Electrical Manufacturing Expo. We provide a full preview of what to expect on both the show floor and in the seminar rooms when the new-look show is held in Indianapolis, September 20-22. By Kevin Jones, EA Senior Editor

• Electrical energy is where you can find it    A western city is putting in new alternative energy systems and bringing Alternative Energy Production Back Home—Spurred by the ongoing crisis in oil production and the constant threat posed by Middle East tensions on supplies, more municipalities are looking to invest in new technologies that can help produce and/or conserve energy. We provide a first-hand look at how several county and municipal energy projects have come together to turn a small central California region into a “test bed” for new ways to cut the power bill. Our exclusive report describes how the city of San Luis Obispo (population 50,000) is putting in small-scale energy systems, ranging from hydroelectric generation to geothermal climate control, to reduce the community’s dependency on uncertain outside sources of energy and at the same time position itself for continued growth. By Barbara Wolcott, EA Special Correspondent

• No standards yet for 'small motor efficiency    Countless single phase motors are made without the certification required for three-phase machines. The Big Problem of Standardizing Small-Motor Efficiency. Requirements for testing and certifying the efficiency ratings of three-phase integral horsepower motors are well-defined and accepted within electrical manufacturing and operating circles. But for every such motor in service, there are hundred—perhaps thousands—of small, single-phase motors that are manufactured, and used, without any controls over their efficiency. Nor do the requirements apply to three-phase machines rated less than one horsepower. This important article will provide our readers with a basic guide to what they need to know about small-motor efficiency issues. By Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor  (read an online summary)  (trilingual summary appears in the magazine) By Richard L. Nailen, RE., EA Engineering Editor

• Automation security How can automation systems be protected and still remain accessible?  By David P. Tryling, EA Electronics Editor

• Importing electrical products from China  Knowledge and understanding can help importers benefit.  This article outlines how “The China Boom” affects electrical service around the world—The fastest-growing industrial economy in the Far East is the People’s Republic of China—now being referred to as the new “Workshop of the World,” because of all of the Chinese factory and shop equipment, including motors and other electrical apparatus, being produced there and shipped to other parts of the world. For electrical service managers charged with maintaining and repairing this equipment, the influx of Chinese products into North America and Europe creates many new challenges, such as interpretations of nameplate markings or the handling of warranty claims. Special attention must also be paid to product quality and counterfeit labels, which have emerged as unfortunate but real “growing pains” caused by the surge in demand for products from this part of the world. This timely article will give readers a primer for what they should know about working with equipment produced by the revived Chinese manufacturing base. By Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor

• Finding financing  Borrowing money may have become easier, but it still pays to shop around.  By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor

• Contagious respiratory infections pose threat   New vaccines mean there's no longer an excuse not to be protected.  By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor

See also September 2004's Departments, columns