Cherry Heaven TV has made some short on-line radio and tv programmes about making and working with kilns. This one is about replacing a bead-style thermocouple on a Paragon SC2.

To play, pause, or stop the player, or adjust the volume, click the Cherry Heaven Player controls. Whilst it's playing, you can drag the time-line slider to any new position.

Cherry Heaven TV has encoded the programmes to a net-standard FLV format of 320px x 240px. Other parameters have been set to achieve a practical balance of audio and video quality set against a likely data-streaming rate.

However, they're all over 1MB so, if you're not on a fast internet connection, they might pause and continue occasionally if the data stream can't keep up with the demands of the player.

If you're using a notebook computer, the audio quality will probably be poor, and might not be loud enough. To remedy this, you need some external loudspeakers:

The Cherry Heaven USB Stereo Loudspeakers don't need batteries, installing, or setting up: they're powered by the computer's USB socket and driven by the stereo-out socket. To learn more, use the Cherry Heaven link above the menu bar near the top of the page.

External loudspeakers will improve your enjoyment of music cds, mp3 tracks, on-line movies, dvd movies, video camera movies, games, youtube, and net-phone applications.

Generally, a thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals welded together, either as an exposed bead or as a bead protected inside a metal sheath. Typically, it projects into the firing chamber in the middle at the back.

As it's heated, it produces a tiny temperature-dependent, but non-linear, voltage. The digital programmer uses this voltage to calculate the current temperature and control the on-off cycles of the elements.

The K-type thermocouple, used in the Paragon SC2, has a welded joint between nickel-chromium and nickel-aluminium. As an example: at 300°C it produces 12.2mV.

There are usually two connections: red and yellow in the case of the Paragon SC-2 thermocouple. If they're connected the wrong way round, the voltage is reversed and the programmer can't make the correct decision.

For the Cherry Heaven EU SC2, a sheathed thermocouple replaces the US bead type. It prevents the possible corrosion, and eventual failure, of the bi-metallic tip: usually caused by gases produced whilst heating some types of glass.

If you're ordering a new thermocouple, check whether you have the US bead type or the EU sheathed type, although you can use either. You can buy thermocouples in the on-line shop.