Electrical Shock Log Book

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CJ

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post your shock treatment if you survive,

include type of shock, AC or DC, and any residual effects, and reason for shock,

2:07 PM, 400 V-dc,  forgot that tubes were not installed to bleed B+,

 
2005 (15 yo) with my first tube amp, ~350VDC, no much at all.
I don't remember when but once I had a pretty bad feeling with a 1.5V battery and a transformer kickback...
~2010 lightning, not sure the voltage but probably could be considered as DC, at the boat in a storm, took the wheel to go for a safer place, the wheel had a leather cover but it had a hole where my finger was resting, 2 feet jump and ended standing over the seat, maybe an hour without moving my poor finger, few days without feeling it. No superpowers after that  :mad:

JS
 
Wow,  lightning wins!

Ampeg V4 trouble-shooting, many on/off cycles, bleeder in between, not sure anymore what got missed, don't recall even touching anything, but finger took B+ residual and it numbed my arm to the shoulder, hurt for a day.  No body path through to anything.  No long term effects. 
 
around 2005 repairing a tube oscilloscope. doing some bias adjustment I touched the 5KV screen polarization voltage.  big jump and my arm went numb and I could not move it for 20 minutes.
 
CJ said:
post your shock treatment if you survive,
include type of shock, AC or DC, and any residual effects, and reason for shock,
2:07 PM, 400 V-dc,  forgot that tubes were not installed to bleed B+,
nice idea, CJ ;)

D-LA2A troubleshooting gave me about 350V DC last year. it was bad light condition and i accidently touched a cable without knowing. fortunately no aftereffect!
 
Way back in '82 I was in my studio alone talking on the phone while a thunder and lightning storm raged outside. All of a sudden it felt like some one punched me square in the jaw. Saw stars and kind of staggered, I actually looked around to see who was there. No one, and the phone line was dead. Hit by lightning through the phone yes sir. My jaw hurt for a few days.
 
1975 about,  I changed out filter caps in a marshall 100W.  insulated the base of the metal  filter cap can  that hookup to the center tap voltage doubler so 1/2 of 560 volts DC with ripple on the cap.  (I didn't have the insulated covers for the metal  cans yet.)  Was testing and the amp sounded great but had a little microphonic's some where.  I was flicking the preamp tubes  to test  with the  guitar around my neck and one hand on the guitar strings.  the other hand flicked the tube and somehow I touched one of the tops of filter cap cans and it went straight across my heart.  It took all my strength to get my hand loose from the amp then went to my knees.  Took a minute to get up.  I always work with one hand in a back pocket after that on high voltage.  F****K!!!!!
 
Yeah , the bang of D.C. or vibration of A.C.  , I've stopped touching parts to check if they are getting too warm
sometimes get caught changing the fuses on gtr amps
 
38VAC last week (measured it after), touched my sink and my dishwasher at the same time.

I fear I've got something coming that won't tickle as much...

Gustav
 
My sink and water kettle also have 60V between them! Past two years... Note to call the landlord.

Also shorted PSU filter cap leads on a JCM800 with a screwdriver. That was a blue corona explosion and vaporized the screwdriver head! 1994. This convinced me to be VERY Careful even though I didn't get shocked.

Tube mic B+ isn't that powerful and I've been "nibbled" several times over the past years. Last ~5-10 years or so.

One of the first times was when I discovered the flash-bulb charging cap in a small camera and shocked myself. That one hurt! I was probably 12 and enjoyed convincing my cousins to touch the leads..... They didn't see the humour.

Mains / 120V? Quite a few over the years. I stay away now!

Cheers,
jb
 
1996, Touched the contacts of a standby switch while setting up a Kendrick amp on the burn in bench. About 475 vDC burned a hole in the skin. This was probably after a safety meeting, and was immediately followed by another safety meeting.
 
I got hit with a powder coating gun.  I was pulling some debris from the nozzle and forgot to let my foot off the HV switch.  I won't make that mistake again!
 
Recently or lifetime?

{AC} Earliest shock was 120V as a young kid when I tried to turn on a lamp, where the burned out bulb had been removed, and I inadvertently stuck a finger into the live socket.  :eek:

[DC} Earliest DC shock was lawnmower spark plug wire. The old school mowers had a metal shorting tab that you use to short out the magneto output at the spark plug to stop the motor. To easy to touch the plug wire without the shorting bar making good contact.  :eek: :eek:

Since then I have experienced several AC and DC shocks ranging from arc welder electrodes (low voltage) to auto ignition (high voltage). My lightning story was less spectacular... I recall standing outside around a swimming pool during a summer thunderstorm, ranting at Thor to stop the lightning and felt a voltage tingle run through my feet from a lightning strike a hundred yards away (I stopped yelling at Thor).

While I am very aware of the danger and try to be careful, we all have mental lapses (some more than others). My most recent shock ironically occurred while I was prototyping a high voltage buffer for outlet safety testing... My simple buffer circuit used +/- 160V rails and the circuit didn't draw enough current to discharge the caps when unplugged. I quickly added resistors to the circuit to drain the supply after accidentally getting across the 300+V potential. I had a similar event back in the '60s trying to repair a kit strobe light that a friend of mine bought and couldn't get to work.. I made the same mistake, strobe was unplugged but strobe cap was fully charged up.

People do get killed from electrical shock all the time. All too often it's experienced electrical professionals who are too casual around the hazard.  Recently a musician in Argentina was killed by mains voltage potential between his guitar and his microphone (most likely a mains wiring fault, but could be a broken amp).

JR


 
~1999, tightening the battery terminal in pontiac 6000...  wrench shorted the terminals and arm reflex punched the hood which hurt worse than the shock..

~2010, was powder painting and must've got too close while touching the something the part was hanging off of, just was a big flashy moment, "woke up" having thrown the powder gun and not sure of what had happened... not sure how many volts but a lot.
 
As the Brits say: it's the volts that jolt and the mils that kill.
Happened so many times I can't remember all, but once, trying to "improve" the family radio, I ended 3 meters away with my bottom on the ground, probably having touched B+.
OTOH, my father, who started in life as an electrician, told me that the "certified" method to check if a line was live was to put the index and middle finger across! Meters and testers are for sissies... That was before the switch to 220.
 
I took a 480V  hvac  power bite once. Knocked my ass off the ladder and burred  the tool in my hand deep into the wall.  Funny how all the old timers just do everything with the power on. I guess that is what separates the men from the boys or is it Darwin in action?
 
Looks likes for Abbey, Darwin didn't work that great...

I still work with the power on when needed, I never have a problem with that, the problem is when I think I'm working with the power off but forgot to turn it off... As JR said, "... we all have mental lapses..."

JS
 
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