These videos are bringing me back to when I used to run the tech booth and lighting for my high school. My friend and I got 22 "broken" ellipsoidals working in about a week. They were about 20 years old and had been running about as long. The connections in the backs of the lights were wonky on most of them, and the access nuts were well and stripped, so the only way to fix them was to twist the back shell and the forward heatsink (Which also contained the light socket) until the 500w halogen bulb you had to have plugged in started burning your hands and making you blind (This had to happen on the catwalks, as the backs were "Fixed" in the angle the light was positioned, then quickly placed into the mounted lens, which routinely killed the light again because of the connection being shit). essentially, the connections had disconnected, and twisting the from of the assembly got enough magical pixies through to the bulb to power it on. No fuses, no circuit boards, just mains power and the ignorance of being a teenager. We had to shim some of the bulb sockets with foil because of the play in the bulb not making a connection. I could have done that for years and never gotten bored. Best job I actually got paid for.
A Well known fault-finding technique. Fuse blows. Replace with a bigger fuse. The faulty component will reveal itself. It was a technique used often in the first electronics workshop I worked in. One of my bosses favoured techniques. This was before the building was fitted with smoke detectors :-)
Jan Verschueren If high power cable guys can't find the faulty part, they just put the current and voltage to maximum. The fault was, where the smoke comes out of the ground.
Ah, the classic smoke test. If it fails, trace the smoke and see if it's salvageable to fix. I've seen many a PC power supply die this way. Stuff was way above my paygrade and safety checks to fix. Really an R&R job.
Absolutely! If I had worked for someone like Clive 20+ years ago, I might still be working with electronics today; and yes, I would love to have a pint or four with Clive. Thank you Clive, and please keep the videos coming!
Clive, I fucking love you. Always make me laugh. 10/10 for throwing mains through it to see where the magic smoke comes from, improvising at its finest!
Hm.. i am wondering about the "thing" at the end of that fluid hose... I would guess its a heating element to prevent the fluid from freezing at below 0c when it sprays into the air stream. We builded some custom snow "hose" machines but with heated blower fans to make them operate all year long.
Beautiful view Clive. That would make that job rewarding enough. I worked in a 10 floor building here in Traversecity Mi. It is the only high building allowed in the city. In the summer,the views are breath taking. We live in a resort town ,many tourists,they drive me nuts but they bring their$$. There is a beacon at the top of the building that works off Copper rails,while the beacon actually rolls along the copper rails much like a city street car. I had many experiences working on that beacon ,heaven forbid should it stop working and the owner see it. Hell to pay. I got called one 4th of July night,it decided to stop working. I cranked open the windows and enjoyed the best view eye level of the fire works. The motor had taken a shit. Sadly,I had to traverse the 10 floors in crowded conditions to get to the basement,the service elevator also decided to take a shit the same night. I There is a resturaunt at the top 10th floor so I had to share a ride with guests,wait staff,food,dirty dishes,and still go up a ladder carrying an old three phaze motor . Lucky My mother and my brothers used to strip the windings from these type motors,so I knew how to service it. The owner gave me a $50 cash bonus that night because I got his beloved beacon going without having to send it out for service.
Hey Clive, enjoyed the vid. I just saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra here in Houston, Texas. They used snow machines a couple times during the show. Now I know what one of those units looks like ....up a bit closer. J K
Good of the manufacturer to leave a spare connector on the board :) Occurred to me that it might be worthwhile/educational doing a special or compilation about mains voltage tracking on PCBs sometime - it's not really an obscure problem (maybe not so widely known in china judging by some of your previous videos) but I couldn't find anything on youtube apart from making decorative charcoal fern shapes out of plywood.
Can I just mention that the videos that show the wood burning with a microwave transformer have already caused at least one death. If you ever try that use a traditional neon sign transformer as it is current limited. The microwave transformers will pass enough current through you instantly to cause your death.
Show us more from your job :D I love the different "vlog" approach! Btw, I'm from Poland and I consider going to study mechatronics, does your job sort of fit into this, and do you think it's a good choice? I love electronics, machines, seeing everything from the inside and I think I'm quite good at computers, well, definitely more than most people. Love your vids Clive, never stop entertaining us :D
Oh the joys of unleaded solder, you wouldn't believe how many times i've seen this on new electronic equipment especially on the mains. it gets warm over the years and eventually the joint fails and usually burns it's way through the board.
+Matt Inman G'day, It looks like Firefighting Foam, but it's being dribbled into a Fan-Forced Airstream ; and at Night, in the Lights, that will be enough to convince the TV Audience that the Queen can make it Snow at her convenience, to enhance the specularity of the Tootatty Display...(!). Because she's the Queen of Oz, I be allowed to say stuff like that ; innit marvelous, eh ? ;-p Ciao !
Has to be approved to British Standards too, for use on 240v 50Hz. UL listing and CSA testing of course is also helpful. I note the tip of the banana wasn't exposing any of the innards so it was compliant with HSE GS38
Neat fix. Gotta ask what theater or stadium this is? With all the special equipment used looks like a place where plays and such are put on. Take Care..
Love the work videos man! :D I'm a lighting/sound engineer as well, so it's nice to see what you guys play with over at the Isle :) Have to come over to the Isle one day :P
well done on fault finding , although the skid mark was a tell tail sign, get yourself a propper personell mug and not one with some masking tape on it. Still a good job.
Hi Clive, Do you ever work with RF circuits (Remote process control/monitoring & Communications gear?) BTW, Nice to see brief view over 'Auld Reekie' again :-) Has been a fair few years since I looked down on the town from the scaffolding at the castle. :-)
It's impressive as a castle, but lacking in any effort for theming the experience. No costumed cast or even any period background music. It needs a little touch of Disney.
Full RCBO (combined overcurrent and RCD/GFCI) protection on every circuit. So a failing machine will go off on its own. Because of its outdoor location we have kinda set a precedent for this level of show protection for well over a decade.
There's probably tons of footage of this years show on UA-cam already, but the BBC will be filming it soon for the usual edited version aired just before the end of the actual show.
bigclivedotcom Excellent. I really must get to the show sometime. I'm in the US and have never been to the UK, timing a trip to be able to attend seems like a good idea. Though friends also insist that I should walk the lakes district. And spend a few days on a longboat. And a dozen other things.
Again - thanks to the mysterious camera guy for nice shots and showing us the scenery !
These videos are bringing me back to when I used to run the tech booth and lighting for my high school. My friend and I got 22 "broken" ellipsoidals working in about a week. They were about 20 years old and had been running about as long. The connections in the backs of the lights were wonky on most of them, and the access nuts were well and stripped, so the only way to fix them was to twist the back shell and the forward heatsink (Which also contained the light socket) until the 500w halogen bulb you had to have plugged in started burning your hands and making you blind (This had to happen on the catwalks, as the backs were "Fixed" in the angle the light was positioned, then quickly placed into the mounted lens, which routinely killed the light again because of the connection being shit). essentially, the connections had disconnected, and twisting the from of the assembly got enough magical pixies through to the bulb to power it on. No fuses, no circuit boards, just mains power and the ignorance of being a teenager.
We had to shim some of the bulb sockets with foil because of the play in the bulb not making a connection.
I could have done that for years and never gotten bored. Best job I actually got paid for.
"I can't find where it went bang... so let's make it go bang again with the cover off!"
A Well known fault-finding technique. Fuse blows. Replace with a bigger fuse. The faulty component will reveal itself.
It was a technique used often in the first electronics workshop I worked in. One of my bosses favoured techniques. This was before the building was fitted with smoke detectors :-)
I think you meant this was WHY the building was fitted with smoke detectors xD
Jan Verschueren If high power cable guys can't find the faulty part, they just put the current and voltage to maximum. The fault was, where the smoke comes out of the ground.
Ah, the classic smoke test. If it fails, trace the smoke and see if it's salvageable to fix. I've seen many a PC power supply die this way. Stuff was way above my paygrade and safety checks to fix. Really an R&R job.
Rightyo!
1:56, along with a wrech, the banana, one of the most useful tools any builder can have
how do you use the banana with the adjustable wrench?
You don't know?
Toni Lähdekorpi
i also dont know how to use the 3 sea shells
Laughed hard at this one, thank you :D
I know...and they never say how!!
Clive to the rescue, another piece of tech saved from an early grave! Loving these work videos Clive. All the best
Tell your camera person they are doing a great job...Love the skyline shots.
jajaja it's now typical in this work videos to have the city shot at the end 😂
seriously! It's actually very cool to be seeing Clive from another angle
Love that beard.
:-)
+
+Jackson Parodi I think the same! Love to see Clive in action 3rd person style 😂
Fantastic camera work. Made sure all all angles were covered.
Wouldn't you just love to work for Clive?? Such a fun job.
Totally, it seems like a really interesting job, and i bet there is lots to learn from him. I love to learn.
Hell I'd be happy to have a beer with him.
+Ben Landvatter Some of the stories he could tell. Get him another pint of your coldest.
Absolutely! If I had worked for someone like Clive 20+ years ago, I might still be working with electronics today; and yes, I would love to have a pint or four with Clive. Thank you Clive, and please keep the videos coming!
A brilliant repair by a brilliant guy. Nice one Clive.
I love the "Fixed." at the end.
I really enjoy this kind of format for your videos!
Clive, I fucking love you. Always make me laugh. 10/10 for throwing mains through it to see where the magic smoke comes from, improvising at its finest!
I always enjoy a bench test where there's an earth shattering kaboom.
I wish we had a high voltage tester. Oh well, mains will have to do...
Its the only way to test it if you want to prove you're a man!
I think. Hmm.
Hm.. i am wondering about the "thing" at the end of that fluid hose... I would guess its a heating element to prevent the fluid from freezing at below 0c when it sprays into the air stream. We builded some custom snow "hose" machines but with heated blower fans to make them operate all year long.
Love the views of Edinburgh, lived there 2003-2004, great city!
I love these videos. I'm currently working as a low level local crew in my home city but I'd love to be a follow-spot operator.
Beautiful view Clive. That would make that job rewarding enough. I worked in a 10 floor building here in Traversecity Mi. It is the only high building allowed in the city. In the summer,the views are breath taking. We live in a resort town ,many tourists,they drive me nuts but they bring their$$. There is a beacon at the top of the building that works off Copper rails,while the beacon actually rolls along the copper rails much like a city street car. I had many experiences working on that beacon ,heaven forbid should it stop working and the owner see it. Hell to pay. I got called one 4th of July night,it decided to stop working. I cranked open the windows and enjoyed the best view eye level of the fire works. The motor had taken a shit. Sadly,I had to traverse the 10 floors in crowded conditions to get to the basement,the service elevator also decided to take a shit the same night. I There is a resturaunt at the top 10th floor so I had to share a ride with guests,wait staff,food,dirty dishes,and still go up a ladder carrying an old three phaze motor . Lucky My mother and my brothers used to strip the windings from these type motors,so I knew how to service it. The owner gave me a $50 cash bonus that night because I got his beloved beacon going without having to send it out for service.
Hey Clive, enjoyed the vid. I just saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra here in Houston, Texas. They used snow machines a couple times during the show. Now I know what one of those units looks like ....up a bit closer. J K
These ones look very different to the classic commercial machines which are quite boxy looking. I should really do another snow machine video soon.
Wow, that was really cool to see you at work like that!
loving there series of work vids
the
+The Tinkerer Their*
There you go!
*Their you go!
[evil laughter]
Love anything behind the scenes, great video
I noticed the vitally important tool on your desk - a banana!
Never take a snow machine apart without one to hand!
🍌👋
All engineers should have a banana to hand. A useful tool. :-)
+Donovan Hill And a handy source of nuclear radiation.
A banana and a poker chip.
And the fork to poke electrical sockets!
How do you know it's not a banana-shaped USB power bank?
I really love watching your videos, thanks for sharing!
Like your workday videos, it seems to be a very interesting job handling with all those different components.
Well done, a good job fixing the snow machine.
It's a big transformer because it's a regular iron core type. I've seen very similar looking ones and they were mains frequency rated.
Love that old city look. We are 150 years young so not many old buildings.
I love that slightly smug "Fixed!" at the end.
when things go bang, detective Clive is there to investigate.
Cool looking town. Visitors Bureau should be a sponsor on Patreon.
Good of the manufacturer to leave a spare connector on the board :)
Occurred to me that it might be worthwhile/educational doing a special or compilation about mains voltage tracking on PCBs sometime - it's not really an obscure problem (maybe not so widely known in china judging by some of your previous videos) but I couldn't find anything on youtube apart from making decorative charcoal fern shapes out of plywood.
Can I just mention that the videos that show the wood burning with a microwave transformer have already caused at least one death. If you ever try that use a traditional neon sign transformer as it is current limited. The microwave transformers will pass enough current through you instantly to cause your death.
all i got to say man is u have an awesome job well done to u sir
Glad to see you use the good old "B" test. Works wonders
another interesting video and more beautiful views.
Show us more from your job :D I love the different "vlog" approach! Btw, I'm from Poland and I consider going to study mechatronics, does your job sort of fit into this, and do you think it's a good choice? I love electronics, machines, seeing everything from the inside and I think I'm quite good at computers, well, definitely more than most people. Love your vids Clive, never stop entertaining us :D
1:58 I love that set of the most important tools on the right :D
Jeez - when it was being plugged in for test I was all tensed up waiting for the bang......and I wasn't disappointed lol
hooray a new Clive video!
3 videos 😊😁
That's actually a pretty cool job (no pun intended).
So I took an hour to watch the Tatoo and it was amazing. kind of sad that I will probably never cross the pond to see it live!
thanks for the late night post! made my night shift go that bit quicker!
"Dead Snow", great film.
Nice to see the hole video, and nice fix.
Nice Repair and excellent explosion
just noticed my subscription for your channel
had gone, youtube working its magic again
"Hey laser lips, your momma was a snow blower" - Johnny 5, Short Circuit
Until around 4:40 when you turned it on, I thought it was some really weird looking Snow Blower (For cleaning Sidewalks/Driveway during winter)
in Canada we use snow machines to REMOVE snow
Oh the joys of unleaded solder, you wouldn't believe how many times i've seen this on new electronic equipment especially on the mains. it gets warm over the years and eventually the joint fails and usually burns it's way through the board.
beautiful city, also obviously, you used that banana as a scaling instrument of some sort haha
A beautiful summers' day there I see ;)
Nice to see you repair something. and not just take it to bits. LOL. BUT THE BANG WAS NICE.
3:44 so great, such a fan!
so I gather that that is not a real snow making machine like what is at a skiing Resort but rather it blows out artificial snow. Is that correct?
It creates fake snow with liquid foam.
Essentially just bubbles
Rich kid bubble gun
+Matt Inman
G'day,
It looks like Firefighting Foam, but it's being dribbled into a Fan-Forced Airstream ; and at Night, in the Lights, that will be enough to convince the TV Audience that the Queen can make it Snow at her convenience, to enhance the specularity of the Tootatty Display...(!).
Because she's the Queen of Oz, I be allowed to say stuff like that ; innit marvelous, eh ?
;-p
Ciao !
"You filmin?"
*walks closer*
*EXPLOSION*
*Regrets walking closer instantly*
:P
Nice conversion of a smoke machine to a snow machine.
No wonder I will never be able to match your skills... I'm missing the banana tool on my workbench ! Cheers mate.
What a hero!
wow you have a machine that makes dead snow, cool.
Very nice footage
The most important tool of all of the tools that clive owns. The Banana.
But generally goes missing around midday.. the casing sometimes found discarded in rubbish but never the inner workings.
I recognize those hands . . . but who is that bloke they are attached to??
Banana for scale.
I love connecting it again to find the place it goes bang. it even worked!
Nice repair!
(Obviously as you've demonstrated it working!)
One should never go and try to fix stuff without a proper calibrated and UL approved banana.
Has to be approved to British Standards too, for use on 240v 50Hz. UL listing and CSA testing of course is also helpful.
I note the tip of the banana wasn't exposing any of the innards so it was compliant with HSE GS38
Bananaaaaa. These are great videos. keep em coming.
was that one of those technical bananas on the bench?
Love this channel
Ah, Auld reekie, I know it well. GJ on the the snow blower, I thought it was the flux capacitor but I am but a mere mortal :).
Neat fix. Gotta ask what theater or stadium this is? With all the special equipment used looks like a place where plays and such are put on. Take Care..
ItsAlwaysRusty Edinburgh Castle, it's for the Military Tattoo.
Clive, you sound camp. It's actually calming to listen to. You don't have any gay voice or deep grungly Scottish voice either.
you seem like such a nice dude!
this iz why I subbed ya! + the other stuff & the scying mirror AND the random electronic thingies
Nice closing to the video.
Welcome to Edinburgh BIG MAN :)
Love the work videos man! :D
I'm a lighting/sound engineer as well, so it's nice to see what you guys play with over at the Isle :)
Have to come over to the Isle one day :P
This wasn't shot on the Isle of Man, but in Edinburgh.
Then to Edinburgh it is! :D
well done on fault finding , although the skid mark was a tell tail sign, get yourself a propper personell mug and not one with some masking tape on it. Still a good job.
Hi Clive, Do you ever work with RF circuits (Remote process control/monitoring & Communications gear?) BTW, Nice to see brief view over 'Auld Reekie' again :-) Has been a fair few years since I looked down on the town from the scaffolding at the castle. :-)
I rather like these kinds of videos
Have a friend who is attending Thursday evening. Don't be surprised if you don't hear someone shout "Big Clive" on my behalf from the VIP area..
More proof of the genius that you are.
Nice job!!!
Snow in Edinburgh in August... I bet nobody batted an eyelid... pretty standard Scottish summer weather :¬)
Loving the desk-banana
Certain shows would not be on the road without such in depth knowledge and ability to troubleshoot, is that the Edinburgh tattoo ?
2:01 - With obligatory banana for size scale reference. LOL
That's not the IoM that's my home toon! :-) Well fixed, now get yourself next door to the Ensign Ewart for a congratulatory pint.
Do you strictly do lighting installations, or do you run shows as well
Good Job !
My hero.
Clive has at least two minions!
Edinburgh Castle, looks neat! wouldn't mind visiting!
It's impressive as a castle, but lacking in any effort for theming the experience. No costumed cast or even any period background music. It needs a little touch of Disney.
You let the magic smoke out.
Only to see where it came from.
Really liking these work videos, however, audio wise, theres room for improvement, a cheap lav mic would do amazing things
Ah yes the banana, the indispensable tool for all your percussive maintenance needs.
i really love these video"z
Does each device have it's own breaker? Or if it went bang again could it take out lots of other machines required for the show?
Full RCBO (combined overcurrent and RCD/GFCI) protection on every circuit. So a failing machine will go off on its own. Because of its outdoor location we have kinda set a precedent for this level of show protection for well over a decade.
Looking forward to watching the tattoo whenever/however it airs.
There's probably tons of footage of this years show on UA-cam already, but the BBC will be filming it soon for the usual edited version aired just before the end of the actual show.
bigclivedotcom Excellent. I really must get to the show sometime. I'm in the US and have never been to the UK, timing a trip to be able to attend seems like a good idea. Though friends also insist that I should walk the lakes district. And spend a few days on a longboat. And a dozen other things.
adjustible wrench? check. pen? check. screwdrivers? check. Banana? check!