14 Mar
2013
14 Mar
'13
midnight
On 03/13/2013 10:09 PM, Mouse wrote:
Pretty much anything that can deliver
hundreds-to-thousands of watts
can be quite deadly. (Even modern computer power supplies - anything
that can push 100A at 3.3V definitely deserves an energy hazard warning
label! I've heard stories - first-hand, mind you, as in told by the
person bearing the burn scars - of energy hazard accidents that make me
wince from empathy...and make me very glad I'm not in a position to
tell such stories myself. Okay, probably not truly _deadly_, but
certainly pretty harsh.)
Well, 3.3V at 100A will possibly burn you but 3KV can kill you outright
if you don't observe the "one hand in a back pocket" rule--and MAKE SURE
THAT THOSE FILTER CAPS ARE DISCHARGED--BLEEDERS CAN AND DO OPEN WITHOUT
VISIBLE WARNING. A neon lamp in series with a large resistor will serve
as a visible warning indicator.
I once had a very painful first-hand experience of this. I'd turned off
the transmitter's plate supply to do an adjustment, but the bleeder
wasn't bleeding. I foolishly braced myself with the hand that should
have been in a back pocket against the side of the rack holding the
chassis and reached in to pull the plate cap off of one of the final
tubes. I was standing in the space between the transmitter and a
cinder-block wall. My arm convulsed and slammed my elbow into the wall.
I saw stars and acquired a large bruise but I survived.
Just damned lucky, I guess.
--Chuck