What can't you throw away?

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by Philco-Pete

....As indeed they were in the test room at BBC Bush House and at TSA at Caversham. Happy days (sigh)

Many of us in the BBC's junior division ( ie that new-fangled television stuff) tended to call them Foreigners rather than Homers. It was only when speaking to a pal at Bush House that I heard that they referred to them as Homers - "Are you still working on your Foreigner" could have very different connotations within the hallowed halls of the World Service

When this homers vs. foreigners question came up in another forum some time ago, the consensus was that it was regional. Speaking for myself, coming from the North-West, they were always foreigners.

Graham.
G3ZVT

[ms660]

Ditto when I worked in Manchester and its "suburbs".

"Down the pub tonight pal?" "Nah, I'm doin' a couple of foreigners"

Lawrence.

[evingar]

Originally Posted by rambo1152

When this homers vs. foreigners question came up in another forum some time ago, the consensus was that it was regional. Speaking for myself, coming from the North-West, they were always foreigners.

Probably right. Firmly "Homers" here (Southern England). Chap I work with calls them PJ's though (personal Jobs) and he's a Southerner as well.

[russell_w_b]

'Foreigners' with British Steel (Workington, NW England); 'Homers' with the BBC (Skelton, NW England but staffers came from all over and brought their lingo with them).

I managed to fit some 'work' work in as well!

[Malcolm G6ANZ]

When I first started the phrase in use was that they were doing "work for the Chinese embassy". This fits in with 'foreigners'

[stevehertz]

'Foreigners' in the Midlands, pretty much universal. In fact I'd never heard of those other terms.

[winston_1]

At the BBC Equipment Dept in Chiswick they were known as PJs (private jobs).

[G8HQP Dave]

As a Londoner who now lives in the Midlands, it was only recently that I heard the term "foreigner" to refer to unofficial jobs. It was only from the context that I managed to work out what the person meant. In London these were known as 'private jobs'.

[cmjones01]

When I did my apprenticeship at the Thorn EMI works in Hayes, Middlesex, such things were definitely known as 'homers'. There was talk that in the previous era of 'cost plus' contracts, someone had actually managed to build a boat as a 'homer'! It wasn't hard to believe...

Chris

[Beobloke]

When I was at Goodmans, a home job was known as a 'bunny'.

No-one knew why!

[Oldcodger]

So are we hoarders, or keeping stuff, just in case. Yonks ago my firm moved out of a building and I found lots of laptop power units in the skip. Like most on here, they got rescued. Few years later my granddaughter picked up a laptop for peanuts, without a power unit. Grandad to the rescue. I had one in my box. Quick change of the connector and I had a happy granddaughter.

[Ed_Dinning]

Known as "Guvvie jobs" on Tyneside

Ed

[emeritus]

At Plessey Ilford in the 1970's they were "Home Office" jobs. As was explained to new recruits by the chief engineer, we were a development lab, and our end product was a set of drawings that production could use to make equipment that could be sold at a profit for the shareholders' benefit. The components and hardware constructed in the course of development were merely a means to that end, and could be bought for a nominal sum as scrap at the end of the project.

I still have some Eddystone die cast boxes and moving col meters that I acquired in this way when I left (from memory, 50p for the contents of my workbench's drawers). Not sure when I would use them now, so I guess they fall under the subject of this thread!

[vidjoman]

When I was an apprentice in a large factory (4000 employees) I was repairing a radio under the bench and I sensed someone beside me. I looked to the side to see a smart, polished pair of shoes, expensive trousers with sharp creases and as I followed the crease upwards saw a matching jacket so it was a suit. White shirt and tie led me to the face of the managing director. He asked if I was David, I replied and he said quietly " My daughter needs her record player repaired, can I bring it in tomorrow" ah relief, not getting a telling off. Seems I was well known amongst the management as a capable guy who could fix almost anything.

They were quite strict about private work and 'borrowing' stock but a friend wanted some conduit to run the length of his garden to run a cable to provide power for his shed. After being told he couldn't take the scrap conduit as it might cause a precedent and others might do the same he used to come to work each day with a ladies bicycle, no crossbar, and leave with a gents bike with a length of conduit as the crossbar. Only took about 3 weeks and he had enough conduit for his needs.

[KeithsTV]

Originally Posted by Ed_Dinning

Known as "Guvvie jobs" on Tyneside

When I was at work we had a "Guvvy" system whereby you could order items from any of our suppliers. At the end of the month the bill arrived. As we were a development company these sort of jobs were considered as part of our "training".

In a previous job I was designing, building and maintaining data logging equipment for use on oceanographic cruises. On one cruise the officers TV packed up so I offered to take a look at it. I managed to get it going by checking to crews identical TV to identify the failed component. Next day a plastic bag appeared containing a radio which was reported as not working. It was just the tuning drive cord that needed restringing and the radio was returned by the same route. Next day another plastic bag appeared this time containing several cans of beer from a grateful crew member.

Keith

[Mike Phelan]

When I worked in Bath, they were 'homers' - when I came up North, 'foreigners'.

Interestingly when I worked at the Thorn rental warehouse in Manchester, the installers unloaded all the TV's owned by the customers and they went straight into the skip. We took our pick! Best one was a hybrid B&O - one of the first 625 sets. It only needed one of the transistors in the IF strip replacing. Doubled as a room heater!

I've never actually paid for a television since the 1970's!

[Bobsound]

I too have a pair of S G Brown headphones given to me by a TV serviceman who was repairing my parents' television in the 1960s when he discovered that I was interested in 'radio'. They are in a bit of a state now but I can't throw them away.

[Ambientnoise]

From both Liverpool and Surrey, I found the term "homer" to mean a project for yourself (using work time and/or materials ) and "foreigner" to mean a project for someone else, usually paid for (usually out of work time but probably using their materials !).
At EMI Feltham in the 70's I observed an old hand effectively build a house as a homer. Stuff he couldnt filch directly, he bargained/swapped/wheedled out of suppliers. It was very advanced for its time with a solar powered underfloor heating system and a very complex electrical set up. The only problem was that it took him 10 years to do it and by then his kids had all grown up and left. Interesting times.
Ken

[Bobsound]

Two early jobs I had were as a technician at certain educational establishments. Suddenly I had access to the test equipment and electrical and mechanical facilities I could only dream of as an impecunious teenager.
Needless to say, I made full use of these. The first job enabled me to launch my first PA business!
I was of course not alone. Various members of the technical and teaching staff were doing 'foreigners'.

In a later job, one of the first tasks I was given was to repair a double beam Telequipment oscilloscope which a number of people had failed to repair. I too was unable to sort it out and more important jobs supervened.
Some years later I was given the scope since it was basically 'scrap'. When I got it home I managed to repair it and it is still in the workshop; my main scope!

[Biggles]

Private jobs have been going on in every establishment I have worked at. As long as people don't overcook it, and do some "proper" work occasionally, it seems to be ignored. Managers mostly seem aware of what goes on, but turn a blind eye if they too can get things repaired for a couple of beers now and then. I guess it's happening a lot less nowadays as things are harder to fix, or not worth doing. The main question that I get asked nowadays is what can you do about slow broadband. I still take my own projects to do at work, and I am fortunate in that most visitors to the workshop can't distinguish between a work job and a project. The only thing that seems to bother them is the presence of a TV. Radios are ok but TV is a no no. Amateur radio kit is allowed as we use radio kit at work anyway and it looks the same to the untrained eye. Returning to the topic of this thread, at work there is lot of legacy equipment in stores and once in a while someone decides to skip another load. I purposefully stay out of the way, as I know that I would want to save it all. I'm talking about some very old gear here too. I sometimes grab a few useful items but I have to keep them in our stores and can't take them home.
Alan.