[Amps] Question about safety ground connection

[R.Measures]

On Nov 15, 2005, at 9:48 PM, Dr. William J. Schmidt, II wrote:

> Folks... I don't wish to contribute to this discussion technically... 
> but
> rather offer some observations:
>
> I find this discussion thread very troubling... in that:
>
> 1.  One assumes a certain level of competence when dealing with high 
> power
> amplifiers and high-voltage AC circuits.  It is always difficult to 
> assess
> the skills of the people asking the questions here... and I would 
> never want
> to offer advice to someone... towards developing that first level of
> competence in AC circuits.  If you don't know how to connect the power 
> cord
> to your amplifier... you really have no business removing the cover.
> Swallow hard and take it to a proven professional... and move on to
> something that is SAFE!

120vac is not safe because one can get hung up on it and can not let 
go.  At least with HV DC a careless person stands a chance of getting 
tossed across the room and surviving the education.
>
> 2.  Can you imagine the liability associated with giving advice to 
> some poor
> guy that follows the posts here and electrocutes himself?

In a court of law, successfully proving that the impoverished decedent 
correctly followed your advice is about as likely as finding snowballs 
in hell.  17-yrs ago, the first guy who ever went about installing a 
low VHF-Q parasitic suppressor retrofit kit in a HF amplifier  was 
killed because he did not first switch off the 5000VDC anode supply of 
the amplifier (that he built).  Whose fault was that?  The dead guy's 
relatives inherited well over $10,000,000 from his estate and they 
didn't even send me a thank you note.  Ironically, the guy's callsign 
was W5DH, so WA6MFJ, Bob, gave him the phonetics "W5 Dead Ham".

> For god sakes
> just give him the NEC references and move on.  What he does with it is 
> his
> business.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Dr. William J. Schmidt, II  K9HZ
> Trustee of the North American QRO - Central Division Club - K9ZC
>
> Email: bill at wjschmidt.com
> WebPage: www.wjschmidt.com
>
> "It's not what you take with you... but what you leave behind that 
> counts.
> Live each day as if it were your last."
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Will Matney" <craxd1 at verizon.net>
> To: <amps at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 8:12 PM
> Subject: Re: [Amps] Question about safety ground connection
>
>
>> Mike,
>>
>> Although it's not mandatory, it a real good thing to do. When I 
>> worked as
>> an industrial electrician, a lot of times we had to work on live 
>> circuits
>> as the main just could not be shut off over shutting the plant down, 
>> or a
>> whole operation. I burnt up a few pairs of dikes over someone using a
>> white as a hot, then I cut into them. Also, it would be easy for 
>> someone
>> to be leaning against a grounded enclosure, and tip a white wire 
>> that's
>> hot, thinking it's a neutral thus getting electrocuted. Really 
>> dangerous!
>> I always carried a wiggy and checked the wires, but somethimes I have
>> forgot too.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Will
>>
>> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>>
>> On 11/15/05 at 9:02 PM Mike McCarthy, W1NR wrote:
>>
>>> And many electricians will mark those "hot" white wires with a 
>>> couple of
>>> black stripes with a magic marker.
>>>
>>> Mike, W1NR
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: amps-bounces at contesting.com 
>>> [mailto:amps-bounces at contesting.com] On
>>> Behalf Of Gudguyham at aol.com
>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 8:25 PM
>>> To: craxd1 at verizon.net; amps at contesting.com
>>> Subject: Re: [Amps] Question about safety ground connection
>>>
>>>
>>> In a message dated 11/15/2005 1:20:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>>> craxd1 at verizon.net writes:
>>>
>>> I always  want to know a neutral isn't hot unless it's going to a 
>>> switch
>>> leg
>>> which I  think is the only NEC exception to the  rule.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Will
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If a "white" wire is hot, it is not a neutral.  So a neutral is 
>>> never  hot
>>> unless there is a fault.
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>>>
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>>> Amps at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>>
>>
>>
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>
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>

Richard L. Measures, AG6K, 805.386.3734.  www.somis.org