phoenixdownita Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Once I assisted at the then "my boss" attempting to wire by himself a corded telephone by splicing it into the existing landline. Here he is on the ground trying to peel the 2 wires at the outlet with his mouth .... zaaaaaapppp!!!!! The big question mark that appeared on his face after the fact was priceless and the he said with a numb tongue "I thought phone lines were not powered" (use Duffy Duck voice to get the effect).... not sure how he believed the dial-tone was relaid or the phone could even ring without some sort of power (however low). I'm still chuckling thinking back at it. But I did worse, I was making a Xmas tree light cable, had bought 10 24V small lights wired them one by one to each other with the plug in, and it worked fine until the last one that of course closes the circuit .... and zzzzzaaaaaapppp!!!! here goes young me ... big question mark on my face as for 9 out of 10 lights nothing bad happened ..... stoooooopid me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Once I assisted at the then "my boss" attempting to wire by himself a corded telephone by splicing it into the existing land line. Here he is on the ground trying to peel the 2 wires at the outlet with his mouth .... zaaaaaapppp!!!!! The big question mark that appeared on his face after the fact was priceless and the he said with a numb tongue "I thought phone lines were not powered" (use Duffy Duck voice to get the effect).... not sure how he believed the dialtone was relaid or the phone could even ring without some sort of power (however low). I'm still chuckling thinking back at it. But I did worse, I was making a Xmas tree light cable, had bought 10 24V small lights wired them one by one to each other with the plug in, and it worked fine until the last one that of course closes the circuit .... and zzzzzaaaaaapppp!!!! here goes young me ... big question mark on my face as for 9 out of 10 lights nothing bad happened ..... stoooooopid me. Dude was lucky nobody tried to call in. I have handled live landline phone wires before. Once someone called in and I could feel the 50V pulses tingling through my dry fingers. It was not painful, but that would be quite a jolt to the mouth. Human skin is a poor conductor of electricity when dry but the resistance drops dramatically when wet. And yes, I keep hearing that whole amperage versus voltage thing, but remember ohm's law of V=RC. The human skin acts as a variable resistance depending on moisture content and surface area of contact, but higher voltage will contribute increased current. The blood has electrolytes in it making it an excellent conductor, so the current pretty much has a free pass from skin contact to skin contact. Generally RMS voltage (DC or AC, doesn't matter) of about 30V is the minimum threshold where you can start to feel pain with dry skin. 60V is quadruple the pain factor of 30V, and 120V is 16 times, with 240V being 64 times as painful because twice the voltage doubles the current but quadruples the wattage. High enough currents can actually char flesh from the inside out!!! Also the van-de-graf generator only produces a high voltage potential between itself and the environment. Who cares if there's 30,000 volts of static DC electricity in your body? Your body makes a poor capacitor and the Van-de-graf generator only produces a couple milliamps of current at best. Your body makes a poor capacitor seeing as there's only one "plate", so if you discharge suddenly by touching ground, it won't hurt much. because the total charge stored isn't large. BTW, I have a high tolerance for pain regarding electrical current. My buddies in high school dared me to lick a 9V battery and I was the only one who could hold the thing to my tongue for more than a second or so. Once I held it in place for like 30 seconds and the other guys swore I was cheating, but one dude said, "no he's really doing it; you can see his tongue pulsating." The metallic aftertaste in my mouth lingered after that one... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 I've shocked myself with 120V a handfull of times and while pretty uncomfortable, it's not too bad. I touched 280V once while working on commercial light fixtures and that kicked my ass. My whole arm was numb for a while after that. Yeah, try 90V DC. Ouch. Grabs like hell... Strangely, once I got over being stunned, which took about 5 minutes, I had no burns, tingling etc Lucky I guess. UK Plugs also have a guard now, the earth pin retracts it when you plug in, but if you are determined enough, you can bypass. If you get a shock then, you deserve it! Unless you use one of these... I heard good electricians work with one hand behind their backs for that reason. Should of just cut the breaker box before working on live wires. I always cut power whenever I install a light fixture or something. If it involves working on the breaker box itself or rewiring the walls, hire a pro. Too many people wire shit wrong in their houses, then someone gets electrocuted or the building catches fire... Yup. I always work with one hand behind my back. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Yeah, try 90V DC. Ouch. Grabs like hell... Unless you use one of these... Yup. I always work with one hand behind my back. Use at your own risk...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Use at your own risk...... Pffft. No problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 *sees new comment in the update thread. *reads new comment. *finds no update. *remembers he is no longer invested in the XM. *Leaves. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 *sees new comment in the update thread. *reads new comment. *finds no update. *remembers he is no longer invested in the XM. *Leaves. your point is??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 No point, sorry for the distraction. Carry on with the discussion of one-armed electricians or whatever else is relevant to the XM. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 No point, sorry for the distraction. Carry on with the discussion of one-armed electricians or whateve r else is relevant to the XM. K thanks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 OK. I bet incompetent one-armed electricians are statistically less likely to be electrocuted than incompetent two-or-more-armed electricians. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 OK. I bet incompetent one-armed electricians are statistically less likely to be electrocuted than incompetent two-or-more-armed electricians. But you need a four handed electrician to be able to hold the solder, the soldering iron, the component and the freaking board 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 But you need a four handed electrician to be able to hold the solder, the soldering iron, the component and the freaking board That's why they made these... https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-helping-hands-with-magnifier I love mine. I think he kinda looks like a stick figured alien though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Has there been an update on this thing on facebook? Certainly nothing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compumater Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Here is an update. I still want my money back, and I'm still being ignored by Curt. 6 years coming up soon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 That's why they made these... https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-helping-hands-with-magnifier I love mine. I think he kinda looks like a stick figured alien though. "Only available in stores." Yeah, thanks Radio Shack.. except that 99% of your stores have shut down. Guess I'll have to look for something similar on Amazon or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 "Only available in stores." Yeah, thanks Radio Shack.. except that 99% of your stores have shut down. Guess I'll have to look for something similar on Amazon or something. Road trip? We had six Radio Shacks in my area. Now there's only one. Mostly when I go in there, I raid the parts drawers. Three or four bucks for little baggies with parts you can buy in bulk online for 50 cents or less, but no shipping / handling / small order fees and then wait a week for it to arrive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 I think they have them at Harbor Freight, and I got one at Marc's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundGammon Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 "Only available in stores." Yeah, thanks Radio Shack.. except that 99% of your stores have shut down. Guess I'll have to look for something similar on Amazon or something. Found some on E-Bay, this one with illumination! http://www.ebay.com/itm/RadioShack-Pro-Line-Helping-Hands-Soldering-Station-with-Illuminated-Magnifier-/142139408920?hash=item21182b4218:g:1QUAAOSw4shX7T1g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 That's why they made these... https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-helping-hands-with-magnifier I love mine. I think he kinda looks like a stick figured alien though. I have one of those, still think 4 hands would be much easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluxit Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Any progress to report since July? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Any progress to report since July? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 July? What year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 July? What year? If I remember correctly they were hoping to get it done and shipped by summer's end . I have faith that Tep will get it done . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I received an e-mail from Curt last week that he is ordering 4 of the latest board design to build up for testing. I was going to wait until he had the boards in hand to post an update but it's been a while and it's clear that everyone wants to know what is going on. Thanks for your patience. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I received an e-mail from Curt last week that he is ordering 4 of the latest board design to build up for testing. I was going to wait until he had the boards in hand to post an update but it's been a while and it's clear that everyone wants to know what is going on. Thanks for your patience. Awesome man!! Thanks for the update!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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