Electrical Apparatus
The Magazine of Electrical &
Electronic Application & Maintenance

April 2008 Columns and Departments

Back issues
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• Editor's Comment In this issue - Covering quality, then and now ... A word about this issue's cover picture ... Standards without translations ... Classified advertising belies recession talk ... by Horace B. Barks, Editor and Publisher

• Let's Solve Your Problem The longest-running and one of our most popular features, Let's Solve Your Problem answers real questions posed by people in plants and service shops around the U.S. and abroad. Selected Q&A's from this column are available in our popular Let's Solve Your Problem books.  In this issue - What hipot voltage to use for a rotor winding? ... Crimped versus solder lugs - which one is best? ... Why an arrester may not block a voltage transient ... Does higher efficiency allow more overload? ... Can insulation be added to lower voltage cable? .... Is the thermal damage curve voltage-dependent? ... Frame size change leads to vibration problem ... Voltage drop depends on actual current flow ...   Edited by the EA staff 

You are invited to send questions to this department. Your identity will be kept confidential, but we ask that you include your name, affiliation, postal (not e-mail) address, and telephone number. If you'd like a pre-publication reply, enclose a stamped envelope and we'll try to respond promptly. We cannot provide personal consultation or supply winding data.

• Trade associations,  professional societies and government activities  News of non-profit  government, and other organizations serving the electrical mechanical industries.  In this issue  - Manufacturers' Agents National Association offers seminar ... EASA officers slate (pictured, above, l to r): Kevin Miller of Apparatus Repair & Engineering, Inc.,  Chairman; David Griffin of CPM Engineering, Vice Chairman; Sandi Howlett of Ainsworth Inc., Secretary Treasurer ... Professional Electrical Apparatus Recyclers League reports growth in membership ... Power Transmission Distributors Association to meet in October ... American Society of Safety Engineers reports record number of submissions for its annual poster competition ... New training manual from RSES: The HVACR Training Authority ... New explosive mark from the International Electrotechnical Commission ...  Edited by the EA staff

  Note:  the 2008 EMBR lists contact information for more than 140 associations ... Update or add your listing to the 2008 EMBR.

• Utility Briefs  News of the utility industry. In this issue - Does daylight saving time waste energy? ... Duke Energy Corp. CEO Jim Rogers proposes research fee ... North Carolina utility excess at Progress Energy lose perks ... Florida Power & Light Corp reports that human error was cause of February's blackout ...   Edited by Kevin Jones

• Business and financial briefs  Shermco Industries opens service center in Tulsa, Okla.... Miscor Group Ltd. of South Bend, Ind. buys American Motive Power, Inc., rail repair firm... Houston-based Mustang Engineering, a subsidiary of international energy services company John Wood Group PLC partners with Australian firm Mustang Engineering PTY Ltd.... Rea Magnet Wire Co. of Fort Wayne, Ind., boosts former Phelps Dodge business ... Pacific Northwest states have significantly reduced the amount of energy they use ... All American Semiconductor of Boise, Idaho, will be powerline filter distributor for Tyco Electronics ... Littelfuse moving Mexico plant to China ... European Commission gives French distributor Rexel OK to buy parts of Hagemeyer of The Netherlands ... ABB CEO Fred Kindle leaves due to ‘irreconcilable differences
  Financial briefs-Reports for Lincoln Electric Co. and W.W. Grainger   ...Edited by Kevin Jones

• EA readers at ease  ... Spotlighting the hobbies and off-work activities of Electrical Apparatus readers.

  In this issue - Employees of Dreisilker Motors play hockey for the company team, The Motorheads.

  Do you know someone working in the electrical aftermarket with a hobby or interest that could be featured in "EA reader at ease"? Tell us who they are, what they do, and how we can contact them to find out more about their special passions. Send your suggestions to Electrical Apparatus, 400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 900, Chicago, III. 60611; (312) 321-9440; Fax (312) 321-1288; e-mail eamagazine@barks.com .

• Say It Right ... The popular column about language in the workplace. In this issue, a look at a few pairs of words we're sometimes confused by: lightening, or lightning? ... energy, or power? ... ammeter, or ampmeter? ... galding, or galling? ... a shiv, or a sheave? ... silicon steel, or silicone steel ... swedging, or swaging? ... non-corrodible, or non-corrosive? ... phasors, or vectors? ... buss bar, or bus bar? This article provides a quiz, and the correct answers...  ...  by Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor

• Electropix  Photographs of people, places, equipment and more. In this issue, above, l to r  - Teamwork wins the race: Truckin' on down the NASCAR road with Cooper-Bussmann, Inc. .... Lincoln Electric Co is the exclusive welding partner for "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" ... Dallas-based Knight Electronics Inc., partners with Metz Jade Associates ...

• Web briefs ...  Selected websites for the electromechanical specialist, annotated with details of especially valuable content.  In this issue - Cornell-Dubilier - www.cde.com ...Ideal Industries - www.idealindustries.com  ... Super Radiator Coils - www.srcoils.com  ... Cirris Systems Corp. - www.cirris.com  ... Cogen Europe - www.cogen.org ... InspectAPedia - www.inspect-ny.com/electric/electric.htm ...MicroMo Electronics - www.micromo.com ... Simetric Co. - www.simetric.co.uk/sibasis.htm ... Stray Voltage - www.stray-voltage.com ... International Electrotechnical Commission - www.wattwatt.com ... Haefely Test AG - www.haefely.com ... Hartford Steam Boiler - www.hsb.com Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• Safety and health in the workplace How companies and their employees can guard and enhance their health and safety.  In this issue - Reducing workplace falls - both prevention and protection are required...   By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor

• Accounting for management  Business financial planning, tips, information and best accounting practices.  In this issue - Motivating managers - the best incentive plan may not be the most obvious one ...By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor and author of the recently published book, Steps to a Successful Service Shop.

• Training Briefs Announcements of workshops, seminars and instructional materials.  In this issue - Motor fundamentals, by the Electrical Apparatus Service Association ... Circuit breakers, by  Professional Electrical Apparatus Recyclers League ... Plant maintenance, by All-Test Pro LLC ... Corrosion prevention, by Corrosion College ... Motors and generators, by EPRI Power Generation and TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co., Managed by Jarsco Engineering Corp. ... Servo motors, by Quality Solutions Co. .. Corrosion testing, by ASTM International ... Welding, by the Lincoln Electric Co ... Drives and controls, by Bosch Rexroth Corp. ... UPS’s and batteries, by Ametek Solidstate Controls ... High-voltage maintenance, by Dan Ninedorf, Ox Creek Energy ... Power quality, by PowerCET Corp ... Motor & drive application, by Baldor Electric Co. ... Professional certification, by the Association for Facilities Engineering ... Infrared thermography, by the Electrical Apparatus Service Association... Edited by Bill O'Leary

  Producers of workshops, seminars, and instructional materials are encouraged to mail announcements to Training Briefs Editor, Electrical Apparatus. There is no charge.

• Automation Briefs  High-tech products of use to the industry. In this issue - Uninterruptible power supplies, from Staco Energy Products ... Motors & controls, from Baldor Electric ... Load monitor meter, from Saelig Co. ... Switches and indicators, from EAO ... Photoelectric sensors, from Contrinex ... Level controller, from EGE ... By David P. Tryling

• Names and Faces ... News and photos of industry people on the move and in the news ... In this issue - Ruth Ann Anderson, Jerry Flippen and Ted Dhooge of Shermco Industries (all pictured) ... John Morehead, Todd Lucich, James Parejko, Ron Bullock of Bison Gear & Engineering ... Bruce Chantry, Nahanni Nagle, Deanna Postlethwaite, and Carl Occhialini of Lincoln Electric Co ... Mike Abbott of EFC International ... Greg Scheu, Rick Hepperla and Aaron Aleithe (pictured) of ABB, Inc.  ... Edited by Bill O'Leary

• Standards briefs  Updates of standards and related information. In this issue - Comment sought on NETA adoptions ... International Electrotechnical Commission announces standards for equipment for explosive atmospheres ... Revised White Book issued by Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers ...   Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• Calendar Briefs - Upcoming trade shows, symposia, and events. In this issue - events from April 2008 through November 2008 ... Edited by the EA Staff

• Cy's Super Service, Motorhead and Generatorhead Comic strips featuring characters from our favorite cartoonists. 

• Classified Advertising Equipment, jobs, businesses, business opportunities and services.

• Direct and Current Breaking news of interest to the industry.  In this issue - Motor shipment declines at the end of 2007 ... Power transmission product sales rose ... Heating and cooling equipment shipments steady ... OSHA seeks to protect against combustible dust ... HVACR labor union backs training and certification from The Editors of Electrical Apparatus.