New D9800! Do I need to ground it?

[Honkyharris]

Hey everyone! I just received my new WG-D9800 from Xgaming this weekend and I planning on testing it out tonight as I just received my ArcadeVGA2 from Ultimarc. One problem, the chassis has a grounding symbol with a hole next to it for a ground wire presumably. Is it necessary to ground the monitor before I plug it in or am I safe just to plug the monitor in and test it out?

If I do need to ground it, how should I go about doing this?

Thanks,
Honkyharris

[Rickn]

Should be safe and ready to go. it will have a switch mode supply and requires no Iso transformer.

Having said all this grounding is stll a good idea.

Good Luck

rick

[Honkyharris]

Well that's all good to hear. What do I do to go about grounding it?

Thanks,
Honkyharris

[MonMotha]

If you don't ground it, the frame may tingle a little bit due to the leakage on the Y caps that are used in the line filter on the AC input, but the leakage current should not be hazardous (just uncomfortable).  If your DC power common (black power wire) is not grounded (always is on a PC, btw), then everything in your cabinet will tingle like that.  Again, not hazardous, just uncomfortable.  If you do have DC power common tied to earth ground, then the Y cap leakage will find its way home that way.

If you choose to ground it, which is recommended unless you have a good reason not to, simply running a beefy wire - green with yellow stripes is conventional, but I just use plain green since it's what I have - from a good solid earth ground point to a bolt on the frame somewhere is conventional.  I think the D9xxx series has a small tab marked for this usage.

Note that introducing this ground may cause video noise ("herringbone" pattern) if your DC common is tied to earth ground elsewhere.

[Honkyharris]

Don't home electrical systems have an earth ground? I mean aren't all outlets are connected to a common in the electrical box then to an earth ground? Does this not provide the necessary ground for the system? The AC plug is a 3 prong plug, and the end that plugs into the monitor has a green, white, and black wire connected a circuit board via some sort of molex. Doesn't one of these wires connect to the ground provided by my homes circuit box?

Also, assuming the electrical outlet does provide significant grounding, is it safe to touch the monitor chassis(metal supports around the circuit boards / tube) once unplugged? I don't want to try to move it if it's unsafe.

Thanks,
Honkyharris

[MonMotha]

The third wire is where you should ground your monitor frame to.  Without knowing how your cabinet is wired, I don't know where this will be accessible.  It's generally good practice to ground all metal surfaces to a common point (though chaining them together is also acceptable) within the cabinet, and tie that point to the incoming "3rd prong" safety ground line.

If your monitor came with a standard power cord with a 3 prong plug, and the green wire is hooked up to something, then it's already grounded.  That grounding tab would be used if you provided your own power cable without the green wire.

[Honkyharris]

MonMotha, thanks for all your response they've been helpful. I also contacted John with tech support at WG and he helped me narrow down my question. He told me I just need to be sure the factory installed grounding strap was attached. So when I went home for lunch I called them and asked to point me in the right direction. In the case of this monitor the grounding strap runs right next to the degaussing ring around the tube itself. The grounding strap is then connected to bolts located on the bottom left and right at the front of the chassis.

He said since that was in place I'm good to go so I'll be doing some testing tonight. Clearly this was just an issue of me being a novice with tubes of this sort, but I'd rather be safe than sorry and hopefully this thread will help other newbies down the road!

Thanks again,
Honkyharris

[MonMotha]

Well, that's not what I was referring to, but yes, it is very important that the braid/strap connecting the so-called "dag" on the tube (the conductive black paint) to the frame be in-tact.

I was referring to making sure that the frame itself was connected to earth ground.  It sounds like it is via your power cable solution, and, even if it's not, it isn't a huge deal on this model monitor.

[Honkyharris]

I was referring to making sure that the frame itself was connected to earth ground.  It sounds like it is via your power cable solution, and, even if it's not, it isn't a huge deal on this model monitor.

It is my understanding that the ground on the 3-prong provides that as well as a common for all the electronics.

Thanks again,
Honkyharris

[Ummon]

Just plug the thing in an run it, yo. You're over-thinking this.