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Cathodes are DANGEROUS

A

Arcygenical

Fully [H]
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
25,066
But not THAT kind of dangerous... See:

Ow.jpg


I was fiddling around in my case, and accidentally touched the output terminal of a CCFL inverter. I had to pull my finger off with my other hand cuz my skin had melted to the connector.

I couldn't move my finger for a good 3 (horrifying) minutes!
 
Sorry, forums went down while I was submitting the post, re-edited to include the rest of it :D
 
Doh! I sure hope that wasn't a result from the pics I requested!

:p
 
That's scary... I just installed 2 of those, and I've been playing around with them without any thought for caution.
 
jnick said:
Doh! I sure hope that wasn't a result from the pics I requested!

:p
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LOL it actually was!


Now you know what hurts, so don't do it.
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Actually, it was kinda a nice feeling. A very high frequency buzz... But it paralyzed my finger, smelt horrible... Two major downsides :D
 
i've had that happen before ;x but I pulled away quickly. 3 minutes?!?! some peoples sex life doesnt even last that long.. 3 minutes is too long.
 
qbert3 said:
i've had that happen before ;x but I pulled away quickly. 3 minutes?!?! some peoples sex life doesnt even last that long.. 3 minutes is too long.
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LOL speak for yourself :D

Well, it was a temporary numbing... Kinda like if you fall asleep with your hand lying over the bed, fingers stuck in a single position for 8+ hours.
 
I know this has little to do with modding but I'm gonna let it go because I lol'ed when I saw your wound. :D
 
Qtip42 said:
I know this has little to do with modding but I'm gonna let it go because I lol'ed when I saw your wound. :D
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Thanks for the leniency! I just couldn't find any other subforum that regularly deals with CCFLs :D
 
I was doing some work on a computer for a friend over the weekend and needed to check the fuse in the PSU. My hand slipped as I removed the case and I sliced right through the skin on the second knuckle of my middle finger.

When I first looked at it I didn't think anything happened...then I bent my finger. I saw white, then blood ran down to my wrist before I could straighten it back out. Good thing I had some super glue handy. :)
 
Rabid Badger said:
I was doing some work on a computer for a friend over the weekend and needed to check the fuse in the PSU. My hand slipped as I removed the case and I sliced right through the skin on the second knuckle of my middle finger.

When I first looked at it I didn't think anything happened...then I bent my finger. I saw white, then blood ran down to my wrist before I could straighten it back out. Good thing I had some super glue handy. :)
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Yeah, superglue is VERY helpful in those situations... ESPECIALLY in a upscale kitchen (where I worked as souschef) during dinner hour.
 
Larger CCFL tubes can have over a thousand volts on their terminals. CCFL drive voltages are potentially lethal and must be treated with the appropriate respect.

CCFL assemblies which have exposed high voltage terminals are unsafe and IMO should not be used.
 
Overwind said:
Larger CCFL tubes can have over a thousand volts on their terminals. CCFL drive voltages are potentially lethal and must be treated with the appropriate respect.

CCFL assemblies which have exposed high voltage terminals are unsafe and IMO should not be used.
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Shouldn't output more than 0.005a which I believe isn't enough to fibrilate the heart...
 
Arcygenical said:
Shouldn't output more than 0.005a which I believe isn't enough to fibrilate the heart...
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Yeah, CCFL are high-voltage, low-current devices. You get a nasty jolt, but not fatal.

To think I was just carelessly dicking around with the wires, trying to solder them to a switch I liked. (Eventually found a good rocker switch I put into one of my Antec 900 face plates.
 
movax said:
To think I was just carelessly dicking around with the wires, trying to solder them to a switch I liked. (Eventually found a good rocker switch I put into one of my Antec 900 face plates.
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Sorry if this is stupid question ... had to ask .......

You did not modify the leads between the inverter and light tubes did you? If so that is asking for trouble unless the proper precautions are observed. The inverters are set to operate at a certain resistance. Modifying the leads will negate that causing dim lights and/or potential inverter failures. If you were only working with the 12V leads then never mind. :D
 
Wow, I always wondered what that kind of voltage would do.

I kinda figured it was too low of an amperage to do much damage.. (Kinda like like the spark from a grill ignitor..)

Guess it's got a little more juice than that..


To add to danger stories, I had a really old CCFL (before they started putting the inverters in plastic cases). I shorted something out on the back of the board and a capacitor blew up in my face. Could of easily put an eye out.. Scared the c___ outta me though.. :)
 
haha.. I've done this before and it made a nice little arc to my finger and zapped me good. :p

Still, a better one is when my friend had his Antec 480w PSU open and was working on it, then my other buddy plugged it in when he had the screwdriver in it. The screwdriver shot across the room out of his hand and his arm was numb for a good minute or two.. haha. It probably could have killed him, but it was pretty funny.

Another good thing to play tricks on people with is taking apart a disposable camera. There is a capacitor in there for the flash, and it puts out a harsh shock. I stuck it on the back of my brother's neck and it shock him hard where his neck muscles locked up and it gave him an electrical burn. :D
 
you know "cathode" encompasses many, many devices and components besides CCFLs. Please be more specific in the future.
 
Susquehannock said:
Sorry if this is stupid question ... had to ask .......

You did not modify the leads between the inverter and light tubes did you? If so that is asking for trouble unless the proper precautions are observed. The inverters are set to operate at a certain resistance. Modifying the leads will negate that causing dim lights and/or potential inverter failures. If you were only working with the 12V leads then never mind. :D
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The cathodes were already prewired to a PCI slot bracket switch, so I just reconnected/soldered those two wires that were running to the switch. (I think the important wires are usually tightly bound in that white shielding/cabling).
 
Ha ha, I did something like that too. I was playing with the backlights from an LCD screen, and somehow managed to zap myself. I had a nice little hole like you :p
 
yep, i ahve done that ounce or twice, although i didnt find it as enjoyable as you did. i have also touched the cap on a disposable camera, now that hurts
 
Sounds like the only thing that might've made this more fun for you, is if you'd gotten a nice little zzzzzzzzap!! sound when you did it! Nothing like the sound that accompanies a near electrocution, eh?? :eek:

Nice to hear you made it through okay! :D
 
Yeah I've zapped myself on a PSU to. I opened it up to see if I could put it in my PC without the cover. Well it wasn't grounded, and I had my fingers on the PSU case... I hurt quite a bit...
 
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