/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>658964
Think about it. You have a male plug that goes into a power point, and a male plug on the other end..

There is a reason why you don't see electrical cords with two male ends. If the feed happens to become unplugged while the power end is plugged in, you get shocked or start a fire. Its common sense.

>>658969
> Its common sense.
Which OP was just been deprived an opportunity to develop.

See, I was hoping, just hoping, that OP would be able to work that out for himself if it were hinted why there might be a problem. Oh well. Keep on spoon feeding fgt.

Actually I'd like to see the outcome of connecting a running generator to power line. It would be fun

>>658971
>someone ruined my teaching moment >:(
get over it

>>658976
> Not striving to help people help themselves with every action you take.

Kill yourself.

>>658978
pretty much this. plenty of dumb cunts on this board with no critical thinking skills, and an expectation that everyone will just drop everything and babby them to the answer. at least you tried.

>>658973
Generator interlock kit

>>658973
Electricity will be fed into the generator causing the engine to run and generate gasoline instead.

>meanwhile in america

>>658995
Hey, at least they have a wide variety of ways to kill themselves off. What trigger crazy fucknuts don't finish off, redneck diy-ers will take care off.

>>658973
If they're in phase: nothing. Because they'll most likely be out of phase: something dun gonna blow up.

superior

>>658964
Typical homophibic small-town hardware store.

>>658973
You end up with dead linemen who think the power lines are turned off while they are working on them.

I just flip the main breaker to prevent the generator's electric from going to the outside power lines.

>>659123
What shitty lineman doesnt at very least back of the hand test the line first?

>>658964
Because people often use them for generators when the power goes out.

>Power go out
>Turn on generator
>Plug generator into outlet
>Home powered by generator
>Power comes on
>Generator explodes

>>659032
Hey isn't the the Hard Reset cord? It for when the blue screens just don't go away.

>>659128
Most of them, really...

>>658992
>causing the engine to run and generate gasoline instead.
Oh man, I wish so hard.

>>659153
What....
What if that's how it works and they've been keeping it from us all the time because electricity's usually cheaper than gasoline...?

>>659154
Well, unless you manage to break thermodynamics you won't break even either way.

>>659156
What if I used solar panels/wind turbine to generate gasoline...?

>>659158
Well, you'd most likely be making very small amounts. Gasoline is insanely energy-filled. But I guess it'd be enough for a VW Polo or a scooter.

>>658980
if your tim eis too important to help people then what are you here for?

>>659133

thats why you flip the main first

>>659128
Imagine someone only running the generator for 30 min or so every couple hours to help maintain the fridge/freezer.

>>659128
What's back of the hand test?

>>658973
What would happen is either the circuit breaker on the generator would trip, or the circuit breaker for that circuit in your house would trip.

>>659173
No specialist, but I'm pretty sure he means testing a naked wire with the back of your hand first, because if you grab it and it's live, the current will make your hand clench and you won't be able to let go of the wire.

>>659179
Thanks, that makes sense. Although whenever I'm doing anything electrical I always stick the brown wire into neutral or ground. Just a precaution in case my tester suddenly doesn't work.

>>659156
become meduca

>>659133
fuck this is genius

>>659032
BofH's last day adaptor updated.
Guess someone failed to read the PoE specs.

>>659175
Not convinced.

If you can use the generator to power a house, then the breaker won't trip on enough current to power a house. Being fed enough current to power a house will certainly ruin a generator's day.

The solution should be obvious, though: before plugging a generator in, isolate the breakers for the ring it's going into.

I have never seen a generator get 'powered'. I imagine a breaker would prevent damage.

Failing that the coils could overheat and short out. While that happens the generator could turn into a motor and damage the bearings with forces beyond the specification. If that turns the engine's cam shaft then the cylinders will cycle out of control which will cause misfires, lubrication problems, and eventually seized pistons.

Or sparks ignite the fuel tank and we get a fireball.

Has anybody ever seen this happen?

>>659247
Mind that if you use a suicide cable, it's going through a 10-20 A breaker to the outlet.

Just flip all the breakers manually before turning on the generator. Breakers don't need to be "tripped" by an overload. People should be aware that they could do that. It seems that a lot of people here have no idea.

>>659128
1: the person with the genny can turn it on at any time, even after you perform your shitty "test"

2: the line that they are working on isn't 110v-125v. they can be 15kv and 200amp easily for street lines or 100kv and 1kamp. You don't test that shit with your body.

A linemen that performs that sort of test won't last long if the test is positive. Then again, you can get lucky. The guy inside this plasma fireball lived. Though in what condition he "lived" and is still living is unknown. I bet he didn't like the debridement hydrotank at the burn clinic. That line has 16.6kv running through it.

>>659128
>lineman
>back of the hand test
Protip: A lineman NEVER uses that test when working with HV. When they receive word that the power is off, they'll check with a clamp meter and get to work. If some dummy out there with a generator fails to isolate their house from the grid and fires up their generator, then the lineman would be electrocuted. Also, the generator would become horribly overloaded almost instantly.

>>659249
I've seen a generator get a huge, sudden load do to bad wiring, and for whatever reason the main circuit breaker didn't trip right away. It was already running with a light load, maybe 20%, then the "electrician" signaled that he was done and wanted me to energize the circuit...

It wasn't quite a direct short, but it was enough to make the load jump to about 140%, which bogged down the engine very fast as I opened the the circuit. Scared the hell out of all of us, made some cable nice and hot, but there wasn't any arcing or fire, or lasting damage to the generator. It was only for about 1 or 2 seconds, though.

If you were to "power" a generator and you were out of phase, it'd behave like a brake. In phase, and it'd try to push the motor faster. Neither of those scenarios are likely - you'd probably be partially in phase, and get rapid pushing/braking cycles.

Of course, all of the above would cause a rapid change in RPM, which determines the frequency, so you'd get some combination of the above effects + heating + other bad/entertaining stuff.

Someone should try that with a variac, but with some circuitry to detect and match the phase.

>>659284
birds are doing fine why can't the line man?

>>659285
Birds aren't grounded.

>>659285
Just goolge, "death high voltage" and watch some of the videos that popup.

Most of the reason is because the bird is rather small. So the gap between the live electrical line and the nearest ground is very far. With a human, that gap is far smaller or even touching. With high voltage it can act like an arc welder, where you don't have to touch it to maintain a massive arc of electricty.

Large birds that have wings that can span two wires often die when they land on some HV wires. Under the transformers on my own property I've found a few normal size dead birds.

>>659284

most newer gasoline generators are direct output. they're inverter-generators, which means the engine turns a generator that likely outputs 12-24V DC, which goes through an inverter which then steps it up to 120/240... pushing power through the inverter when the line goes live again is definitely NOT a good idea because of the delicate transistors and MOSFETS gates uses to step up the DC current.

>>659128
I work at a supply reticulation company.
No lines man should ever touch a conductor to see if its live.
We have test instruments for that.
And no lines man should ever work on an isolated conductor with out first connecting a visible earth conductor.

>>659200

>Inmoral

>>659337
Tfw cable tech. They give us hazardous voltage detectors. It always goes off. It is always induced voltage. The meter never bleeds it off correctly. I will never know why I died.

>>658964
>>659200

Makes me want to make my own just to fight the power.

>>659389
some men just want to watch the world burn

>>658992

>>659179
Ive touched mains with the palm of my hand a few times and i jumped off. Pretty sure it's DC that locks you in.

>>659450
Either will do it.
You were lucky enough to touch the mains with only one hand and no part of your body connected to ground. Electricity flowing through the body is what locks muscles. If you are ever in a situation where you absolutely must work around dangerous live wires you should do it with one hand behind your back and not standing in a puddle.

>>659318

If it has an inverter it probably has protection on the output so that it can only source current, and not sink current.

>>659466

Or just use a clamp or volt meter...

That's an RV type suicide cord. Old radio / TV techs used that term for a power cord with clip leads used as a universal cord replacement in the repair shop. The term was a constant reminder of the dangers involved. Many things can be deadly when people forget about the danger.

A plug on both ends would be safer if it was very short, had a power indicator lamp or two, a power switch and was used with a regular extension cord. Normally you avoid using exposed conductors carrying power.

>>658992

>>659032
Heh, that's the etherkiller adapter.

Points for actually finding this, lol.

But I need to charge my phone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DhJZAhjbcI

>>659123
Do you know if they make switches so when you open them, it uncovers a power input plug (like on a computer power source)?

That way, you can only connect your generator when the power's off.

I think that should be a standard feature on an electrical service.

>>659032
>>659864
If tomorrow will be a slow day at work (and I believe it will, since it the middle of summer) I will make one of these.
230V male on one end, RJ45 on the other. Phase goes in colors, neutral goes in color-white tracers.
It will be left in the server room in hopes that if they fire us, our inevitably low-qualified replacements will torch the place down for us.

>>659367
>being dyslexic
>trying to be a grammar nazi

>>660171
There is one better, a breaker box that has a spot to permanently install a backup power system, and the main breaker is a 3 position switch - all of the way up for mains, middle for off, and all of the way down for generator.

There was a fellow that went a step farther and had this simple generator control panel. There was a key-type ignition switch that started the generator, and when the green light came on for backup power, you would move the main breaker from all of the way up to all of the way down. His also had a light that indicated whether or not mains was available.

I like that, because in a natural disaster scenario, even if someone isn't familiar with these things (i.e. family members, neighbors, etc), you could leave written instructions and be confident that they can get the backup power on safely.

>>660165
>Not hardwiring your phone into HTE FUCKING GRID

it's pretty difficult

>>658992
Well duh. Where do you think we get gasoline from?

We call the professional versions "refineries". They require electricity.

>>658973
At one point I saw a video which I cannot find now of a generator in a power plant that was run out of phase. The magic smoke escaped and it died.

>>658964
Is this the same fucking reason they don't make a male USB to male USB? Because I've got a fuck ton of porn I'd like to get off my laptop onto my desktop.

>>660578
What you want is called a Bridged USB cable. Connecting a computer to another computer is networking, even if you aren't using a router or switch.The bridged cables have a chip in the middle to make that happen. A straight cable will not accomplish what you're looking for.

>>660578

I actually had a digital camera in ~2002 that connected using a male-male USB cord. Lost that one and never could find a replacement.

>>660612
Alright, thanks.

>>659128
the distribution hub would protect against any shithead feeding power back into the HV distribution lines.

A local linesman is fairly safe on around 300v anyway because they're using gloves and instruments insulated to at least 1000V and working on an insulated platform.

Lets see..

what you have there is a tethered cattle prod running at mains voltage..

Whoever asks for that deserves a darwin award

Its blatant homophobia.

I demand male-male be allowed!

-FuckwitFeminist3784

>>658964
I wonder if faming nema 5-15 coupled with IEC 320 provide safer way to interconnect. Obviously there is a need for this shit, since people are doing it anyway.

>>658992

>>660205
>Construct Etherkiller
>Tie tag to cable that reads "Internet Reset Cable"
>Leave in server room in hopes of an idiot.

You're quite a pestilent anon, aren't you?

>>658964
because when plugged in the two prongs are live and will kill you or start a fire. this should be obvious.

>>660578
all normal USB cords are male to male, they're just not usually male USB-A to male USB-A.

>>660612
>>660578
What it will accomplish is to make one of your devices go bang, as it shorts two regulated 5v supplies together.

This is why they don't make A-A cables, and you shouldn't make an A-A cable.

>>661287
Technically, all USB connectors are transgender, as they have both a pin and a receptacle.

>>661291
>Technically, all USB connectors are transgender, as they have both a pin and a receptacle.

>technically
>transgender
No.
What the fuck is a transgender connector? USB connectors are not *transgender* because they have "both a pin and a receptacle."

Genderless or hermaphrodite is a better term, but USB connectors aren't either because those terms are used for connectors which don't have a distinct plug-socket pair, but instead mate using identical parts.

10/10 yanked my chain

>>661291
>connect 5v to 5v and 0v to 0v
what will go bang about it?

> what will go bang about it?

connect 5.15V to 4.92V and you have 0.21V across zero ohms.

>>661343
- USB standard is 5V +/- .25V
- also, ground loop current which matters if a host supply isn't isolated/floating
Go ahead and try it, measure the current through each + and - rail between the two devices. I too am curious as to what would happen.

>>659041
> no one saw the value in this post
Makes me sad. I LELd, anon.

>>660205
>230V
>neutral

stop it

>>659284
>If some dummy out there with a generator fails to isolate their house from the grid and fires up their generator, then the lineman would be electrocuted. Also, the generator would become horribly overloaded almost instantly.

Wait, what? Feeding 120V back through the step down transformer will step the voltage back up?

>>661476
>Feeding 120V back through the step down transformer will step the voltage back up?
get two 120v transformers that have similar secondaries.
(120 - ~16v doorbell)
wire the two secondaries together
apply 120vac to ONE primary
measure voltage on other primary
(use care to not touch the wires)

>>661483
I'm not in possession of any transformers at the moment, but what will the voltage more or less be?

>>661483
>what will the voltage more or less be?
more or less 120vac
transformer work both directions

>>661467
>hurr durr only 120v phase exists
get out and see the world anon

>>660578
>male USB to male USB

That will only work for the gay porn.

>>660412
I work in a refinery, and can verify this. the unit with the most generators is next to the "hamster wheel" unit(we actually use coyotes). we had to switch the wheels after the city found out we were stealing power

>>661298
So USB connectors are *intersexed* because they have both pins and receptacles. Score one for social justice.

But anyway, it absolutely does go on what plugs into what, as is evidenced by SATA, wherein the thing any normal person would call a plug is in fact a receptacle, because it goes over-instead-of-in the thing you plug it into. The things on SATA drives and motherboards are legally male, because they're just a row of pins with nothing surrounding them.

>>661656
I know 120V isn't the only voltage that exists, retard. However, I was unaware that feeding a step down transformer backwards produced the higher voltage.

>>660612
A cheaper alternative would be a crossover ethernet cable, pretty much same speed as a USB3 crossover and much faster that the ol' 2.0. At about 1/10 of the price mind you.

>>659133
You forgot Lineman gets electrocuted and homeowner goes to jail.

>>661814
>Not Flipping your mains breaker off

>>660630
No, it wouldn't
You can easily back feed hv from a house hold generator, provided there isn't a fault somewhere.

Which is why you're supposed to feed through an isolation means (either individual circuit or whole panel) because mental retards don't turn their main off.

I do trust myself to turn my main off but I still use a transfer switch because I don't trust any of my neighbors to turn theirs off. It has protected me from liability and charges becuase someone in the neighborhood backfeeding their panel did zap a lineman working on a pole.

>>661804
On what planet is Ethernet faster than USB?

USB3's theoretical bandwidth is 5Gb/s, Gigabit Ethernet's is, well, 1Gb/s.

1Gb/s is quite a lot slower than 5GB/s; any USB bridge would have to be catastrophically badly-designed to squander eighty percent of its bandwidth.

>>662480
>Theoretical

Also, USB is processor limited and almost never reaches "theoretical" while Ethernet is much more stable and run by its own chipset; the limiting factor in Gb/s networking are the two hard drives.

Limiting factor is USB2/USB3 is the protocol itself. Too much overhead. I'd agree with you if you brought up Firewire instead.

>>658973
I use it exactly like that.
Turn off my main breaker, connect it, use it.
>no problems at all, no dead people, no nothing

>>663450
what is ground? what is power distribution?

>>659041
underrated post

>>660578
I have a male A to male A USB cord.
Does jack shit.

>>659156
Shellfish break thermodynamics every time they molt

>>660578
Actually, if you have a lot of stuff to transfer, maybe invest in a hard drive enclosure for the laptop drive (eSATA, even). Or just remove the drive and attach it inside the desktop with a SATA cable. Laptop HDDs are cake to remove, and It'd transfer way faster.

>>661291
Nah, they're all guys, the receptacle is the boypussy.

>>658964
If you need help with making something like that you are a retard and probably do not know what a screwdriver is

>>659200
>Illegal, Immoral


Hahahahhahah wtf? Is this America???


What a bunch of retards


They almost need to make warnings on their coffee too, that it might be too hot


Or on windows: Danger! Do not jump out!


Hahahhaha

>>658992

>>664285

>They almost need to make warnings on their coffee too, that it might be too hot

..you know.. you should really look up the particulars of that case... everyones heard of it... but the actual facts of it were pretty crazy...

>working in maintenance dept. of premanufactured house factory
>worker brings me broken extension cord
>happens 10 times a day
>dumbshits run over/cut/smash electrical cords and air lines all fucking day
>cord has two male ends
>me "where did you get this?"
>foreign dumbshit laborer "just fix it"
>nope.jpg
>me "i'll make you a new cord. this is dangerous."
>dumbshit "boss said to so you fix"
>his supervisor comes over
>"listen, just fix it for now so we can finish this house please"
>he's not being a dick but i keep it real y'all
>tell him i'd be responsible if anything happened and refuse
>plant owner happens to come along and hears us
>"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! FIX THE FUCKING THING! WE'RE BEHIND SCHEDULE!!!"
>gee, who's fault is that
>costanza.jpg
>make cord
>make like pontius pilate
10 minutes later...
>half the power in the plant goes out
>hear everyone going "wtf?"
>gee, i wonder
>find the perpetrator
>find cord i made
>find cord with two female ends
>water everywhere
>wet joint compound everwhere
>retards wondering why their power tools are no longer working
>the magic is gone
>still don't know how they got those cords in the first place
>texture dept. manager says they pop breakers all day
>3 hour shutdown
>replace some breakers and fuses
>replace cord
>cut old cord to a million pieces lest these assholes find it and try it again
>comeback to maintenance dept. to cool off and play some doom on the PC
>plant manger comes in
>"you're fired"
>wat
>sigh
>find plant owner and tell him to go fuck himself

The whole fiasco could have been avoided if I was allowed to take 3 minutes and make a new extension cord properly. I actually blame myself for not sticking to my guns.

The place went out of business the next year.

>>658992

I have enjoyed this thread.

As far as I know the only true use for a suicide cord is for backfeeding your house with a generator. It is dangerous if you do not know the basics, however if you take all necessary precautions it is a quick way to get things running in an emergency situation if you do not have a transfer box.

Feed through a 240 if you can. Turn off all other 240s and don't use 240 appliances.
Turn off the mains so you don't backfeed the grid.
If you use a 110 follow the same precautions and be extra careful not to draw too much current through that circuit.
Take extra steps to make sure children, pets, morons, etc do not flip on the mains while generator is running or disconnect the suicide cord while it is live.

With all these steps it is a viable option for some tough situations, although it is certainly not the safest or best way to go about these things.

>>658964
probably for the same reason you don't want to set a wrench across 2 terminals on a car battery.

>>658992
I don't know why but this one killed me

>>661802
My bandsaw in my workshop runs off of 230 volts, and the connector is the same as the 220 volt connector. It will have 3 prongs instead of 2.

>>664627
I encounter most suicide cords on new construction jobs, they will complete one house and have the service installed, get the temporary service removed and then proceed to back feed the house next to it.
Works great for them, but if I don't catch it when I install the new service there can be a small explosion in my face.

it's a usb line... i'll tell you later.

>>662480
ether goes at 10Gb/s these days, keep up.