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YC1 · 07-02-2014, 12:20 AM

Been smelling burnt components for over forty years now. Own an electronics company that repairs things that go up in smoke. Never ever remember anything smelling like chlorine. I had over 30 technicians working for me and I looked over their shoulders. Tens of thousands of repairs. Nothing smells worse than a dead mouse in a repeater or base station. Just ask the person sitting near one.

TwelveVolt · 07-02-2014, 02:12 AM

X2 on the ozone possibility. It would be produced by arcing (i.e. sparking). This is the smell you get from a laser printer or copier, particularly when you run many pages at a time.

flangley · 07-02-2014, 03:17 AM

I hated my dad for getting me into electrical work but since I have retired I have used my skill more than you can imagine. When someone says they don't have a meter I don't understand. I don't leave home without one. Always start at the source and make sure all your appliances are off before you start checking to prevent short cycling which is not good on AC units. Learning the basics can save a lot of heart aches and money because it is really easy when you learn what to touch and not to touch. When people ask me what I do I never tell them I am an electrician.

ShapeShifter · 07-02-2014, 05:35 AM

I've worked on various electronics for many years, and have smelled just about every kind of electrical smoke. While there are a variety of smells, most of them are quite unique - if you've been working around electronics, you will recognize the smell right away. But if you've not been exposed to it before, many of the smells are unusual enough that it's tough to describe them, and one tries to equate them to a known existing smell. While I wouldn't necessarily call any of them a chlorine smell (I'd call them a burned electronics smell!) I can understand why someone who isn't familiar with the various smells would call it that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flangley

When people ask me what I do I never tell them I am an electrician.

LOL! I can relate to that! I hate to tell people I do embedded software development, which has nothing to do with every day computers. But because all they hear is software, they immediately assume I can help them fix their Windows issues. Sorry, it's not that kind of programming!

nodine · 07-02-2014, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShapeShifter

LOL! I can relate to that! I hate to tell people I do embedded software development, which has nothing to do with every day computers. But because all they hear is software, they immediately assume I can help them fix their Windows issues. Sorry, it's not that kind of programming!

Adam,

We suffer from the same affliction! I have been doing embedded software since the Intel 8008. Before that I programmed Digital Equipment computers to run automated testers. I don't do Windows!

Bob

ShapeShifter · 07-03-2014, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodine

Adam, We suffer from the same affliction! I have been doing embedded software since the Intel 8008. Before that I programmed Digital Equipment computers to run automated testers. I don't do Windows! Bob

I got my start writing assembler code for the Motorola 6800. Since then I've worked a variety of different platforms and languages, including writing some Windows and Mac GUI applications, but I keep coming back to the embedded side: I'm always happiest when I'm working on some low level code to control the hardware directly.

From reading your posts, I always felt like we had more in common than just motor homes.