[Milsurplus] A WARNING: The Death Angel Flies Close.

[David Olean]

Hello David

A very sobering story for sure. I am so glad you are OK and still 
kicking. I had a visit from the same Death Angel back 20 years ago and 
it was quite scary. I got across a 3800 volt PS capable of delivering 1 
amp continuously. My right knee touched the HV terminal while I was 
crouched down, and it went out my left arm into a grounded EMT conduit 
along the wall.  The path went through my heart and body cavity. I think 
the current was so great that my heart "clamped" down and did not 
fibrillate as a result.  I vowed that I would not mess with high voltage 
again, but soon came to the realization that I was just approaching the 
problem with a less than serious attitude. I vowed to make all my high 
voltage amplifiers completely safe and have no way for high voltage to 
make its way into anyone or anything. I also do not work on any high 
voltage stuff in the evening or if I feel tired. Everything is buttoned 
up with shielded and grounded wiring. If any work is done to a high 
voltage stage, no hands or appendages are allowed inside for any reason 
and there is no such thing as temporary HV clip leads etc.

I understand that as we age,  serious gaps appear in our thought 
processes. We have to engineer our test setups  to remove any chance for 
error here. It is hard, but the alternative is not acceptable. Flashing 
lights and audio alarms can alert us that HV is present. My technique is 
to unplug HV connectors before going into any HV stage and never have 
the power supplies on different circuits.

The positives in your case are a great reason to re evaluate your test 
and construction procedures.  HV IS serious. I don't want to appear 
condescending or holier than thou, but it is a good time to re evaluate 
your practices and make it impossible to be "bitten" again.

Another idea is to substitute  2N2222s for the 211s.

Dave K1WHS

On 11/16/2019 7:34 PM, David Stinson wrote:
> A WARNING:  Close Encounter with the Death Angel.
>
> Some of you may remember an article I wrote some years ago, 
> "Shockless," which was published in an Australian ham publication.  
> The point was how our focus and attention decline as we age and the 
> great danger of working with High Voltage where a momentary mental 
> lapse or getting out-of-order in our safety procedures can have tragic 
> consequences.   The article presented alternatives, like much-lowered 
> B+ voltages, which can bring our old boatanchors alive without excess 
> danger.  Well, I've just had The Death Angel pass so close I could 
> feel his cold, fetid breath and the icy wind from his black wings.  
> It's only the grace and goodness of The Lord that I am here to write 
> you this warning.
>
> As most of you know, I'm working on a WWII Navy GO-9 transmitter and 
> the project is nearing completion.  The power supply for this 
> transmitter produces 1400V and 540V under load.  When unkeyed, the B+ 
> is near 1800V.   This level of voltage, if contacted across the body, 
> is almost always instantly fatal.   I've been very careful to go slow, 
> remember safety, have a sequence for power-up and power down.  Checks 
> and rechecks before putting a hand in there. And it worked.  Until a 
> moment of inattention and a neglected safety check, when it didn't.
>
> I've had the High Voltage fed from a separate AC primary through a 
> variac while tuning and testing.  When plugged directly into house 
> current, the Low B+ is too hot (800V), so I was working on toning it 
> down.  Got that all sorted out, so power down to make a couple of 
> changes.  Turn off the variac.   Turn off the Filament supply. Wait 
> for the resistors to bleed-away the charge, (**but neglected to check 
> the Hi B+ voltage test point**).  The "B+ ON" warning light was facing 
> away from me.
> Just one thing my old, distracted brain forgot:  The Hi B+ wasn't 
> plugged into the variac- my soldering iron was.  The Hi B+ was plugged 
> into the house current, fully live, sitting at 1800 V like a coiled 
> rattle snake.  "Looks like one of the B+ feed wires is a little too 
> close to ground.  I"ll just move..."
>
> WARNING:GRAPHIC PHOTOS
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9NLRVGj93NpSBgdB6
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/C4KycfbxKhTYLLre9
>
> Flash and bang.  If my other hand had been on anything conductive, of 
> if I were on a concrete floor instead of a wooden deck, I would not me 
> writing this.  I would have been instantly killed.  Worse, I would 
> have left an deadly rattle snake, coiled to bite the family member who 
> found me.   The burns on my left hand  look superficial, but my hands 
> won't stop shaking.  The pain is pretty intense.  There is likely some 
> nerve and deep-tissue damage; that will be evident over the next few 
> days.   The Lord God, in His mercy, decided to let me continue to draw 
> breath, and I prayed my gratitude to Him for sparing me another day.
>  But one does not get-away with such stupidity unless one is in 
> Congress, and I ain't.
>
> I am going to finish this project; it's too close now to give up on 
> it.  But DIrty Harry's advice echos in my empty head:
>   "A man has got to know his limitations."
> Have had close calls before, but nothing nearly so deadly as this.  
> Such Voltages are "a young man's game."  I think I've just had my last 
> warning.  I simply no longer have the mental sharpness essential to 
> deal with such danger.   I will never again take-on any project that 
> requires such voltages.  I dearly love reviving these historic and 
> beautiful rigs, but not enough to die for them.  All my pending 
> projects that require this sort of voltage are going away.  All my 
> iron at this level will be given away.
> From now on, I'm a "little rig" sorta guy.  Got no more room for big 
> rigs anyway.
>
> Be smarter than me (not very hard).  Be safer than me.  Don't do this.
> And thank The Almighty for every new day.  You never know when it will 
> suddenly end.
>
> GL OM ES 73 DE Dave AB5S
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Milsurplus mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/milsurplus
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to k1whs at metrocast.net