Roger,
the near electrocution you describe was due to several concurrent
problems: The short circuit due to a poor solder job, lack of a ground
fault interrupter, and poor grounding of the equipment.
If there had been a GFI, it would have tripped as soon as the solder
blob made a short, as long as the radio was connected to any sort of
ground, even a poor one. And if there was no ground at all, the GFI
would still have tripped, as soon as you touched that radial wire.
This shows how important GFIs are. For anyone who has no particular
interest in getting electrocuted because of any stupid little failure,
it's imperative to have GFIs on every circuit, even in those countries
where they are not yet mandatory.
The incident you describe was in the sixties. I don't think GFIs were
around back then. But today they are, and they are quite inexpensive
(the ones I used in my home cost about 12 dollars each, I have 4 of
them). So anyone who wants to prevent such an occurrence, can do so.
Manfred
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