Discharging Monitor Question

Heri

New member
Joined
Sep 1, 2009
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Location
League City, Texas
Last night I was watching videos on YouTube and came across a video on discharging a monitor. I'm glad I was able to find out about it but...

How bad of a shock can you get if you forget to do this or don't do it correctly? I would imagine it hurts like hell but isn't fatal? Or...?

I was reaching around inside my cabinet to pull out the PSU without wearing any gloves (the cab was disconnected however) and had no idea I might want to do this. :p
 
probably not gonna be fatal, although to be fair in the worst case scenario it could happen I suppose. If a large charge remains it could give you a good kick and scare the hell out of you. Which is the most likely scenario. There is a risk that you will damage something in the cab as well as possibly cause yourself harm trying to pull your hand away. If the cab has been powered down for a couple of days the likelihood of shock isn't as great but the possibility is still there. Just be aware what you are touching in there. That is the key. When troubleshooting a monitor or making adjustments I go poking around in there with the power on but I'm aware where I do not want to touch.
 
If you have both hands touching the cab, the electricity could go up one arm, across your heart, and down the other arm back into the cab, which would probably have unfortunate results, fatal or otherwise.
 
I've been hit a couple of times discharging the monitor... still here.

But, it's NOT pleasant... to say the least. Last time I got hit, I ended up with a nice burn on my arm where it arc'd from my arm to the chassis.
 
Last night I was watching videos on YouTube and came across a video on discharging a monitor. I'm glad I was able to find out about it but...

How bad of a shock can you get if you forget to do this or don't do it correctly? I would imagine it hurts like hell but isn't fatal? Or...?

I was reaching around inside my cabinet to pull out the PSU without wearing any gloves (the cab was disconnected however) and had no idea I might want to do this. :p

Mainly your fine unless you decide to touch the the area around the anode cap and if its not discharged never have both hands holding inside. You can watch tutorials on how to discharge or I can make you a video tutorial explaining a bit as I go. Its not hard to do and as someone here said before "Be aware but not afraid".
 
The way it has been explained to me is this:
In the caveman days, the monitors had linear power supplies. Touch one of those badboys, and you could get high voltage + ample current. That would cause a very bad day.

Then came along the flyback transformer. This allows high voltage, but at a low current. Thus, you get whacked, but not alot of juice behind it. The biggest danger would be that your arm tenses up, and slams into something sharp.

Here is a good way of looking at voltage and current with a water example (they act alike in many ways)

Imagine getting shot with a super soaker.
Now imagine getting shot with a fire hose.

In both cases, the velocity (voltage) is the same.
The amount of water (current) is much larger though.

If I am wrong in any way, the guru crowd is free to correct me.
 
As others have said, it will hurt, but is usually not fatal. There are exceptions. If you have any sort of heart condition, it can be very very unpleasant. So far, since I have been working on arcade monitors, I have managed to drain the large capacitor a couple of times (very tingly). While working on TVs, I have managed to discharge a tube through me a couple of times (that hurt). I learned to use one hand at a time and to not grab anything metallic with the other hand.

Learn to discharge the tube correctly and you will be fine. Don't forget about the big capacitors. And if you are trying to adjust the monitor, never, never reach blindly into the back of a monitor. Watch what you are doing until you are touching the control you want, then while you are holding it, go back and look at the screen. Or use a mirror (even better).

ken
 
Whenever you are working around monitors, you are going to have to develop a tolerance for static shocks and other smaller electrical ones. This is still an acquired skill I need to learn. Whenever I reach blindly into a monitor, even though its not even near the HV areas, and I feel a static shock, pure instinct makes me jump. This didnt serve me well when I reached into my Centipede Cabaret and felt a shock, then jumped and I destroyed the tube by hitting the neck with my elbow. You just have to realize that even though instances like that are 'shocking,' they will not usually hurt you as long as you dont have any current going into the game.
 
Back
Top Bottom