[AT] Names that have become generic

Wed Mar 31 20:26:37 PST 2004

The problem is some of you guys are just too danged young.  You think
that because you learned a particular name for a device when you were in
school it must have always been named that.  My dad referred to "those
things" as condensers when he was discussing electronics with me back in
the late 40's.  He finally learned to call them capacitors when it
became politically correct to do so.  That was sometime after he started
working with transistors in the late 50's.  BTW- Dad never did learn to
refer to AIEE instead of IEEE.  He called it the "eye triple-E" until
the day he died.  In the mid-50's we called those things condensers when
I started working as an electrician's assistant tuning and repairing
Allen electronic organs.  In those days, the state-of-the-art for
oscillators consisted of half of a 6SN7 vacuum tube coupled to a big
hairy coil, a condenser, and a "pot."  Tuning an organ was a full day's
work for two people; switching condensers in and out to get the
frequency within range so the adjustment on the pot would bring it into
tune.  We didn't like to change out the 6SN7's if we could avoid it
because replacing one of those automatically affected two notes (not
just one) and we'd have to do a lot of backtracking to retune notes we
had already brought to the correct pitch.  

I only have to go back to the early 70's to find literature that
officially calls those things "condensers."  And THAT happens to be on
some tractor literature.

[major soap box oration deleted]

Larry

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Brian
VanDragt
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 8:58 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Names that have become generic

Condensation is when a gas changes state into a liquid.  I've never seen
liquid electricity, so I'll just call ignition condensers "electron
concentrators" from now on.  Absolute zero is too cold for me to stand
around and watch electricity freeze. :-)

Brian

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert L. Holtzer" <rholtzer at earthlink.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Names that have become generic

> There is condensation in the sense that electrons are stored in a
> relatively small area.  Otherwise, condensation might truly occur near
> absolute zero??
>
> Bob Holtzer
>
> At 06:27 PM 3/31/2004 -0500, you wrote:
> >Why is a condenser called a condenser?  It is actually a capacitor.
It
> >stores an electrical charge and acts as a buffer, but how can one
"condense"
> >electricity? :-)
> >
> >Brian
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Tim Bivens" <bivenshill at yahoo.com>
> >To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> >Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 3:39 PM
> >Subject: Re: [AT] Names that have become generic
> >
> >
> > > George,
> > > Are you pulling our leg here? LOL. It only makes sense
> > > to me for it to be called a starter since it "starts"
> > > the engine. In the same sense a generator is called a
> > > generator because it generates, a condenser is called
> > > such because it condenses and so forth. Isn't commence
> > > just a synonym for start? Why would one be more
> > > correct than the other? Might be just as correct to
> > > call it a "cranker". I am sure the word "start" was
> > > around a long time before Charles Kettering. Whether
> > > you are pulling our legs or not I am getting a big
> > > laugh out of this.
> > >
> > > Tim Bivens, Glen Rose, Texas
> > >
> > >
> > > --- George Willer <gwill at toast.net> wrote:
> > > > Dean,
> > > >
> > > > The first one I thought of is the starter.  It was
> > > > invented by Charles
> > > > Starter Kettering and takes his middle name.  The
> > > > proper name is
> > > > "commencer".  :-)
> > > >
> > > > George Willer
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Dean VP" <deanvp at att.net>
> > > > To: <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> > > > Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 1:21 AM
> > > > Subject: [AT] Names that have become generic
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > I was doing some parts hunting today and ran
> > > > across an item that I
> > > > > automatically called a starter "Bendix". However,
> > > > that isn't really the
> > > > > correct name. It's the name of one of the
> > > > companies that makes or made
> > > > them.
> > > > > It reminded me of some other items like the name
> > > > Kleenex that is used for
> > > > > all similar type items.
> > > > >
> > > > > It is a manufacturers dream to get that kind of
> > > > name recognition. What
> > > > other
> > > > > antique tractor parts besides "Bendix" have
> > > > achieved that status?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Dean A. Van Peursem
> > > > > Snohomish, WA 98290
> > > > >
> > > > > CRS = Having a Photographic Memory but a shortage
> > > > of unused film.
> > > > >
> > > > > www.deerelegacy.com
> > > > >
> > > > > http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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