Bored - Nothing to do?

The FIRST thing i do is clean the appliances if they seem to be in useable condition. Then i test them. Only one or two of those failed

Reply to
Robert Baer
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I have never seen a microwave with a broken door. The biggest problm is a missing or broken glass turntable.

Time invested can be close to zero. Measure the resistance between the AC pins. If it is finite, chances are the magnetron is blown. Discard it.

If the resistance is open, chances are the fuse is blown. Most likely a new fuse will restore the oven. A bit of cleaning and you can make it like new.

The point is not to make money. You can't.

The point is to help abused women with children who have no resources to survive.

Welfare helps. But it is not sufficient.

You can bring some joy into hearts who have lost so much.

Think not so much of yourself. Think more of others.

Reply to
Steve Wilson

+1
Reply to
John S

I do that by writing checks; that's far more effective.

And you can't efficently send repaired microwave ovens to the poorest people on the planet, who have no electricity and not much food to cook.

--
John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics
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Reply to
John Larkin

That's fine for those who have more money than time to give. I suspect that you have never volunteered to give your time. You throw money at the project and then turn away. It salves your conscience and gives you a reason to brag.

He made no suggestion to sending them around the globe. Are you completely daft? You have no real compassion.

Reply to
John S

As mentioned, the purpose is to help abused women in shelters. You can write checks, and I'm certain they would be welcome, but not all of us have that privilege. Instead we can use our skills to benefit needy mothers who have to start life over again with nothing.

As I mentioned, welfare helps, but it a bare minimum. There are a few charities dedicated to homeless mothers, but they do not have enough resources to do much more than house the women while they are trying to find a place to live and a job to survive.

I have a few women friends who have gone through this, The stories they tell of their struggles would break your heart. I doubt many men would have the strength and courage to do the same.

If you can write checks, please find your local woman's charity and send them as much as you can.

If possible, set up a monthly donation. The charity will have a registration number you can use to deduct your donation for tax purposes.

Reply to
Steve Wilson

In which case it might be sort-of RF leaky.

The cornea is traditionally presumed to be the most sensitive part of the body to RF (exposed, small volume, no cooling blood supply), and people look through grills to see how the cooking is proceeding. That implies that, unless it is known to be RF tight, they might be an increased risk of cataracts.

Note that the door seal isn't the only thing reducing emissions; the internal shape of the door's edge is designed to trap 2.45GHz.

Hence I'd question whether it is worth the risk of recycling microwave ovens.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Not much; that would be inefficient. And the people that I prefer to help are on another continent. I'll never meet them.

No, I throw money and next year throw more money.

It salves your conscience and gives you

I donate to education and medical services in the poorest countries because it relieves peoples' misery. I have suggested to other people to do the same. Whether this is bragging, or whatever my motivations, people are relieved from pain and despair. It doesn't matter what I feel, it matters what I do.

We are very priviliged, through mostly luck. I don't feel guilty about that (it wasn't my fault) but I do think we should share. An trivial change in our life (maybe a little less in the 401K, ordering cheaper entrees, driving a small car instead of a garish custom pickup) can reduce geat pain in someone else's life.

A used microwave oven is nice but no way comparable to preventing blindness or surgically correcting something really awful.

OK, what do you do the reduce the misery of the most miserable people on the planet? Brag a little.

--
John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics
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Reply to
John Larkin

With microwaves?

You can

My company funds, among other things, around 20 obstetric surgeries in Africa and Asia every year, the poorest places in the world. I do it through the company so I don't have to deal with the bookkeeping, but it's my money. One obstetric fistula repair instantly changes a woman's life. A few dollars worth of vitamins can prevent a kid from going blind.

--
John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics
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Reply to
John Larkin

None of the above points are true of course.

funny how people respond to 'it's an inefficient way to help you could do better' with 'it's a way to help don't be selfish.'

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

With respect microwave ovens have not had door seals since the early 80s. If you think an electronic engineer who deals with microwave frequencies is incapable of doing basic oven repairs, maybe it's time to engage the brain.

Reply to
tabbypurr

Don't we have a moral imperative to help as many others as we can? Regardless of how good it makes us feel?

This is interesting:

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It's about people who dedicate 100% of their life to helping others.

"A couple adopts two children in distress. But then they think: If they can change two lives, why not four? Or ten? They adopt twenty. But how do they weigh the needs of unknown children in distress against the needs of the children they already have?"

--
John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics
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Reply to
John Larkin

an unanswerable question

Those efforts are great. But they'll never reach even 0.1% of the problem. A different approach is needed.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Particularly when they can be bought, new, for $35.

Reply to
krw

The microwave that I'm using had a warped frame from being dropped. It also bent the hinges. I straightened both of them, and I've used it for years. It was new, and donated to a large thrift store, that gave it to me. Total cost was Zero,and it took about ten minutes of my spare time to repair.

--
Never piss off an Engineer! 

They don't get mad. 
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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

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