[Amps] Delivery Status Notification (Failure)

[MIKE DURKIN]

Any HV measuring illl be doin will be done "hands off" ... ill be turning on the power at the circuit breaker and if there is a bang .. ill just turn it off again .. if not .. check where the amp is and see what the voltage was .. then go back and kill the power - go have some lunch and then decide what the next step is...
KC7NOA

> Subject: Re: [Amps] HV mesuring
> Date: Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:10:47 -0500
> 
> Mike,
> 
> As a guy with several fried DVM sitting on my bench, I would strongly 
> recommend against this.  In addition to the fireworks that come from 
> overstepping one of the DVM's breakdown voltage, at these voltages, a 
> misstep can result in death.  My wife probably would not be happy saying, at 
> my funeral, "at least he was trying to save some money on test equipment."
> 
> A fluke probe is about $50 on ebay.  It's nothing but a string of resistors 
> and a long bit of plastic.  The key here is that the spacing from your 
> fingers to any of the contact surfaces is a long way.  The key here is to 
> value this probe as a way to keep living.  If you value the individual 
> component parts, you will think it's a waste of money...
> 
> Any VOM/DVM using standard probes is going to have your fingers a lot 
> closer.  And those max voltages indicated?  They are real.  I had a couple 
> with 600VAC written on the unit - but a FS of 1.999KV.  I thought, well, it 
> will probably work up to 1kv where I wanted to measure.  Wrong.  Snap 
> crackle pop.  But I have a hard head and just had to kill off a few other 
> (including a couple of pretty expensive Fluke DVMs) along the way before I 
> got the message.
> 
> I am as frugal as the next tight-fisted ham.  But with 2 kids and a young 
> wife, there is no logic in pinching pennies when it comes to HV.  Just my 
> thinking...
> 
> Be safe.
> 

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