Freeplay Windup

Okay... that was rather weird... and more than a little frightening.

I have several Freeplay windup radios. I just had the oldest lose its governor. Wound it up full, in the kitchen, to listen to _All Things Considered_ while preparing supper. Let the handle go. For the first couple of turns the speed was normal, but there was an odd grinding sound. Abruptly, the grinding stopped, and the handle began to accelerate. It turned faster and faster, until it was going as fast as it could with the drag of the generator. I'm surprised there wasn't smoke from overvoltage. (I think the radio cut out, which probably means internal safeties against overvoltage.)

I swear, I hastily backed away. It was like something out of horror movie. I had visions of the spring breaking loose and flying through the air, slicing and dicing. Fortunately, that didn't happen. It will still even wind. It just unwinds too quickly.

I'll hook it to a wall wart later (it can take from 3V to 9V) and see if the radio will still play. Even without the winder it's a good radio, with nice sound and fine reception on several bands.

There's a lot of energy stored in that spring at full wind. Guess I got lucky. I've heard of the spring in these breaking (and wreaking havoc) but never the governor.

That Just Figures

Great. Skies are finally clear enough to observe Mars with my 127mmm Maksutov-Cassegrain, and I can't find my high-power eyepiece. Can see a distinct disk with the low-power, but that's all.

Appropriate Measures

From the middle of the Seventeenth Century there are numerous accounts of Alpine villages being crushed by rapidly advancing glaciers. Many times the local clergy - and occasionally visiting higher Church officials - attempted to exorcise the glaciers, so as to banish the demons pushing the ice towards the towns. There are no records of this actually succeeding.