EEVblog #69 - Sex Toys, Telescopes, Cable TV, UHF Modulation, Renewable Energy, & Silly Shower Taps

Dave goes on holidays to Hawaii and rants a little bit about a variety of things, yet ultimately manages to tie Sex Toys, big Telescopes, Cable TV, NTSC, UHF Modulation, Renewable Power Generation, and bad product design together in the one blog.

[michelfeinstein]

I know this is a very old video, but I have to defend the one taps out there in the world! Where I live most houses have 2 taps, just like in Australia BUT I insisted on installing a 1 tap in my house... Why? Because they are MUCH simpler! You always know the angle at which you like your temperature for a shower, then it's just a matter of lifting the tap and there's your perfect and fast shower! Whereas on the 2 tap you have to be remembering how many turns on each tap, counting, adjusting, and if you want less pressure than you are used too, good luck adjusting that.... 1 tap is just: select your angle then lift!

[RodNaugler]

I know this is an old video, but, I'm working my way through them in order.
The comment about the large black cables that Dave calls cable lines appear to be older style telephone cables. They are so large because they are 50 or 100 pair cables with each pair being an actual analog telephone line. The large cans on the cables are there to hold the 'beans' where they crimp on the house service and where they splice all the pairs from one cable into a new cable. Splices were done with crimp on 'beans' which are single ended rather than inline so they splay out perpendicular from the cable and necessitate the large cans. Those cans are also hinged so that the worker can open one side or both and work on the splices within.

[Apokalypzx]

Wow, I just noticed the date of the video and realized had my honeymoon there in Hawaii only one month after this video was uploaded. Brought back memories, such a beautiful place.

[slomotrainwreck]

Dave, as some of the people here have stated, those type of shower fixtures are mostly used in hotels, motels and newly constructed homes. Those fixtures can be set for the desired temp of the shower water, I'll assume that most hotel/motels set the temp at the low end of the comfort range to save energy. Those fixtures also have a built in anti-scald element to protect the elderly & very young as we are a very lawsuit happy society.

[antiekeradio]

quite an old video this one but i'd still like to explain a bit about the complicated shower taps in hotel rooms etc. The spring-loaded knob that you have to pull out to get water at the spray head returns to its original position when you close the tap. This ensures that the warm water that is still in the hose between the tap and the spray head can flow out. This is a very effective method to reduce the risk of legionella bacteria growth in the hoses.

[antikommunistischaktion]

Of course episode 69 would include sex toys XD

[power-max]

As with the taps, I actually find it simpler and faster to have one knob control temperature. since I generally don't care about pressure. to be, more = better. Although some hotels have horribly regulated outputs on them, and the temperature can fluctuate hugely from freezing to boiling in a matter of seconds!

[jippenfaddoul]

As a yank, I'll fill you in on the shower issue. Those types of showerheads are mostly seen in hotels. In most homes, we have a setup with a hot and cold tap, and either a third tap or a levre used to pick between filling the tub, or running the shower. However, almost all hotels have this extremely confusing setup, and it baffles us too.

[aquatrax]

One of the reasons for the shower diverter designs with regard to one control for hot and cold water and the lack of pressure control is because, there is a valve that maintains the same pressure for the hot and cold water. If the cold water pressure were to drop because someone flushed a toilet, the valve would automatically lower the hot water pressure. This system is great because it maintains the same water temperature as the pressure changes.

[ceriand]

I'd agree that the all-in-one taps that don't allow you to change the pressure are crap. However, I prefer the kind where they work on two axises so that you can control the temperature separate from the pressure, unlike the two knob solution where if you change the temperature you have to fiddle with the other knob.
The way most of the combo spigots usually work is you just turn it on to get some pressure and then switch it to shower mode by pulling the knob on the spigot or overflow drain.

[Tutoelectro]

Those single valve things are not only found in the US here in Europe at least in Spain and Italy the sometimes have them too and yeah they are awful!

[RodNaugler]

There is something else about the single-tap shower that I haven't seen anyone mention either. Its actually a good product design, contrary to Dave's statement. The single tap means that the tap 'knows' the temperature that you have it set to so when the water pressure changes, like when someone flushes the toilet, the temperature doesn't change so you don't get scalded. It's a safety feature! When the pressure drops in one line, the pressure in the other line is lowered as well, to maintain the same temperature. It isn't easily done with a two-tap system.

[LaraSchilling]

@EEVblog What I don't love, channel 5A is supposed to be a video channel (so I've heard), I attempted plugging in a settop box to see what happens. Just static :(

[stonent]

Just wanted to point out that in homes, it is far more typical that I've seen to have two knobs. It's just in apartments and hotels they seem to favor the single knob taps. Probably fewer parts.

[tjaeoij]

Hotels often have stupid valves as you noticed. Most people in their homes in the US have normal 2 valve systems with a hot and cold. I don' t know why anyone uses the one knob design either.

[vigsgb]

The big thick lines are phone lines and communication lines not cable TV. The aluminum looking lines are cable TV.

[Colaholiker]

The tap issue is something that irritates me in the United States as well.

Here in Germany if we have shower and bathtub combined, which is a quite common setup, we have a single tap for both, also with usually a knob that you pull to activate the shower. However, you can set your temperature first with the water going straight into the tub and then simply "switch over" to the shower. For regulating temperature and water flow there's three different kinds commonly used. The oldest that has separate valves for hot and cold, just like Dave described, the typical design where you have a single lever where pulling up on it increases the flow, while pushing down on it reduces the flow down to 0, and swiveling it left and right adjusts the temperature. You still have full control as with the two-knob setup, but you can control both parameters individually, like shutting off the shower while keeping the temperature setting. And there is the more luxurious version where you have a real thermostat in there that you set and another knob to adjust the flow. In my previous apartment I used to have one like this as the water pressure fluctuated a lot when people in the apartmens below me used either hot or cold water, leading to my shower constantly changing from too cold to too hot. They are pretty neat, but more expensive.

In the US I have seen taps that look like the most common one in Germany, but the handle only rotates from off to cold to warm to hot. Flow rate can only be set to full or none. Pretty irritating that is. Just as the fixed shower heads that are often mounted so low that I have to twist and turn to get my hair wet and washed. lol
In some showers I have seen something that looks more like a big spherical knob that moves in two directions, usually in/out for flow adjustment and left/right for temperature setting. Admittedly that's quite rare in hotels there and more common in private households. Don't ask me why...

But the weirdest water setup is clearly the British "two faucet" system. I never found out how to properly get my hands washed there when they are either boiled or frozen, depending on which faucet I used. (I know there are historical reasons for this setup, where the cold water was always of drinkable quality, but due to the way the hot water was generated it wasn't necessarily safe to drink and therefore they had to be separated - but come on, it's the 21st century, We have solutions for this...)

[trevdeac]

regarding the taps, whenever i go on vacation, the hotels always seem to have the single dial taps you spoke of. At home (in the US), i have the normal Hot and Cold taps. I think it is just a hotel thing. But i agree with you Dave, i'm not a fan of the single dial ones.

[orrpatrick]

Dude, I can't get over how much you sound like Murray from Flight of the Concordes.
Great Blog BTW.

[NJTomS]

And on the subject of TV modulators, if it's an NTSC modulator, it almost certainly outputs on Channel 3 VHF (61.25 Mhz); UHF modulators are quite rare in the U.S.

What is not rare are confusing shower controls in hotels. A lever or pull-up knob on the spigot is standard in homes, but in hotels sometimes you have to pull down on a ring around the spigot to switch to the shower. It's VERY well-hidden. Also annoying are the fiddly massage heads... I just want to take a shower!