Safety

[ChuckA]

Had a close call today working on a TRK-5. Most of you know this set is pre-war with a DANGEROUS 60cycle power supply.

Well I got a little careless working under the chassis. I had finished recapping the set and was trying to track down problems with video quality. I was using a scope to probe around, and decided to take a look at the B+ line for any ripple. The picture I posted here shows how close the B+ point I was looking at is to the 2500vac lead from the power transformer. Well I wasn't watching where my hand was and my middle finger came in contact with that HV lead. The energy from that voltage burned a entry hole through my fingernail and a nice exit hole through the first joint of my index finger, which was in contact with the probe ground point. My hand felt like someone hit it with a 10 pound sledge, and the smell of burning flesh (especially when it's your own) is not pleasant.

I'm just glad that my old training was second nature, always keep one hand in your pocket when working around HV, if not for that I probably wouldn't be writing this.

My point to all is don't get to complacent when you're working on one of your vintage sets, always know where your body parts are.

And no the TRK still has a lousy picture back to that tomorrow, but only after I make an insulating rubber blanket for that terminal.


Chuck