With the warnings about hands in the power supply, let me tell you a story
about my younger days (age 15, 40 years ago)
I was measuring the length of a zip cord to wire to a switch which was
surface mounted on a desk for my novice station. I plugged it in to get the
proper length but then forgot that it was plugged in. It was the right
length, so I looked around for my wire strippers but could not find them.
So, I split the wire and stuck the wire in my mouth and removed the
insulation with my teeth (both sides). No problem. I then began to wire to
the switch, but figured out a more sanitary way to run the wire - which
required a shorter length of zip cord. So I picked up the wire cutters and
cut the zip cord. Suddenly, a spark, a portion of my wire cutter was blown
off and the circuit breaker on the main panel was tripped.
It was then that I realized I had been very lucky.
As a result of this experience (and being knocked across the room when I
grabbed the high voltage of my open power supply at age 16, knocking the
closet doors off the track), I have been more careful. I figured I used up
most of my luck. My last 40 years have been uneventful.
Moral - even keeping both hands out of your high voltage supply may not
protect you if you do something really stupid - unless you are really lucky.
Colin K7FM
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