Modern safety culture

[mtbc]

From an engineering point of view (not a social one!) I am attracted to the Britain of decades ago which was rather more tolerant of the unqualified amateur. One of the things that lures me back to rural America is that I would like to retain more freedom to win myself a Darwin Award. I was just reading something suggesting that Lovington, NM, still adheres to the National Electrical Code of 1956 which, if true, is maybe going a bit far given that residual current devices are a lifesaver.

Back in the 1980s I bought a cassette recorder whose manual included a full schematic circuit diagram but now I am ongoingly frustrated by the decreasing potential for user serviceablility. Perhaps I ought to be blaming liability lawyers instead of politicians. Or, dangerous idiots: while my chemistry teacher used to be able to buy potassium cyanide to kill the bees and my father used to enjoy blowing things up, these days we have a spate of disfiguring acid attacks from criminals stealing mopeds from their riders.

Our downstairs electrical outlets lost power while I was at work. It turned out that unplugging a four-way power strip and resetting the breaker solved the issue. The strip now has a scorch mark at one of its outlets and also at the charger that was plugged into the outlet. So, I fetched my multimeter and screwdrivers from the closet and sat down to investigate.

Of course, the charger turns out to have no visible means of entry and the power strip is positively marked, non rewirable socket outlet. Perhaps I must destroy both devices to investigate the fault as I do not want to find an issue with one then simply assume the other is thus okay. It is not that I should simply throw both away because for each of the two items I expect them to have exact twins in use elsewhere in the house and if one failed then I want to consider also replacing its kin or at least inspecting those also. Unfortunately it seems that the hammer or the saw may turn out to be more useful than the screwdrivers.

Update: I just remembered that I had the same issue yesterday with a (no-longer-)lit crochet hook. It still works as a hook but the light does not illuminate. The row of cells in the battery compartment seems to have good electrical connection throughout but there is no way to open the hook to investigate further, no screw nor clip to be seen.

Update: I since noticed that one of our night lights has been very dim. Unplugging it, I see a couple of screws. Pleasantly surprised, I again fetch my tools. Of course, the screws turn out to be of a peculiar kind: there is a groove as if for a flathead screwdriver except for in the center so no normal screwdriver can gain purchase.

Comments

[crazyscot]

Re 2nd update, sounds like a spanner-head screwdriver is what you need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives has a useful set of diagrams naming the blighters.

You can pick up inexpensive "tamper-proof" bit sets which cover most of them - I got one in Edinburgh many years ago, possibly from Maplin but you might even find them at B&Q.

[mtbc]

Thank you for this idea: I picked up a cheap security bit set online and it handles the night light just fine.

[damerell]

I think you are mistaken to blame liability lawyers, the largely spurious perception of "compensation culture", or politicians. Devices are not user-serviceable because the manufacturers of devices can get away with it and they sell more devices that way.

[mtbc]

I can see that for devices that assemble by means of apparently irreversible clips and the like, though now I wonder how well the environmental people lobby for user serviceability. Still, where manufacturers use odd hardware, like screws with anti-tamper heads, surely that effort costs them extra in various ways, like in their own tooling? They have to have some win from going weird.

(I'm not sure "compensation culture" is out of control but lawyers often seem to advise as if it were, as part of the overcaution that seems a more general professional habit of theirs.)

[damerell]

The win is in the user non-serviceability; users have to buy new ones, and since by and large they put up with it they don't buy another make as a result.

If I were a lawyer I'd try and give the impression falling off a log could get you sued and hence you should seek legal advice before doing so, if I thought I could get away with it.

[mtbc]

Ah, that makes sense, I am probably atypical: I largely buy random night lights except for remembering which annoyed me thus avoiding them. These I would be happy to live without anyway: they go through a flickering intermediate phase in which I think their shiny brightness turns them back off. I see the flashing against the wall and note it's that time of the evening again.