The Dangers of the Monitor

[javeryh]

OK, I just got my Happs 19" Vision Pro monitor delivered and I want to plug it in and fire it up to see if it works (and to learn how to hook it up in general).  I've read a lot about the dangers of monitors and I'm a little scared to even touch it - especially since the rear is completely exposed - there's a lot of wiring back there!

If I carefully take it out of the box and place it on a work table am I OK to test it out?  Also, when I'm done and I want to move it ultimately, what is the best way to do so.  Obviously after shutting down the computer I will unplug it but is there anything I should be aware of before moving it?  I'm staying away from the parts labeled "High Voltage" but is it OK to touch the metal brackets (chassis?) that surrounds the thing (and that I will ultimately use to secure into my cab)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  If I die while building this thing I'll be hearing "I told you so" from my wife for all of eternity.  Thanks!!

[stratjakt]

The Happ vision pro monitors are fine to sit on a table and plug into the wall (no iso required).  You can touch the metal parts all you want, they're all grounded.

When in doubt, dont touch anything when the monitor is plugged in, but when its unplugged, it should all be safe, since it should discharge itself - but always assume it isnt discharged. 

The really dangerous parts are the anode (the rubber suction cup thingy on the tube), the wire that connects it, and the big honkin unit dealie that it's connected to (the flyback transformer), and the neckboard (the little board at the end fo the neck). Thats the high voltage areas.  There's plenty of spots on the monitor where you could be exposed to mains (120V) power, but thats much less likely to kill you (I've taken a fistful of mains power more than once, and am still here).

It needs to just be respected, not feared.  When installing it, worry more about tapping/bumping the neckboard assembly, and cracking the tube (thusly rendering it garbage) than about electocution.

You arent this timid when you pick up and move a 19" TV set, are you?

I know there is an electrocution hazard, but we're talking about high voltage, at relatively low amperage.. I've heard of plenty of folks taking a jolt, but not dying.  My father-in-law used to run a tv repair shop, and says he's got the bad end of an anode cap more than once - he's still alive.

It seems to me you'd have to have a weak heart or something along the lines for it to happen.  Has anyone heard, firsthand, of anyone killed while working on a TV set or monitor? 

Methinks the whole "danger danger" thing is a little out of proportion online, like I said, respect it - dont fear it.

[Nipedley]

I just wanted to add that you should stay away from capacitors (metal barrels on the neckboard and chassis) - some of them are relatively low voltage (while you still wouldnt want to touch them, they wont do much harm than make you move your hand away quickly) but some of them can give a nasty jolt. I havent got shocked by one yet, but I did do a test discharge on a capacitor to see if it was powering up or not. Nice sparks =) (Wouldn't really want to put my finger in there...)

ADD: Also, if its new in the box it should be relatively safe anyway. All of my capacitors had discharged themselves after about 4 weeks of being off (still did the anode cap to be safe, but all the caps were fine) - that wont be the case after its been powered, obviously, but its more than easy enough to move it by the metal chassis around the monitor.

[Pik4chu]

The Happ vision pro monitors are fine to sit on a table and plug into the wall (no iso required).

[stratjakt]

Now, you should always assume theres a charge, and discharge, but with every monitor I own (a bunch of WG 7000s and a new Happ Vision Pro), they do discharge themselves instantly. 

If you see the other thread of mine with the problems with a 25K719x, every time I go to remove the chassis for some work, I've never had so much as a crackle when discharging it, mere seconds after it's had power to it.

As for my Happ monitor, the first thing I realized was that the universal frame wouldnt fit properly in the neo geo cab I'd intended it for, so I switched frames.  It was powered up for test purposes only minutes earlier, and when I went to discharge it, nothing.  Not only that, every relatively modern (early 90s and up) TV I've dismantled hasn't given me a pop either.

Like I said, I always assume they're charged, and always follow procedures, but I've yet to actually "discharge" anything.    They have built in circuits that do this as soon as powers out (correct me if I'm wrong, monitor genii). 

Just my experience.  Plus, in all the googling I've done wrt monitors and tvs and arcade collecting and hobbiest, I've yet to read one account of a death - and plenty of people in the 'hobby' are plenty stupid.  I'm sure some dork somewhere licked his fingers to get a good grip on the anode cap and pulled it off while sitting in a swimming pool because it was a hot day.

If they were that deadly, I'm sure the body count would be fairly high.

Follow the procedures you read about, but don't be a chicken. Quivering and sweating and shaking and acting like a nervous ninny is more likely to get you hurt, or wreck your 200 buck tube.

Or maybe you should just buy a nice, safe colecovision for your retro-gaming fix.

[stratjakt]

The point about the collateral damage is a good one, most "electrocution" deaths that deal with household/consumer electronics have to do with jumping/falling or hurting yourself somehow.

And, yeah, the voltage *could* go across your heart and kill you.  There's enough current in a AAA battery to stop your heart, this is just really unlikely.  I forget the figure, but think about the amount of juice they use in the electric chair to put someone down - and often it takes two or three tries, and they have to crank it up!

I've never got the wrong end of an anode, but I've peed on an electric fence, stuck my fingers in a mosquito zapper, and removed lightbulbs while the circuit is hot.

The safety procedures are good ones, and shoudl be followed, but its sort of like the proper "safe" way to jump a car - where you make your last black/negative connection by connecting to somewhere on the cars chassis, not the black terminal, because it could spark, and the battery could be leaking hydrogen, which could ignite, which could cause the battery to rupture, which could spray you with acid, which could burn you.  There's just so many coulds.  As Wayne would say, monkeys "could" fly out of my butt.

Thats not to say it cant happen.  Its just to say it rarely does.  TV repair isnt exactly a high-risk profession - you can learn it by mail via the sally struthers commercial.  Anyways, like I said before, theres nothing to be scared of - just aware and respectful of.  As a wood shop teacher told us so wisely in 6th grade, don't be scared of the tools, its the scared timid folk that end up with 4 fingers and half a thumb.  Just be aware and respectful.

[Ed_McCarron]

glass (imploding the tube throwing glass 20 feet in every direction)

I've always wondered about this.  The physics geek in me wants to know why if its an IMplosion,  do things fly outward like an EXplosion?

[Ed_McCarron]

Makes sense.  Thanks for the info.

[PetitMorte]

Don't lick the metal parts.