First pieces of the national broadband network in Brunswick

At last we are seeing some initial work towards the National Broadband Network in Melbourne's north.

See http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/brunswick-gets-some-fibre-20100928-15vvp.html for the full story.

Buying a house? Check this out first

Most people buy a house without knowing the condition and safety of Electrical Wiring.  If the previous owner/s have installed illegal Electrical Wiring, an Electrical fault or Safety hazard may develop that could result in the loss of life and/or property.

Nearly every house over 2 years old we visit is found to have some illegal wiring!  This week we were called to a house in Epping because of power constantly failing.  What we discovered was one of the worst examples of illegal Electrical Wiring we have ever seen.  As Electrical professionals, its normally easy for us to spot illegal and dangerous wiring.

But what can home owners do themselves to try and determine if their own home has any obvious illegal wiring?  

Here are a few hints for the home owner -

(1)  If you find any exposed (normally white) wiring, it is likely to be illegal.
(2)  If you find any Electrical fittings that are not secured, it is likely to be illegal.
(3)  If any wiring looks untidy, twisted, hanging or loose, it is likely to be illegal.
(4)  If you find a join in Electrical Wiring not within a junction box, it is likely to be illegal.
(5)  If you find extension lead installed in a permanent position, it is likely to be illegal.
(6)  If you could reach bare Electrical Wiring while standing on the ground, it is likely to be illegal.
(7)  If your switchboard is loose, missing parts or has exposed Electrical contacts, it is likely to be illegal and unsafe.

Remember - This list is only intended for home owners to identify 'obvious' illegal or un-safe Electrical Wiring.  As most of the Electrical Wiring is located within walls, under floor and in roof spaces, only a trained professional will be able to carry out a complete visual inspection and complete the required electrical tests to ensure the Electrical Wiring is in good order.

If you suspect you have illegal or un-safe Electrical Wiring, call in a Licensed Electrician.  Under no circumstances should you attempt to rectify the situation yourself.  If you are unsure, send a good photo to me via geoff@eppingelectrical.com, I will have a look and provide my advise to you free of charge.

When we work at a home, we get a sense of the extent of the illegal wiring we may encounter.  Normally early visual inspections will indicate to us that illegal wiring may be present.

Here is a photo I took from the house we visited this week.   We found this home had several illegal joins in Electrical Wiring, as you can see, the join is substandard and dangerous.  Lucky for the home owner this fault did not cause a fire.

If you are planning to buy a house in the northern suburbs of Melbourne or simply want to be sure your home is safe, call EPPING ELECTRICAL to provide an Electrical Inspection.

I hope you found this information informative, if you have any questions, please drop me a line or call me on 0485 006 456.  Geoff

Australia's NBN - More Than Faster Internet

So, what is Australia's National Broadband Network? Why is it so important and what will it mean for every Australian?

Source: Youtube, TheNBN2009

Epping Electrical is a registered communications service provider and provides services for PABX, telephone points and extensions, ADSL, CAT5, network cable, patch panel, switch, hub, router for both residential and commercial properties

Consumers the winner in the NBN game?

The all new superfast National Broadband Network (NBN) that is laying cable across 7.7 million sq kms of Oz will soon allow 90-93% of us Aussies to access speeds of up to 100 Mbps on the FTTH (Fibre To The Home) infrastructure. [For a bit of perspectivem right now about 0.1% of us are connected to fibre optic]. And all that at a price cheaper than the existing ADSL. Sounds too good to be true? Welcome to the future!!

Some Tasmanians can already order this exciting new broadband service, with installations being expected to start in July. "Internode" is one of the first retail service providers, and has released 15 FTTH plans at aggressively cheap prices. Its $29.95 entry-level plan, with a 15 Gigabyte (GB) data quota, has a 25 Mbps downstream speed and 2 Mbps upstream. The 50 Mbps plans cost from $39.95 while 100 Mbps plans start at just $59.95. There are no long term contracts or early termination charges on any of the plans.

Check out the other Internode plans here, and get ready to bid adieu to your old TV, telephone and internet networks and say hello to a super-fast broadband coming soon to your neighbourhood.

Epping Electrical is a registered communications service provider and provides services for PABX, telephone points and extensions, ADSL, CAT5, network cable, patch panel, switch, hub, router for both residential and commercial properties

“Sparkies” most in demand in mining

Here's some great news for aspiring Australian electricians. The mines in WA will pay really big money for you according to this article in Businessweek.


"Electricians—the Aussies call them "sparkies"—are the blue-collar workers most in demand in the mines. According to the Hays Resources & Mining Salary Guide and mysalary.com, electricians in the Western Australia mines made between $83,000 and $120,000 (U.S.) in 2009. In contrast, mining electricians in the U.S. made $49,000 to $59,000 in 2008, the latest figures available"


So what are you waiting for? Finish that apprenticeship and get going… the world is waiting for you!