Never a discharge....

jonathan1138

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Hi. Last question for tonight. New to monitors. Understand i unplug machine, take the screwdriver, alligator clip to monitor frame, alligator clip to screwdriver barrel, push that thing under the rubber and feel around for the metal. All with my hand in my pocket.

I have around 9 vids now - and have done this many times. BUT - ive never gotton a pop.

What could i be doing wrong? I dont want to mess around with the monitors when i *think* theyve been discharged because i am not getting a pop but the thing is still charged up.

Thanks in advance for potentially saving my life.
 
As often as not, they don't pop for me. About the only time I get a pop is if I discharge right after I power it off.
 
Sometimes they just discharge by themselves after a couple days, sometimes a few hours. You want a pop, just turn one on for a couple mins and then back off, then discharge. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be, I was underwhelmed the first time, but it is satisfying.
 
K7000 monitors and newer have a self-discharging circuit that will discharge it if it's working properly. If it's not working properly, you'll get a pop. If an older monitor had been off for a while, it usually won't pop, but I've had one sit on the floor for over a month and still have a charge...
 
Ok - the games are usually off for an hour or two before i start messing around.

I guess that as long as my technique sounds good (just probe that tip into the hole, yeah yeah thats what she said), i feel more comfortable about it. Thanks.
 
K7000 monitors and newer have a self-discharging circuit that will discharge it if it's working properly. If it's not working properly, you'll get a pop. If an older monitor had been off for a while, it usually won't pop, but I've had one sit on the floor for over a month and still have a charge...


yeah, i've even had g07's that won't pop after sitting for a few minutes. if you want to see a pop to make sure everything's "there", fire up the machine, turn it off, and discharge it quickly after it's shut off. you'll get a bit of a pop then.
 
I think it's worth mentioning that if you DO get a pop, wait 5 minutes then discharge again. I had one the other week that I discharged 3x, got less of a pop each time. When I went to hook the anode back up, it still sparked again (no real audible pop this time)!! Never trust a monitor!
 
Ok - the games are usually off for an hour or two before i start messing around.

I guess that as long as my technique sounds good (just probe that tip into the hole, yeah yeah thats what she said), i feel more comfortable about it. Thanks.

As long as one end of your probe is attached to the frame and you make contact with the clips under the cap, you're fine....
 
I've never discharged a Monitor In total fear of them. After i was Zapped by one when i first started this hobby back in the early 90's


I guess i would feel better if i did'nt have too make a Discharging tool? There was a place too buy one or if someone made it for me?

Plus I would need something for the Removing the soder?
 
alligator clip to monitor frame, alligator clip to screwdriver barrel

I think I'd do something a little more secure than just an alligator clip to the screwdriver barrel... To me I'd be afraid the clip would pop off while poking around in there.

If you're planning on doing this every now and then, you may want to build one like this on Bob Robert's site:

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/sb.html
 
I think I'd do something a little more secure than just an alligator clip to the screwdriver barrel... To me I'd be afraid the clip would pop off while poking around in there.

The other day someone was here and I couldn't find my damn alligator clip, so I just got two long screwdrivers, touched one to the frame and the other to the anode hole, then angled them together until the shafts got close enough for the spark to jump.

I have a buddy who freaks out when he sees me grab the anode cup and pop it out without discharging, then discharge afterwards with the dag wire... :cool:
 
I think discharging is a story that has been perpetuated into a near legend... Half the people you talk to think lightning bolts are going to shoot out and kill them if they even look at the anode cup.

Like most of you, I was scared by the stuff I read, then underwhelmed once I actually did it. It deserves respect, not fear.
 
I had fire shoot out at me last night...

So i've got a nice pile of G07 chassis that I'm rebuilding.. A few of them have the small fuse blown.. Read an article yesterday mentioning how the large cap can have a full charge when that fuse is out.. So I decided to run my discharge tool over the 2 leads on the bottom of the cap... BOOOOOOM!

Yeah, almost shit my pants..

There are 2 white marks on the screw driver now..

Respect the monitor and big cap. discharge both the tube and large cap.. discharge more than once.. just had a buddy get knocked over when he thought he heard the "pop".. there was still some juice in there..
 
Sometimes they just discharge by themselves after a couple days, sometimes a few hours. You want a pop, just turn one on for a couple mins and then back off, then discharge. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be, I was underwhelmed the first time, but it is satisfying.

Most flybacks have a restive path to ground that will discharge the tube...

If the flyback/hot are blown (or just blew) all bets are off.
 
So i've got a nice pile of G07 chassis that I'm rebuilding.. A few of them have the small fuse blown.. Read an article yesterday mentioning how the large cap can have a full charge when that fuse is out.. So I decided to run my discharge tool over the 2 leads on the bottom of the cap... BOOOOOOM!

Yeah, almost shit my pants..

Had one of those discharge on my thigh once... good reason to cap monitors on a bench, not on your lap while watching TV.
 
The only pops I've really heard came from some of my TV tubes that I've used in various hack jobs.
 
You can get them lots of places, Bob even sells one for $10 ($12 fully assembled)...
http://www.therealbobroberts.net/safeback1.html

Not that Bob Roberts isn't already recommended, but I also really like how he put this tool together. For 12 bucks I have a monitor zapper that lasts a life time. I also got zapped in the 90's and swore monitor work off until I got this thing in the mail. :)
 
TOK said:
It deserves respect, not fear.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I agree 100%.

Read an article yesterday mentioning how the large cap can have a full charge when that fuse is out.. So I decided to run my discharge tool over the 2 leads on the bottom of the cap... BOOOOOOM!

This caught me by surprise, too. I had removed a G07 board from the metal frame, my finger was about 1" from the cap when the leads brushed up against the frame and CRACK, big spark, big white mark on the frame... Scared the bejeezus out of me. Thank goodness I never moved my fingers back further, that would have stung a bit. Now I, too, have started manually attempting discharge on each large cap on the monitor boards. I am not taking any chances.

What's funny about the capacitor is that it scared me far more than any monitor/tube discharge. I think it was because it was unexpected, and actually seemed far stronger than any discharge I've seen come out of a monitor/tube to this day.
 
I've never discharged a Monitor In total fear of them. After i was Zapped by one when i first started this hobby back in the early 90's


I guess i would feel better if i did'nt have too make a Discharging tool? There was a place too buy one or if someone made it for me?

Plus I would need something for the Removing the soder?

They do make one, a Fluke 80k/40. The beauty of it is you get to watch the voltage drop to zero. It's also safer for the components although I'm sure everyone else and their mother will pop in and say they have never had an issue with their barbarian tool LOL :)
 
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