[AMRadio] Shorting stick

[Donald Chester]

>From: abeck at xplornet.com
>
>I always thought you had to discharge though a high value resistance to 
>avoid
>damaging arcs that would hurt the surface you were discharging through a 
>plasma
>arc.
>
>I do remember using a shorting stick in a job I had 20 years ago.

I don't know about a high  resistance, but I would be careful shorting out 
HV oil caps directly.  If a high value capacitor, 25 mfd or more is fully 
charged near its maximum voltage rating, sometimes a direct short can blow 
the terminal connection open inside the case and ruin the capacitor.  I 
would suggest a power resistor of several hundred ohms rigidly mounted on 
the business end.  First, discharge through the resistor, then directly 
(just in case that resistor happened to open, per Murphy's law).

Also, I  have noticed that HV oil caps will sometimes "rebound" after a 
complete dischage and unexpectedly deliver a nasty shock sometime later.

Don k4kyv