Why do LEDs generate heat?

My god! I agree with you completely. I was about to say the same thing as soon as you wrote "a historic event", it's really grating to my ears to hear an historic.

Also, Americans get the Hs wrong. Like erb, as in marijuana. An 'erb would be fine, but they think the H is always silent.

I say "a URL" for a web address, but I knew someone who said "an url", as in how you would pronounce "hurl" with a silent H. He insisted that acronyms should be pronounced like words. WLED became "well-ed", as in "well" followed by the name "Ed". I assume because pronouncing a W before an L was too difficult, so he then added extra vowels.

I always like everything lit in the room, or I doze off.

That may be true, and why I feel sleepy if I do so. But then some people read to get to sleep.

To get better motors, direct drive etc with washing machines for example.

Yeah, its more likely to be caused by something else.

Maybe its just not got the internal high frequency transformer potted or mounted properly and you get resonance effect with the frequency changing a little when its earthed so that you get the resonance effect at that slightly different frequency.

What has direct drive got to do with power factor?

Direct drive motors are interesting - I once had a very cheap turntable that said "direct drive", so I guess it's not always a good thing?

From Wikipedia: "Usually motors are built to achieve maximum torque at high rotational speeds, usually 1500 or 3000 rpm." I thought motors produced more torque when slower - which is why they burn out when jammed.

I can't remember what the frequency I heard was, but it wasn't that high, probably something like 1 kHz. Aren't the transformers way higher than that?

They arent the old induction motors with the power factor they had.

There's a big difference between a turntable motor and one in a top loading washing machine which needs to do a variety of different things when washing, adjitating and spin drying at different speeds.

Not relevant to what is being discussed, the power factor.

Yes, but the noise frequency is determined by the mechanical resonant frequency of the mechanical stuff, not the frequency of the current thru the transformer. In other words it can be way lower than the frequency of the current. A sub harmonic in fact.

I thought all motors created the same inductive load, and had to be compensated for if you wanted unity PF.

I know. Which makes me think it's important for a washing machine. But on a turntable, it has to be a very precise speed or the music sounds s*it. It's the last place I'd think of putting one.

Actually I think I remembered wrong, the cheap stereo might have said "belt drive" on the front. Direct drive could have been the decent one.

Aren't I allowed to drift the conversation a little?

Ah, that makes sense. So I guess I could also fix it by simply sticking a small weight on the device, like a lump of blutack, which would lower the resonant frequency of the casing. But is it the casing that's vibrating?

My Sony direct drive turntable bought in 1982 is still in working order

- except that the lid doesn't stay up. If it had been belt drive I expect the belt would have perished by now. (My Marantz cassette deck, bought in 1987 hasn't fared so well.)

It's "a LED" if you pronounce it as an acronym.

OK I stand corrected, I think your efficiencies are right. Perhaps it's "up to 40%" for exotic LED's.

But not necessarily on the mains, that's what matters with the more sophisticated motors used in stuff like washing machines etc now.

There is no point in the cost of doing that with domestic appliances.

Its done with those to avoid belts and the downsides with those over time.

Very likely.

Nope, the death squad has its orders...

If that's the problem, even just jamming something like a toothpick or bit of cardboard etc in the loose bit or even some superglue there.

Easy to get belts of any size online.

What do you mean by "pronounce it as an acronym"? I would have said that means "ell eee dee" as in you're treating it as an acronym rather than a word and spelling it out.

Exotic? Surely the room lighting ones are the most efficient, as that's what they're designed to do?

Are they fed by altered AC or by DC?

I know, I just thought that was the only way to remove the PF of any motor.

I had a Garrard turntable that was decades old and I think that was belt drive. Although it never went wrong so I never had cause to look inside.

I don't take orders from convicts :-)