Got shocked BAD

[GibGa]

If you can it is wise to get checked after a high V encounter from what I have heard- I think it can actually cause muscle tissue damage, but not certain that is why it is advise...have never had more than 120vac myself K.O.W.
And never had this issue in a amp build before but in case you haven't thought of it VariAC/BulbLimiter seems necc at first go diagnosing...?
Glad your well, I know I have become too casual at times in my tinkering in the chassis, and just glad for the draining resistors, but even those aren't failsafe 100% so I TRY to remember always to check the B+ and rail nodes before poking around.

[jcat5503]

It didn't really feel like getting hit in the chest by anything. Just a really bad jolt! It made me throw my arms up and casued me to thow my guitar

A trip to the doc may be in order

[Jack Hester]

And never had this issue in a amp build before but in case you haven't thought of it VariAC/BulbLimiter seems necc at first go diagnosing...?

The bulb/lamp limiter is an excellent test. 25 watt bulb to limit the current flow. Bulb lights and you have a problem. But, don't depend entirely on this. If earth ground is missing, the amp will still work. The signal ground will still be intact. That won't protect you. Earth ground is the only way to protect you if the hot wire faults to the chassis or any other part of the amp and pops the fuse/circuit breaker. You do have a grounded cord on your amp? Only asking out of concern for your safety.

Jack

[Ian444]

I'm just wondering, if it was the fault of the amp, wouldn't you get a shock from the strings of the guitar, since they are effectively ground?

[d95err]

One guy at the Swedish amp forum I hang out at had a similar experience. He got shocked when inserting a cable into the amp. It turned out to be a break in the connection between preamp ground and chassis ground. The amp continued to operate without blowing a fuse, but the preamp ground became floating and happened to reference itself to a high voltage. When inserting the cable, he touched both the chassis and the sleeve of the plug, which caused the shock.

Perhaps your amp could have a similar problem?

[jcat5503]

Yes I had my hands on my guitars strings. Its hard to say if that did it or not

Hmm that seems like a possibility!

[M Fowler]

Yeah that outlet you were plugged into needs to be check as already suggest and then tear into your amp.

Not sure if that current can be enough to affect your heart's rhythm but if that shock was that bad it might be good to get a checkup.

Mark

[Structo]

And for God sake, drain the caps before working on the amp or at least verify they are drained.

[tubeswell]

If you can it is wise to get checked after a high V encounter from what I have heard- I think it can actually cause muscle tissue damage

This is how I understand it, from how it was explained to me by the doctor.

A very mild electric current will make your muscles twitch. A very strong current will burn the tissue into a cinder, which then becomes a very efficient conductor. When you get a high voltage surging through your body heading for the ground, it turns the pathway that it takes through your body, be it blood vessel/muscle tissue/whatever, that it used to get to the ground, into a carbonised conductor - from which of course that part of your body never recovers. (It ends up as permanent scar tissue if you are fortunate enough to survive and recover)

If the pathway goes through your heart (as blood vessels inevitably do) it will affect parts of the heart muscle tissue etc that were supplied by those blood vessels. If you are lucky, over time the muscle(s) will adapt to source blood supply from other blood vessels (but your ticker won't be quite the same as it was before the shock - you will go through life not ever quite able to climb as many stairs etc with as much vigour etc as you used to be able to do - relax that is part of ageing - but bad electric shocks can just bring it on sooner).

However, if enough of your heart muscles get crippled by lack of blood supply then its boot hill.

[M Fowler]

My friend was shocked at my work. He was told the power was off on a 3 phase motor. The current entered one hand and out the other forearm resting against the motor case.

We work in a hospital so as soon as I heard about it I went to visit him. The current hurt his lungs because of the fluid conducting. Months later he was unable to work eventually loosing memory and other neurological problems. Two years later after fighting workman's comp he won his law suit and came back to work as an IT tech. Doing great now.

Nasty stuff. He is one person I knew that lived, the other guys I knew didn't after suffering severe burns as linemen.

[Structo]

Just one niggle Mark, I believe electrocuted means killed by electricity.
He received a life threatening electrical shock.

Sorry for being anal retentive about it.

[M Fowler]

Yeah he was really shocked

[analog_stud]

Serious stuff here. Got shocked as a kid fiddling around inside an old silvertone head (not a clue as to how it worked and what I was doing). Threw me back into a wall and was spitting out green mucus afterwards. Some years later found out I had damaged some tissue in my heart when I developed a tachycardia (short circuit due to damaged tissue). Got it fixed but I NEVER poked around in a tube-amp again without learning a few things! Check that B+!

[Structo]

Wow!
It damaged your heart?


Well there you go fellas, proof that these things can hurt or kill you.

I got nailed several times as a dumb kid.

One time in electronics shop class we were making power supplies and I got 500 vdc through both arms.

We were sitting on these bar stool type chairs and I went ass over tea kettle backwards.
Shook it off and went back to working on it.

I had a heart attack last year but they never mentioned anything about old damage.

[labb]

We all have seen the notation of Warning High voltage when we are building amps. All of the sites have it...Thought that I would share this with all. It is from an Electrical Safety presentation where I work...Shock as relate to current for a 150 lb. man

1-3 mA---Mild sensation
3-10 mA--Paniful sensation
10 mA-----Paralysis threshold of arms
30 mA-----Respiratory paralysis
75 mA-----Fibrillation threshold .5%
250 mA-----Fibrillation threshold 99.5%
4 A-------Heart paralysis threshold
>5 A------Tissue burning

The voltage and the path make a difference, but this will give you a general idea what the effect will be of different currents. Dangerous things we deal with. Pay attention and be careful.