you're OR as There The mains supply is obviously the most powerful voltage source in a VT320, but it is entirely wrong to dismiss the anode voltage, for two reasons. 1. My intention was to serve a warning, not to debate the merits of which and what. Somebody who admits to being in over their head, and who managed to blow the vacuum in a CRT and who doesn't recognize the symptoms, may well not know about the possible effect of anode voltage on the human organism - specifically, their own organism. If you've ever gotten across a CRT's anode voltage - as I have - it will knock you right on your ass. 'Hurts like hell, too. Yes, I know it's a high-impedance source whose voltage drops as the current rises, but if it does 100uA at 18KV, how much does it do at 100V? Making several assumptions, 18mA at 100V is quite enough to kill you if you just happen to do it right. And are you any less dead than if you'd plugged yourself into mains current? If you get run over by an automobile are you any less dead than if you got run over by a bus? *ANY* voltage source is worthy of respect. Anything over about 40V or so can be fatal in the right circumstances and I've gotten nasty tickles off 48V phone lines on hot days when I was sweaty and foolishly not being attentive to what I was doing. I've seen people weld themselves to 5V busses with their wedding rings, and suffer serious burns in consequence. 2. Unlike the mains supply, which "goes away" when you unplug the VT320, the CRT anode voltage takes a long time to discharge. I've had TVs take a day to do so. This is often surprising to novices, who sometimes learn the fact the hard way. the it Agreed, but here was a poster talking about removing the anode connector invitation to "surprise" as ever I've heard one. Also, insulation on flybacks and the anode voltage lead is in an electrically stressful and hot environment, and sometimes gets friable with age. (I've got an old flyback in a junk box in my basement that amply demonstrates the phenomenon.) Even without attempting to remove the anode connector touching the wrong "insulated" thing in an old terminal without first discharging things can be very unpleasant. If you feel that getting across the anode voltage in a VT320 terminal is safe, that dying is unlikely, and that you're adamant enough about it to write to a newsgroup with your views, I ask you please not demonstrate your claims to attempt to prove your point. My whole purpose in making the capitalized comments in my original post was to save lives, not take them. Unless you've got a damned good reason to do otherwise, *ALWAYS* power off what you're working on before poking around inside, and make *CERTAIN* all the high-voltage nodes are discharged. And if for some damn-fool reason you can't do that, whenever you're poking around in circuitry with even a chance of getting a shock, take precautions. (And if you're uncertain, presume there is a shock hazard, and it is high.) In particular, keep one hand in your pocket and wear well insulated shoes on a dry floor. That way, even if you do touch something nasty the current path is less likely to be through your heart. This is *NOT* a sufficient rule, it is merely the first of many, but it is very easy to do and has saved many lives. Everybody, take care out there, OK?