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electronic circuit design

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ADELRESTA

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Hi there!i come from a place that usually experinces power blackouts and i was thinking of coming up with a computer system that is connected to an electronic circuit as an interface of the system and power system and i want this system to easily monitor the presence of power,short or any illegal connection.Then also i need to come up with a system that can alert the central office of a Telecomminucations firm which has underground cables that are frequently vandalised.
 
ADELRESTA said:
Hi there!i come from a place that usually experinces power blackouts and i was thinking of coming up with a computer system that is connected to an electronic circuit as an interface of the system and power system and i want this system to easily monitor the presence of power,short or any illegal connection.Then also i need to come up with a system that can alert the central office of a Telecomminucations firm which has underground cables that are frequently vandalised.
Really?
Which planet are you on?
Which century are you in?

Here, electrical power is cheap and very reliable and it has been for a very long time.
 
Power

How do you vandalize a power line without killing yourself (an underground cable, no less)? Are you sure it's vandals and not a gopher problem?
 
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this seems like a reasonable, though somewhat vague, request. there are many places on planet earth that have intermittent power. I hear the typical Iraqi has an average of around 11 hours/day. In many parts of Africa it is even worse. Even in N America, power systems can be flakey - I used to live in one part of the USA that had about 5 days a year of power outtages. I see no reason to heap abuse on the fellow for that. A monitoring and reporting system is a decent idea.

Now. Adelresta, you need to think this idea through in more detail. how would the communication company be reached (especially with the cables cut...). monitoring power is fairly simple but keeping the monitoring device running is harder. You should try to write down a list of scenarios (things that can happen). From that, you can derive system requirements. Requirements can be used to form the dsign of the system.

Phil
 
audioguru said:
Really?
Which planet are you on?
Which century are you in?

Here, electrical power is cheap and very reliable and it has been for a very long time.
i have read about some african towns where there is power once in two days(or 24hrs power cut)..yes these things(or worse) happen here on the 3rd planet from sun
 
ADELRESTA. In my computer room at my office. I have a 110volt AC relay on the main line and a pic chip watching the contacts. They open, power is off, I then via serial IO tell a laptop (it runs on batteries when power it off) to SMS my phone.

You could use the LPT1 port to watch the relay as well.
 
Yes,
i have read about some african towns where there is power once in two days(or 24hrs power cut)..yes these things(or worse) happen here on the 3rd planet from sun

Some people need to get out more... check out the rest of the planet to see how others live. There are countries where things are so different from what people in developed countries know.

Regards.
Robert
 
Gophers

I didn't mean to make light of Adelresta's question (I have no doubt something is wrong with the cables, whether it be vandals or gophers)), but I actually am really curious as to how you steal a high-voltage cable without killing yourself.
 
I suppose that some people have such a miserable life that they will steal anything.
 
Maybe he lives in a bad place, and wants to make a system he can sell to the power and phone company. But he has not been back here for days.. But to see power, no power.. That is OK. Sense someone tapping a power line. Maybe if they have a very small power system, no trees or wind in the area.
 
SORRY!

I hope I didn't offend anyone, with my previous post!! It wasn't directed anywhere, rather, I just wanted to point at the fact that in undeveloped, and developing countries, life can be very different.
In some places, for example, you can't throw tissue in the toilet, in others the bus comes when the bus comes.
When I lived in Canada, I took all we had for granted.
Perhaps the OP lives in a developing country, where life is much more difficult, etc.
best wishes,
Robert
 
mramos1 said:
But he has not been back here for days.. But to see power, no power..
....oh. the telephone lines ....gone...:rolleyes:


ok...let's think about a solution .about the power theft . i don't think the thieves would be foolish to cut the power lines w/o switching off the charged line first ..from a fuse point ,or a junction switch.hmm..would a feedback (powerline communication) system will work.?so that any unauthorised switching off would alert the nearest power company office.
 
actually, with insulated bolt cutters, insulated gloves and shoes, you could probably survive cutting a line. definitely have some eye protection.

In many countries desparation will drive people to take significant risks. think about the 300 people that got burned to a crisp in Nigeria - they were stealing gas (petrolium, benzine, ...) from a pipeline. one spark and it was all over.
 
philba said:
actually, with insulated bolt cutters, insulated gloves and shoes, you could probably survive cutting a line. definitely have some eye protection.

That depends on the voltage, you'd probabaly be alright if it's low voltage like 110V or 230V but a 100kV would easilly arc over the insulation and kill you.
 
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