Electrical Apparatus
The Magazine of Electrical &
Electronic Application & Maintenance

July 2008 Columns and Departments

Back issues
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• Editor's Comment In this issue - EA Senior Editor Kevin Jones outlines the efforts behind our special Canadian issue in "A thorough look at a unique relationship" ... 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 - Is no-load current an indicator of core loss? ...Do temperature detectors need extra insulation? ...Fungicide protection: how long does it last? ...What's the best way to alter base resonance? ...Why so many RTD's in a motor's winding? ... What does metric horsepower mean? ...Is 460 volt motor OK on a 440 volt system? ...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.

•  Business and financial briefs  News of expansions, relocations, annual reports, and more, about companies serving the electrical mechanical industries  In this issue - Rea Magnet Wire Inc. establishes two joint ventures in China ... Inpro/Seal Co announces record shipments in April ... A. O. Smith earns importers' security status ... U. S. Motors brand of Emerson Motor Co marks its 100th anniversary this year ... New Johnstone Supply facility opens in Las Vegas ... Capital Safety pens new fall protection training facility in Houston... Manitoba hydro plant (above left) named an IEEE Milestone ... Dräger Safety Canada Ltd. opens office in Kingston Ontario (above right)... IEEE marks voice transmission feat in Canada with a commemorative plaque.  Edited by Kevin Jones

•  Trade associations,  professional societies and government activities  News of non-profit  government, and other organizations serving the electrical mechanical industries.  In this issue  - ASTM International sponsors workshop at Canadian Copper and Brass De­velopment Association conference ... EASA welcomes Kent Henry as new tech support specialist... National Association of Electrical Distributors task force recommends distribution practices ... Power Transmission Distributors Association receives $25,000 donation by the Tomkins Corp. Foundation in support of its workforce initiative, the Industrial Careers Pathway (see www.ptda.org for more) ... Terry Townsend, president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, will be the keynote speaker at the association’s annual conference (see www.rses.org for more) ...Edited by the EA staff

Note:  the 2008 EMBR lists contact information for more than 140 associations ... Update or add your listing to the 2009 EMBR.

• Utility Briefs  News of the utility industry. In this issue -  Six of Ontario's largest utilities (the Coalition of Large Distributors) have reduced peak demand ... Wind and sun to power both US political conventions ... New York power grid could get flywheel array ... Energy awards given to eleven US utilities by the US Environmental Protection Agency ... US wind industry headed for record capacity this year.... Edited by Kevin Jones

• Letters  Comments and questions from readers of Electrical Apparatus.  In this issue - Why ground the wye point?, from Jeff Willoughby, Union Hill Electric LLC Chickasha, OK. ...Kind words, from Francis McKinley, Newark, DE ; Allen Backus, Freeport, IL; and Ken Hoekstra, White Bear Lake, MN

Electrical Apparatus invites letters, 250 words maximum. All letters, including e-mail, must include name, company, title or position, phone number, city, state or province, and country. We July edit your letter for clarity and space.— Editor

• Calendar Briefs - Upcoming trade shows, symposia, and events. In this issue - events from July 2008 through March 2009 ... Edited by the EA Staff

• Engineering Education   A glimpse into today's engineering classroom in a quarterly feature which reports on college and university courses relevant to expanding electromechanical activities, as well as pre-college programs. In this issue - Students train for Canada’s oil industry ...Other opportunities for students in Alberta ...Education programs in eastern Canada... By Josh Hoff

  Engineers in the US number more than two million, and job openings for electrical engineers are expected to increase 21%-35% by 2006.  This trend is inspiring new and diverse engineering education programs across the country, from pre-engineering to nanotechnology. Send information about engineering education programs and events to Electrical Apparatus, 400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 900, Chicago, III. 60611; (312) 321-9440; Fax (312) 321-1288; e-mail eamagazine@barks.com

• Web briefs ...  Selected websites for the electromechanical specialist, annotated with details of especially valuable content. In this issue - Carlisle Power Transmission Products, Inc.— www.cptbelts.com    ... Acoustical Solutions, Inc.— www.acousticalsolutions.com   ... IEEE EMC Society— www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc  ... Power Standards Lab— www.powerstandards.com  ... Sotcher Measurement, Inc.— www.sotcher.com  ... 3 Phase Power Resource— www.3phasepower.org  ... Mountain Data Systems LLC— www.acronymfinder.com  ... Code Check— www.codecheck.com  ... Aluminum Wiring Home Page— www.inspect-ny.com/alumi num/aluminum.htm  ... Motors and Drives LLC— www.motorsanddrives.com  ... Hilgeman Group, Inc.— www.thehilgemangroup.com  ... Incident Prevention, Inc.— http://incident-prevention.com  ... Electrical Contractor Network— www.electrical-contractor.net  ....  Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• International Trade Shows  Information and calendar for upcoming shows around the globe ..In this issue - Trade show activity taking place September - December 2008. In locations from Kazakhstan to the Philippines, Bulgaria to Taiwan, opportunities to display and examine electrical and electronics products in the global marketplace will be found throughout the closing months of 2008.  Edited by the EA Staff

• Training Briefs Announcements of workshops, seminars and instructional materials.  In this issue - Ultrasonics, from Herrmann Ultrasonics ...Relays and substations, from Megger ... Welding, from The Lincoln Electric Co. ..Plant maintenance, from All-Test Pro ...Corrosion prevention, from Corrosion College ...Motors and generators, from TECO-Westinghouse ... Servo motors, from Quality Solutions Co. ... Drives and controls, from Bosch Rexroth Corp. ... Corrosion testing, from ASTM International ... Professional certification, from The Association for Facilities Engineering ... UPS’s and batteries, from Ametek Solidstate Controls ... Motor & drive application, from Baldor Electric Co. ... High-voltage maintenance, from Dan Ninedorf, Ox Creek Energy ... Infrared thermography, from The Electrical Apparatus Service Association, and from Snell Infrared.  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.

• Standards briefs  Updates of standards and related information. In this issue - The Central African Republic enters the IEC Affiliate Country Program of The International Electrotechnical Commission ... the IEC publishes IEC/TS 61251 Ed. 2.0 en:2008, Electrical Insulating Materials—A-C Voltage Endurance Evaluation—Introduction and Technical Specification IEC/TS 62271-304 Ed. 1.0 b:2008, High-Voltage Switchgear and Controlgear—Part 304: Design Classes for Indoor Enclosed Switchgear and Controlgear for Rated Voltages above 1 kV up to and Including 52 kV to be Used in Severe Climatic Conditions ... The American Society for Testing & Materials issues Standard E2575, Test Method for Determination of Oxygen in Copper and Copper Alloys ... The American National Standards Institute adopts reaffirmed IEEE standards ... Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• EA reader at ease  ... Spotlighting the hobbies and off-work activities of Electrical Apparatus readers.
  
  In this issue - Rene Robertson, electric motor systems technologist at SMS Equipment in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, has a passion for aviation.

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 .

• Accounting for management  Business financial planning, tips, information and best accounting practices.  In this issue - Doing business in Canada - Those selling goods and services across borders have varying levels of risk to choose from ...By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor and author of the recently published book, Steps to a Successful Service Shop.

• Safety and health in the workplace How companies and their employees can guard and enhance their health and safety.  In this issue - Health and safety north of the border - Both the U.S. and Canadian systems have their benefits and drawbacks...  By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor

• Literature Announcements of guides, catalogs, brochures, product specifications and other literature.   ...  Edited by the EA staff

  Mail announcements of new products and literature to Editorial Department, Electrical Apparatus (page 2). No faxes, e-mail, electronic submissions (CD-ROM's, etc.) or follow-up calls, please. There is no charge for publication, which does not constitute endorsement, nor can we verify product claims.

• Names and Faces ... News and photos of industry people on the move and in the news. In this issue - Gerald O’Reilly (above, left) and Scott Thomas (above, center) of Lafert North America ...James S. Schroder of EMS Group ...Fred Kranz (above, right) and Luiz Simoes (below, left) of Shermco Industries ...Michael Stefanik of Miscor Group Ltd.’s 3-D Service. ...Dominic Miglionico (below, top row, center) of Staco Energy Products Co. ...Manu Parpia of Rand Worldwide’s board of directors ... Steve Blomquist (below, right) of Euro­therm USA ...Piyush Saxena (below, bottom row), Jean-Francois de Palma , Jeff Williams and Kent Walker of Ferraz Shawmut . ...Edited by the EA Staff

• Automation High-tech products of use to the industry. In this issue - Bar code basics - Service personnel find an increasing need to be familiar with this evolving technology ... By David P. Tryling

• Product briefs Photos and announcements of new products. In this issue - ADHESIVES & SEALANTS from Master Bond, Inc. and Epoxies, Etc... TOOLS from Klein Tools, CS Unitec, Inc., Capital Safety USA, Hytorc Division of Unex Corp.,and Hilti, Inc. ... DRIVES & INVERTERS from ABB Automation Products, Low Voltage Drives ...INSULATION from Elantas PDG, Inc. ...INTERCONNECTIONS from Galvan Industries, Del City, Highline Products, Zero Ground LLC, and FCI-Burndy ...MEASURING EQUIPMENT from Fluke Corp., Specialized Camera Sales Div., Ox Creek Energy Assoc., Inc., Palmer Wahl, and FLIR Systems, Inc. ...MOTORS & GEARMOTORS from Baldor Electric Co. and Bodine Electric Co. ...SAFETY products from Galvan In­dustries, Electrified Cover Safeguard, and Grace Engineered Products ... SOFTWARE from Safety Management Systems and EDSA Micro Corp. ...Edited by the EA Staff.

Mail announcements of new products and literature to Editorial Department, Electrical Apparatus (page 2). No faxes, e-mail, electronic submissions (CD-ROM's, etc.) or follow-up calls, please. There is no charge for publication, which does not constitute endorsement, nor can we verify product claims.

• 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 - Canada's leading economic indicator rises ... Mixed results for power transmission products ... North American business gauges bounce back .. US and Chinese HVAC associations in agreement ... EU grumbles about US trade barriers ... from The Editors of Electrical Apparatus.