I cant believe I did this. need help

lowbeau

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Below are the pictures of what I am about to describe. I was looking into the back of my Operation Wolf and my huge head bumped into something and I looked and the the suction cup with the wire attached to it had come loose from the back side of the monitor.. Now I am very new to all this stuff so bear with me or laugh at me whatever feels good. Is this the suction cup that goes to the monitor that everyone talks about when discharging a monitor . I left it as it was because Im not sure I should try and reattach it and so I took some pictures to get some advice and help on whether it was safe or not to put this back on the monitor. Any advice is very welcome. Thank You.
 

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All you need to do is make sure the tube is discharged by wrapping a wire around a screwdriver, wrap one end around the metal frame of the monitor and stick the end of the screwdriver in the little hole on the tube. It may have already discharged though. Then simply reinstall the clip back into the hole.
Nice pics by the way.
 
The fact that you're conscious, and able to post, is a very good sign. ;) Yes, that is the evil devil suction cup... Has something like 19,000* volts attached to it, usually.




* I'm probably off, have a bad memory, but I thought I heard that.
 
and be thankful you didn't zap yourself!

if the anode fell off that easily, it may not have been in all the way. when you reinstall it, bend the cap back, and put it in at an angle so you can make sure you get both the pins in there. once it's on, try turning on it, or pushing on it to make sure it's in there and doesn't fall out.
 
Ok so my first official technical task on my first game is to mess with the suction cup from hell that could knock you out. I have to tell you that I am a bit nervous to do this. Can I use just some old 12 awg that I have to do this and should I see something or hear something when I do. Also when reattaching do I just use my hand to maneuver the suction cup with the two wire prongs back into the hole or do i use some kind of protection? I gotta tell you that I am very shaky about this whole thing. Thx again.
 
Ok so my first official technical task on my first game is to mess with the suction cup from hell that could knock you out. I have to tell you that I am a bit nervous to do this. Can I use just some old 12 awg that I have to do this and should I see something or hear something when I do. Also when reattaching do I just use my hand to maneuver the suction cup with the two wire prongs back into the hole or do i use some kind of protection? I gotta tell you that I am very shaky about this whole thing. Thx again.

if you have any medical electronic devices like a pacemaker, dont! safety first.

turn the game off and at the mains power socket.

yep on the 12awg to discharge. one hand in your back pocket. you should hear a nice little (or big) spark as it discharges. lotsa spark, lots to discharge. no spark, very little to discharge.

fold back the suction cup so it is reversed, as the monitor has been discharged shouldnt be any more spark so holding cup is fine. the insualtion cup is proper insulation for those voltages anyway. poke the pins in and make sure it is secure, flip the suction cup back to its usual position, give it a small rotational tweak to make sure it has grabbed.
close up the back and then turn on the game.

good luck!
 
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Just keep the power off until you get the cup back on and you'll be fine. No need to worry. 12 gauge wire with the screwdriver method of discharging is fine. You might see a small spark when you touch the hole with your screwdriver. Wait a minute and touch it again until it doesn't spark at all. Flip the cup inside out and get both pins in the hole, then flip it back the right way. You will quickly learn that monitors are not that scary.
 
Make sure you aren't touching any of the metal on the screwdriver. I assume you knew that, but you never know. Never hurts to be sure ;) Best of luck!
 
Alright ive read all the responses and they are great and then I kept reading other posts and watching videos on youtube and Im worried Im not understanding correctly. I accidentally knocked the anode cup off and its sitting detached in my cabinet. Now I put the screwdriver with the wire attached to it and the frame into the hole that the anode cup was in correct? Then its ok to grab the anode cup itself to insert back in? Is there any possiblility of getting shocked by grabbing the anode cup at this point? I didnt feel anything through my head or hear anything when I knocked it loose so is the anode cup safe to handle after doing the screwdriver trick into the hole? Just wanting to clarify since I want to do this when I get home from work tommorow(my birthday by the way.sure dont want to celebrate by getting zapped out in the garage all alone) . Ive bragged about my game to my brother and pops and they are pumped up to come see it and play it so I have to get this done and safely if at all possible. thx again.
 
correct- stick screwdriver with wire attached to the anode hole int he tube.

NO- if power is off you will not get a zap from the anode cup/anode wire

yes- after the screwdriver trick, its safe to "play" around the hole. Usually to be safe i discharge once then a few mins later discharge again cuz sometimes theres a small secondary charge left.

It really sounds more scary then it is. Once you do this a few times this is cake.

if you get no zap or spark, check to make sure your screwdriver is grounded well. If it is, the tube is already discharged.
 
There isn't a need to repeatedly discharge if you follow this simple tip: keep the screwdriver tip in the hole. Then get the anode clip/cup, and use the screwdriver to compress the clip.

With a K7000, there probably won't even be a snap, they self discharge. Unless the monitor was /on/ when you bumped the anode wire, but you didn't post about the lightning bolts, so I'm assuming not.
 
I've done a ton of monitor work the past few weeks, and I can tell you that some monitors make a very satisfying 'SNAP' when you discharge them, and others make a small 'tick' like if you rubbed your feet on the carpet and touched someone. There's really no way to tell whether or not the tube is still holding a charge, so always better to be safe (in your own mind) than sorry.

For discharging, I used to use a very long (but narrow tipped, to fit in the anode hole) screwdriver with jumper cables from your car attached to the metal shaft, and attached to the metal frame of the monitor. I have since gotten a better made setup (from Bob Roberts, thanks!) that works great.

You need not worry about touching the anode cup if the monitor is off. All the juice (hence the PAIN) is located in the tube itself -- it acts as a big capacitor, storing charge. Once you've FULLY discharged the tube (touch a few times repeatedly, over the course of 5 min to be sure), you should be good to work around it for a little while. But if you've let the monitor sit for even 30 min to a few hours or days, it's a good idea to discharge it again. Some tubes have a tendency to build a small charge again over time. Not as much as the initial charge, but enough to get your attention.

I'm always super cautious. Overly so, in some cases. But yes, you can fold back the suction cup and work the anode clip into place once you've successfully discharged the tube. Make sure both 'teeth' of the clip are clipped in place. I always wiggle/spin the anode cup a bit to make sure it's firmly in place before powering up the monitor.

If you want to be even more cautious, keep your left hand in your back pocket while you discharge AND while you hook the anode cup back up again. That will lessen the chance that any electricity will find a path to ground through your body.

Good luck!
 
Good news. I bought a new insulated long flat tipped screwdriver, two alligator clips and two big rubber gloves(lol). I attached a 12 awg wire with clips to frame and screwdriver and put my left hand behind my back and with trepidation stuck the blade in the hole on the monitor several times with no problem. I think that the monitor had no charge because i didnt see or hear anything. I then reinserted anode cup fully and twisted to make sure it was in correctly. put the back on my game and fired it up and everything was great. Thanks so much for everyone's help. Believe it or not but in my younger days
I was a construction electrician in the Seabees and didnt fear electricity so much but as ive gotten older and ive been working in a different field since I got out of the service back in 1991 Ive lost my touch so to speak but Im glad Im over the fear of this now.
 
operation wolf and rubber gloves monitor

Dude you done good. I looked at my suction cup tonight on my operation wolf while I was adjusting the focus on my wells gardner monitor. I have an Electrical Engineering degree from the Universtity of Kentucky and I ain't seen nothing like this shit....except for the 74 series chips. What the hell did I go to that school for anyway? Logic....I guess thanks intel...you can stick it!

Operation Wolf Pup!
 
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