Here's one for you. I went to retube my old VTL Deluxe Preamp, after it had been unplugged for 2 weeks. Well, the capacitors in this unit may look like "D" cell batteries, but they hold what feels like a car batteries worth of potentially fatal electricity. This I found out the hard way. I've got one hand on the metal case of the unit, and the other on one of the tubes. I'm "wiggling" the tube gently to free it and it comes part way out, backing into a verticle PCB (the tubes are mounted horizontily). Next thing I see is a bright flash, and a VERY loud "POP! CRACKLE!" sound. The current went in one arm and out the other, both arms and my chest tensed up so hard I thought I was having a heart attack. It was maybe a 1/2 second long, but it felt like about 10 seconds, before I broke the connection. My arms and chest were sore for about 2 days after this little mishap. Now this may sound like an easy way to drain the Cap's before you work on a piece of tube gear, but I wouldn't advise it :) I guess in a pickle you could revive someone having a heart attack this way.....
Worst Audio Injury !!
Anyone ever get physically injured because of your stereo? I was installing interconnects a couple years back and stood up quickly and hit my head on the corner of one of the shelves.I got a half inch gash on my forehead that seemed to bleed forever.When I switched from digital to vinyl I was used to the easy storage of CD's.I had my LP"s on the floor and one day went to bend down to get a LP out of the crate and tripped and hit my knee on the cornerof the crate.My knee still isnt right.And you?
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- 39 posts total
- 39 posts total