Power Cable Warning Labels and Confusion

[agedhorse]

And the biggest problem with common sense, other than its rarity, is that those lacking it don't know they do...

If you saw what I see, you might not sleep as well at night. I have seen some of the dumbest things ever, way beyond what any reasonable person would consider ok. The internet has allowed fools to become more and more efficient in their ability to outsmart themselves. It's actually scary as hell.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Somewhere out there, there is a person who needs all the warning labels. I just hope they are able to read them. I can't recall, but I had either a toaster or hair dryer that had a warning not to use in water do to possible electrocution. Who new?

 

[StatesideRambler]

How long before the labeling requirements exceed the real estate of the product?

In the early ‘70s I was in the Navy and encountered a MilSpec (military procurement specification) for an oil can ... not the high class pump-type but the pedestrian click bottom type with no moving parts. It was 44 printed pages with references to several other, likely weightier, specs. In the ensuing almost 50 years we’ve added computers and lawyers to the mix and I shudder to think what the spec for that thing looks like today. I bought a desk lamp last winter that came with four labels on the cord.

 

[JakobT]

And this manual would be a good thing. Would have saved me a few stitches.

What might be a lot more fun is the "Manual of what NOT to do"

For example, - When someone suggests to you -

"Hold this dynamite", Or,

"Get in this shopping cart", Or,

Isn’t this happening already?
«Warning: Contents get hot when heated.»
«Warning: Do not iron clothes while wearing.»

 

[Balog]

In the early ‘70s I was in the Navy and encountered a MilSpec (military procurement specification) for an oil can ... not the high class pump-type but the pedestrian click bottom type with no moving parts. It was 44 printed pages with references to several other, likely weightier, specs. In the ensuing almost 50 years we’ve added computers and lawyers to the mix and I shudder to think what the spec for that thing looks like today. I bought a desk lamp last winter that came with four labels on the cord.

In fairness I think a lot of milspec stuff is just as much a matter of fraud prevention (or fraud enabling as the case may be) than idiot proofing. Now, the TMs those are all about idiot proofing...

 

[Koshchei]

If you saw what I see, you might not sleep as well at night. I have seen some of the dumbest things ever, way beyond what any reasonable person would consider ok. The internet has allowed fools to become more and more efficient in their ability to outsmart themselves. It's actually scary as hell.

But but but the GPS told me to drive off the bridge.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

All them words are just the packaging.
These people ain't going to read them tags.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

For companies that ship large amounts of products internationally and domestically, in order to be sure that something unique to a region is not accidentally left off (which could cause the entire shipment to be rejected), you may begin to see these labels and tags show up on all products manufactured, even if they don't strictly apply to a particular piece.

Sounds like the California cancer warning

 

[Killing Floor]

But but but the GPS told me to drive off the bridge.

Ha! I was just thinking the same thing. How many times have you seen your "car" avatar in a lake on your nav. system?
I've never successfully burned my house down with a guitar amp but I have "let the blue smoke out" of a few things.

Speaking of...What is that blue smoke made of? Why do I 'secretly" really like that smell? It reminds me of my dad's electric train set. And why do some caps look like little beer cans? Does the "smoke pressure" make the P tone more "bitey"?

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I'm for anything that improves safety. As long as the guys designing their stuff do so in a way that ensures I can't kill myself because I didn't read the instructions, then I'm happy.

My brother used to work for a company that no longer exists.

They (he wasn't part of the project) designed and sold a hospital medical monitor that used a connector on the sensor lead bundle that would fit into and make contact with a 120V AC outlet.

Guess why they no longer exist?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I'll admit, I've never read one of the labels attached to a cable. I think a dot matrix url printed on the cable would be easier to add to the cable and would stick with the cable forever instead of being thrown out. The larger the label, the more likely that it won't be read and the more likely that it will be cut off and thrown out.

 

[agedhorse]

Sounds like the California cancer warning

Oh, that's on the box

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Speaking of...What is that blue smoke made of? Why do I 'secretly" really like that smell?

Magic.
Everyone likes magic.

 

[instrumentlevel]

Isn’t this happening already?
«Warning: Contents get hot when heated.»
«Warning: Do not iron clothes while wearing.»

Or my favorite recent development in the TV drug ad world: “do not take HappyPill if you are allergic to HappyPill”! Seriously?!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

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What country/region is this? I like the switches on the outlets to help eliminate power vampires - the adapters that still draw current when the device is off.

 

[Logic_11]

All them words are just the packaging.
These people ain't going to read them tags.


View attachment 3885654

View attachment 3885655

View attachment 3885656

Haha! For that first picture, I believe the power strip has to be inside the water

 

[JoeWPgh]

This reminds me of the sun visor on my Miata, which told you to mount the baby seat in the back seat. The Miata does not have a back seat.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

You spend a great deal of time on this forum dispensing wisdom (or trying to) to folks who, after asking a question, refuse to accept your reply and argue with you to the point of absurdity. The new "American safety novel" gets a lot of derisive comments by the many know-it-alls here, and we all know it's the lawyers that really call the shots. But if one hangs out on Talk Bass long enough one can begin to understand both the need for common sense warning labels and those HUGE Mesa User Manuals!

And to move to a point on the opposite end, I'd rather have the huge Mesa manual than the skinny Marshall/Eden manual that is half page size, printed in 7 different languages, all in one booklet. Extremely brief actual info.

With Eden amps, it's imperative that you set the gain correctly to get the best sound from the amp. The manuals when David still owned Eden weren't huge, but were several pages long with multiple sections delivered with a touch of humor. One section gave specific instructions on how to set the gain so you can get the best sound out of the amp. Without this info or access to someone who can tell you how it's done, there's really only a small chance that you will get the best sound out of it by playing around with all the EQ's, the gain, the enhance, the auto compressor, and master. It's a prime example of too little information in too many languages so they can save $$ in printing and production costs by only printing one "incomplete manual" (obviously this is my opinion - your mileage may vary).

I'd rather have the Mesa book of info than the Marshall/Eden "Rosetta Stone" booklet. Good news is that I know how to set it up and I have pdf copies of most of the old manuals for Eden amps. So if any TB'ers need help with that (or a pdf copy), give me a shout. And be glad that Mesa gives you more complete info, plus we have @agedhorse here to share his electronics design knowledge and answer any questions about Mesa products.

 

[agedhorse]

Complete, thorough manuals is a topic that comes up again and again on TB and elsewhere. I totally understand and can appreciate the importance of complete information along with some insight as to how and why a feature may be used.

You might be surprised, but we probably put as much time into the manuals and service documentation to our service centers as we do designing the amp itself. (Good) manuals are VERY costly to produce, and by necessity arenpart of the cost of the product.

 

[abarson]

If you saw what I see, you might not sleep as well at night. I have seen some of the dumbest things ever, way beyond what any reasonable person would consider ok. The internet has allowed fools to become more and more efficient in their ability to outsmart themselves. It's actually scary as hell.

See, my premise is that the dumb-dumbs that cause us to write warning labels aren't going to read them anyway.