# By what have you been electrically shocked? (NOT electrocuted.)



## nez

well i know here at lewport we have this old lighting board called sparky that well i think its name says it all hahaha


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## audioslavematt

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Several computer power supplies and most recently a Peavey CS-800 Power Amp...


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## nez

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

i bet that hurt ahahh


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## soundlight

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

A desk lamp, which I had turned off (manual switch) and then left, and someone had come in and tried to turn it on. When I came back with the right tool, I went right back to work. It was one of those halogen jobs, with the nice powerful power supply.

I also got shocked by a striplight that was mounted on a two-by-four. Needless to say, bringing the dimmer down all the way doesn't completely eliminate the current...(This was a small dimmer, so it wasn't major. It wasn't even as bad as being shocked by the desk lamp, surprisingly.)


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## nez

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

yea i and that is why when ever i m dealing with lamps and im workin on them i unplug them hahaha i kinda had that happen to me accdentaly left one of our cove lights on ops when i went to change the blub


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## CHScrew

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Just to name a few...

Swimming pool pump, electric air compressor, spotlight, soundboard, pars in loft (3 times) (SOMEONE, was supose to turn them off while I changed light bulbs), Tazer, electric dog zapper (testing invisible fence), car battery, wall socket (I stuck a car key into it when I was 3), homemade flashpot, homemade stungun, ect...


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Unfortunately, this thread could be interpreted by some as saying that receiving an electric shock is no big deal. That is not the case. Electric shock can have many different effects dependent of the severity of the shock. Electrocution being the most serious of these. To quote propmonkey from an old thread on electric shock, "... shocked(electrocution is being killed by the way)...". None of you has ever been electrocuted. You are all still alive since you are able to post. 

There have been several other threads on electric shock in the past. Some of them are:
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1926
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2989

Is is the amperage flowing across the heart which is the primary factor in determining the likelihood of death. Some sources say as little as 30mA is fatal. I have in the past seen a chart that shows the effects of electric shock at different currents. I however cannot remember where I saw that. What does have to be remembered is that for every 10000 volts of electricity, it will jump 1cm in dry air, further in air with a higher moisture content. So, it would follow that on a humid day, you would be more likely to sustain a shock. Similarly, your skin's resistance is highest when dry, so if you are wet, your resistance decreases and so the likelihood of shock also increases. So too does the likelihood of the shock being a severe one.

We all need to be careful in how we treat electricity. There are protection devices such as RCDs / GFCIs that should help to reduce the risk of electric shock. These have been discussed here:
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3201
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3257

We all need to be conscious that being shocked is not something that we should strive to achieve. Instead, let this thread serve as a means for posting how people have been shocked so that others may not make the same mistakes. I suspect that most shocks are preventable and so, ensure that you take all possible precautions to ensure that you do not get shocked.


Chris15 said:


> There is a principle in electrical work that goes along the lines of assume that something is live until you have proven that it is dead. In this instance something like metering it and obtaining 0V or very close to it would be considered to be proving it dead.



As I have said in the thread on follow spot repairs here, I do not want to be sending condolences because someone did not treat electricity with the respect it deserves.

In Australia, it is required by law in most states as part of occupational health and safety requirements that all electrical equipment is tested by an electrician or other competent person and tagged to show that it passed the testing. Australian Standards prescribe the intervals at which this must occur. I believe that for things like theatres it is every 3 months, while for say office equipment that does not get moved it is only every 6 months. This is one strategy that can help to reduce the risk of electric shock, but I have to say that it is a flawed system, as I know of a followspot at another school that was tagged as having passed testing and yet, the technicians there told me that prior to testing, it had almost given someone an electric shock.

If we can all be observant of what is going on and remove if at all possible electrical hazards, we should not see high instances of electric shock.

With the safety warnings out of the way, I have not been shocked to date. I make a point of ensuring that precautions are taken and if I don't feel competent, I get a licensed electrician to do it for me. I have however heard that one of our music teachers plugged an amp in one day and got sparks from the back of it to a metal table leg that was behind it.


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## propmonkey

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

many a plugs, my desklamp in my room, strobe light, many fixtures and a filing cabinet...


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## soundlight

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I would not say that getting shocked is a good idea at all. After the incident with the desk lamp and the strip light, I always check to see if whatever I am working on is unplugged, not just "turned off." Even if I know that I won't be touching something that could carry a voltage, I still unplug whatever I am working on, no matter how trivial it may be. Even if I am changing a christmas light bulb. No matter how paranoid it is, I know that it may one day save my life.


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## Mayhem

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Electricity.


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Mayhem said:


> Electricity.



LOL. Like anything else would give an electric shock. I again remind people that electrocution is electric shock resulting in death, so in reality, no one here has been electrocuted.


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## MHSTech

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I think I have you all beat on creative electric shock. I got shocked by a floor buffer.


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## tenor_singer

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Shocked by an electric dog collar... and I wasn't even trying.


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## avkid

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I have been "shocked" by my credit card bill.


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## ricc0luke

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


propmonkey said:


> and a filing cabinet...


 
nice. it doesn't get much better than that!

now... i know i am probably gonna die at the theatre today for saying this, but i have never been shocked by any equpiment. I've been darn near it... but never actaually got me... most of the old stuff shorts or starts on fire so i guess i'm just used to watching things very carefully and metering everything. knock on wood.

like i said though... now today i'll be on the ladder touch something get the shock of my life and fall to the ground-


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## nez

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

o now the funnest electorshock for me has to be from my mp3 player it must collect the static im tellin you and it dont feel good to get shocked in the ears lol


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## mbandgeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

i have this old Metal Control center that all my computer stuff plugs into, somethimes when i am typing i need to adjust the volume on my stereo (also old and made of metal). My Computer is improperly grounded so whewn i go to adjust the volume, My fingers start to get numb, not a cool Numb feeling either.


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## Radman

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I have yet to be electrocuted [as pointed out by Chris] however I have been shocked by a huge number of things.

One time when I was perhaps 7 or 8 I hooked a "dead" car battery up to a lawnmower in attempts to make a time machine... that was fun...

Repairing a lamp base on a light that was plugged in but the outlet was "off" I stuck in a screwdriver and WEE!!!

Coiling a cable that was hanging down from an electric, I got to the end and there was no connector... wtf? That one shouldn't have happened...

Just my stronger memories... and thats not including static shock either.


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## mbandgeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

My dad was sent flying about 5 feet by touching the wires that led to our well. He was okay, it could've been really bad.


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## CURLS

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I WIN 
Not only have i been hit by straight up 120 and 220 but yeah I FELL OFF THE CATWALK in my high school several years ago. When i fell i cut my chin on an ibeam and then blacked out from falling and getting electrocuted on our 277v house lighting system.


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## bdesmond

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

To add something constructive here, having done a few dumb things working on telephone lines, remember there's ample current on your POTS handoffs from the telco to give you a nice zap. PBX wiring (what you'll see in an office building) is generally higher current/voltage. POE Ethernet while we're on the subject is +48V DC and I forget how many mA max, but I have had the pleasure of locating POE taps without the Fluke more than once.

My point in other words - communication cabling, primarily telephone (and Ethernet) will give you a nice little zap if you're not careful. It's not just high-voltage connections that can make your day unpleasant.


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


CURLS said:


> I WIN
> Not only have i been hit by straight up 120 and 220 but yeah I FELL OFF THE CATWALK in my high school several years ago. When i fell i cut my chin on an ibeam and then blacked out from falling and getting electrocuted on our 277v house lighting system.



Is this telling you to be more careful?


bdesmond said:


> To add something constructive here, having done a few dumb things working on telephone lines, remember there's ample current on your POTS handoffs from the telco to give you a nice zap. PBX wiring (what you'll see in an office building) is generally higher current/voltage. POE Ethernet while we're on the subject is +48V DC and I forget how many mA max, but I have had the pleasure of locating POE taps without the Fluke more than once.
> 
> My point in other words - communication cabling, primarily telephone (and Ethernet) will give you a nice little zap if you're not careful. It's not just high-voltage connections that can make your day unpleasant.



I seen to recall that, at least in Australia, telephone lines leave the exchange at 48 volts, but the level at your end is largely dependent on your distance form the exchange.

If I recall correctly, the minimum voltage for an electric shock to e perceivable is 40 volts... be warned.


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## bdesmond

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Chris15 said:


> I seen to recall that, at least in Australia, telephone lines leave the exchange at 48 volts, but the level at your end is largely dependent on your distance form the exchange.
> 
> If I recall correctly, the minimum voltage for an electric shock to e perceivable is 40 volts... be warned.



Goes up to 90 I believe for a ring and then obviously variable voltage for a conversation. I try not to deal with the physical plant end of my job too often but I went through that phase and certainly learnt a few things from the school of hard knocks.


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


bdesmond said:


> Goes up to 90 I believe for a ring and then obviously variable voltage for a conversation. I try not to deal with the physical plant end of my job too often but I went through that phase and certainly learnt a few things from the school of hard knocks.



It may very well be. Thing is that there is every likelihood that US and Australian systems are different.


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## Diarmuid

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I once licked a nine volt battery, without thinking, when I made this 'moisture tester'..... I'm not suer whether that actually counts, but I think it hurt a bit at the time.....


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Diarmuid said:


> I once licked a nine volt battery, without thinking, when I made this 'moisture tester'..... I'm not suer whether that actually counts, but I think it hurt a bit at the time.....



I believe that some people think that touching a 9 volt battery to the tongue is an appropriate means of testing if the battery is flat. I warn those people, people die from doing this. The statistics show that, but they don't show what they were doing at the time, so maybe the battery is not totally at fault.


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## Diarmuid

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Chris15 said:


> Diarmuid said:
> 
> 
> 
> I once licked a nine volt battery, without thinking, when I made this 'moisture tester'..... I'm not suer whether that actually counts, but I think it hurt a bit at the time.....
> 
> 
> 
> I believe that some people think that touching a 9 volt battery to the tongue is an appropriate means of testing if the battery is flat. I warn those people, people die from doing this. The statistics show that, but they don't show what they were doing at the time, so maybe the battery is not totally at fault.
Click to expand...

 
I just want to clarify, at the time I wasnt actually testing to see whether the battery was flat, but more just trying to test a project I had made, and whilst I can clearly see now it was a totally stupid thing to do at the time, it didnt seem so stupid, as it was just a rash action, and I didnt really think it through.


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## saxman0317

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

o am i notorius for this one. Being a pool tech. i have been caught by many different systems. Pumps, control panels, faulty breakers, eletrical chlorine generation systems, you name it. As well as the random shock working on trucks, minor wiring jobs and playing with stuff. By the way...3 phase hurts and you wake up in a hospital...not suggestied...


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## Mayhem

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


bdesmond said:


> To add something constructive here, having done a few dumb things working on telephone lines, remember there's ample current on your POTS handoffs from the telco to give you a nice zap.



Thanks for telling me this now – I learned out the had way when I was 14 and dropping a telephone line into my bedroom from the main line in to our house. Being young and a lot less knowledgeable back then, I decided to strip the wires with my teeth. Will not be doing that again in a hurry. 


Chris15 said:


> I believe that some people think that touching a 9 volt battery to the tongue is an appropriate means of testing if the battery is flat. I warn those people, people die from doing this. The statistics show that, but they don't show what they were doing at the time, so maybe the battery is not totally at fault.



Don’t believe the stats all of the time. Whenever someone is taken to hospital or dies, their medical record is ‘coded’ according to the international classification of diseases (currently ICD-10). Clinical coders do not have a medical background but instead are trained to read through the records and allocate codes for the principle reason for admission, existing diseases, treatments and complications etc. Sometimes they make mistakes and often there are differences of practice between coders. I spent three years doing heart research, where my job was to validate the codes for heart failure. I once had to go into the forensics department to examine the record of a young man that had been murdered. As he died on the operating table after having a cardiac arrest, his death had initially been coded as a heart attack. It is this sort of error that often leads to the “sensational” statistic. Also some of the stuff that gets emailed around the traps is utter crap.


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Mayhem said:


> Don’t believe the stats all of the time. Whenever someone is taken to hospital or dies, their medical record is ‘coded’ according to the international classification of diseases (currently ICD-10). Clinical coders do not have a medical background but instead are trained to read through the records and allocate codes for the principle reason for admission, existing diseases, treatments and complications etc. Sometimes they make mistakes and often there are differences of practice between coders. I spent three years doing heart research, where my job was to validate the codes for heart failure. I once had to go into the forensics department to examine the record of a young man that had been murdered. As he died on the operating table after having a cardiac arrest, his death had initially been coded as a heart attack. It is this sort of error that often leads to the “sensational” statistic. Also some of the stuff that gets emailed around the traps is utter crap.



For all I know, they were leaning over the edge of a ladder when they tested the battery and so they got a slight shock and fell off the ladder. You could say that the fall was caused by the battery, but in reality, the battery was but one of a number of factors, things like the fact that they were 5 metres off the ground and over extending have far more relevance, but it could still have battery testing recorded in the statistics as the cause of death.

I tend to think that it may be that one or two people a year sustain injuries from this kind of activity, but that the statistics have suffered from a little embellishment.


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## mbandgeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Diarmuid said:


> I once licked a nine volt battery, without thinking, when I made this 'moisture tester'..... I'm not suer whether that actually counts, but I think it hurt a bit at the time.....



Try licking three new ones right out of the package. Made my whole mouth go numb.


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## soundlight

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

One of my board ops liked to lick nine volt batteries. We had to make him stop because we ran out of batteries for our wireless mics.


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## control

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

electrical fence twice and when a lab partner pluged a device that i was not done wiring just to see if i was done yet


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## soundlight

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Forgot about the electric fence. But ours was very low voltage and amperage, so it didn't hurt that much. We used to put aluminum foil on it with peanut butter on that so the deer would lick it. We had a garden that covered almost an acre, and we had a fence running around the whole thing.


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## MircleWorker

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Umm, Last time I got shocked was on a Band Stand Light that shorted out in my hands.


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


soundlight said:


> Forgot about the electric fence. But ours was very low voltage and amperage, so it didn't hurt that much. We used to put aluminum foil on it with peanut butter on that so the deer would lick it. We had a garden that covered almost an acre, and we had a fence running around the whole thing.



I thought that most electric fences ran at voltages upwards of 1000V DC. The current is low and it pulses, so the risk of permanent damage is very low.


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## salva

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

probably the strangest one.

I got shocked by my bed frame. Apperantly when i was sleeping i broke a plug and it made contact with my metal bed frame...

lets just say i woke up with a jump.


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## DarSax

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Funny this thread got bumped.

I got electrocuted for a good 5-10 seconds the other day. Was testing out a fresnell, didn't know the plug was broken until I put it into the wall (looked perfectly fine; hairline crack). All I could do was go ahhhhhhhh until I could finally pull my hand away (it was stuck, you know what I'm talking about). Meanwhile, it was a kids show, so they came running OH MY GOD OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED??! And I was like "....well....kind of got electrocuted..." OH MY GOD!!!!! I heard them runnning away "Some guy over there got electrocuted and almost died!!!" It was actually kind of funny, if not embarassing...


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## celtictechie

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

funny story 2006 Cancer Ball Focus I got shock with a beer in one hand and spining a barrel light in the other. Oh did i metion i was 20 to 30 feet in the air on a piece on metal. damm that hurt saved the beer thou. it was a sliver par can. it was fun 120 volts wow


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## DarSax

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


celtictechie said:


> saved the beer thou



Thank god it wasn't serious, then.


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## celtictechie

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Nothing a little tingle won't now and then damm rental equipment. 

JAmes


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## What Rigger?

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

110? You call that a shock?

220, 221, whatever works.


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## propmonkey

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

i jsut brought a shock lighter and that thing is strong. i got it yesterday and it didnt think it would be that strong. ive gotten a few friends. i jsut changed the battery tonight and i wore my gloves the entire time...


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## celtictechie

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Is that cool there are a ton of those shock items. that is the best way to get to stop smoking. Have fun but becareful those can burn you.


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## Dustincoc

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Marquee, Auto Ignition Coil, Wall Plug

Had Sparks fly from multi-cables too, but they didn't get me

by the way, technically no one here has been electricuted, shocked yes. Electricution technically only occurs if you die.


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## soundlight

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I have been told that grounding yourself is all but a necessity here, because the doors, the wall plates, and just about everything builds up a sizeable static charge in the winter. So sizeable that it can create sparks over half an inch long!


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Dustincoc said:


> by the way, technically no one here has been electricuted, shocked yes. Electricution technically only occurs if you die.



I thought we had established that a while ago...


soundlight said:


> I have been told that grounding yourself is all but a necessity here, because the doors, the wall plates, and just about everything builds up a sizeable static charge in the winter. So sizeable that it can create sparks over half an inch long!



Down here, the westerlies are killers for static. But there are things you can do to minimise the static risk. Avoidance of synthetic fibred clothing is one thing. It also does vary from person to person, and I think it is that people with dry skin are more susceptible to it.


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## Grog12

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Lets see... dog collar (I was just curious how much juice it put out) PAR cans, Wall sockets...cable...dimmers...yeah...


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## PhantomD

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I was shocked by some kind of stupid joke gadget that a friend decided to try out on me.  

I seem to have trouble being shocked by an audio converting lead that is mentioned elsewhere on these forums. However only one of my fellow techies has the same problem. Phantom power...


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## herr_highbrau

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

This looks fun 

http://www.dfd.com/pdf/shokdata.pdf


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## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Now that's Funny! I'm sending it to our SM's 
Speaking of shocks... this one is none theatrical. I was tuning a freinds Bug < a cherry '74 super beetle> , he had been doing some work and had screwed up the idle to the point that it was idlling at about 2500 rpm. So I grabbed my really long thin screwdriver, hunkered down on the left side of the engine,sort of leaned forward and placed my forehead up against the engine cover so I could see the fast mass air flow screw. Then holding the screw driver by the shaft I shoved it into the side of the carb. unfortunately on a 74 super beetle the ignition coil is mounted up side down right right next to the carb. When I accidently hit it the shock ran up my arm accross my shoulder and out through my forehead, 4 cylinders 2500 rpm, and it probably took a whole second before I could let go. You do the math and figure how 100,000 volt shocks I took through my brain. 
I have to admit a few minutes I started feeling real relaxed and happy.


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## Phantom

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Electro Controls Patch bay, Altman 360Q, floor pocket and strobe light.


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## SHARYNF

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> Now that's Funny! I'm sending it to our SM's
> Speaking of shocks... this one is none theatrical. I was tuning a freinds Bug < a cherry '74 super beetle> , he had been doing some work and had screwed up the idle to the point that it was idlling at about 2500 rpm. So I grabbed my really long thin screwdriver, hunkered down on the left side of the engine,sort of leaned forward and placed my forehead up against the engine cover so I could see the fast mass air flow screw. Then holding the screw driver by the shaft I shoved it into the side of the carb. unfortunately on a 74 super beetle the ignition coil is mounted up side down right right next to the carb. When I accidently hit it the shock ran up my arm accross my shoulder and out through my forehead, 4 cylinders 2500 rpm, and it probably took a whole second before I could let go. You do the math and figure how 100,000 volt shocks I took through my brain.
> I have to admit a few minutes I started feeling real relaxed and happy.




I remember a great cartoon that sort of follows this line:

Guy and Dog are both looking under the hood of the pickup truck, the guy says "here Tippy just put your tongue here" pointing to the coil

Sharyn


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## Scooter

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

i've been shocked many a time by faulty wiring on lights, bad grounds on drop cords, electric fences, and many a times by automotive ignition coils while testing for spark, but i've had 3 pretty big jolts

1, i was in our schools welding shop, unpluging a welder (230v, 60a). in order to do this i was crouched under a welding table. well when i reached for the plug i used both hands (mistake number one) and didn't have gloves on (mistake number 2). well there were some scrap pieces of metal laying on the plug and when i grabbed it, well, ZAP. it took me a long time to let go and when i did i jumped up and hit the back of my head on the table which in turn nocked me out for about five minutes. i woke up and the whole class was looking over me, they thought i was dead. that one was real close.

2, i was in the auto shop removing the intake manifold off this piece of crap toyota truck. someone had stripped the head off one of the bolts, so i was stick welding on a new bolt. i had the ground clamp in one hand and the electrode holder in the other (again with the no gloves thing, i hate wearing gloves when i weld). i was pondering where a good ground would be and leaned forward and rested my forearms on the radiator core support and ZAP! my friend saw me shaking real bad and ran over and pulled me off, then of course he said "dude, that was awsome, do it again!"

3, i was helping my friend do a compression test on his 72 chevy Custom 10 with a bored out 406 and a 90,000 volt MSD racing ignition system. i was grounding out the coil when he asked if i was ready yet, i said no and he said OK and cranked the motor over, well i had the coil wire in one hand and it shot about an 8 inch spark through the index finger on my other hand.


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## Logos

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I was going to say that being almost obsessively paranoid about electricity I haven't had a belt of 240 since I fried a tester screwdriver in high school. Stupid thing had a bulb in the clear handle and you pushed it into the live socket of a three pin and put your thumb on the end. If the bulb lit up it was live. Mine must have been faulty as I got 240 through my hand. Ouch. Since then I have only had belts from auto electrics I tend to forget how high the ampage can be on a 12 volt car system and treat it with a sort of careless indifference. I've even had a number of belts from my Motor Cycle.


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## cue1go

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

1. A disposable camera I was turning into a taser (I put on gloves after this one-I forgot to discharge the capacitator)
2. My oven (I don't know how that happened)
3. A looses L520 Connection on a par can (and this happened while I was stradling a truss)
4. My TD's joke shock pen (only fell for that one once!!!)


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## ricc0luke

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

though it wasn't this year, in fact, in was 2 and a half years ago in the middle of july--- christmas lights---

i pulled an old set from the electric room just to take the good bulbs for a show- i pluged the tangled mess in and missed the bare wires where some idiot spliced (first mistake) and didn't tape or heat shrink it (second)

that was a good buzz


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## What Rigger?

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I've been shocked by static electricity build up on flying performers outdoors. 


110? You call that a shock?


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## avkid

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Licking 9 volt batteries is a good way to wake up for cues.


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## gafftaper

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Well I thought I was going to win this thread but it sounds like Van's ignition coil is going to beat me... I'll have to settle for second. 

Back in high school I built a Jacob's Ladder for a science fair. I got a 10,000 volt transformer out of an old oil furnace and attached two metal rods to it. While I was adjusting the rods for my class demo, the class moron walked up and flipped the switch on. The power threw my arms wildly in the air. I tingled from the shoulders down for ten minutes but other than that I was ok. I was VERY lucky.

Lesson Learned... always unplug the cord or shut off the breaker... never trust the switch to keep you safe.


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## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


gafftaper said:


> Well I thought I was going to win this thread but it sounds like Van's ignition coil is going to beat me... I'll have to settle for second.
> 
> Back in high school I built a Jacob's Ladder for a science fair. I got a 10,000 volt transformer out of an old oil furnace and attached two metal rods to it. While I was adjusting the rods for my class demo, the class moron walked up and flipped the switch on. The power threw my arms wildly in the air. I tingled from the shoulders down for ten minutes but other than that I was ok. I was VERY lucky.
> 
> Lesson Learned... always unplug the cord or shut off the breaker... never trust the switch to keep you safe.


 
Wow you are lucky to be here. I mean mine was shocking < pun intended > but that kind of trnsformer puts out a heck of a lot more amperage than an ignition coil. I came close to getting nailed by a jacobs ladder once, caught it just in time. BTW it's really fun to hold a piece of paper between the rods as the arc goes up , slices it like a knife !


----------



## gafftaper

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> BTW it's really fun to hold a piece of paper between the rods as the arc goes up , slices it like a knife !



Sure is cool, My class demo was about putting different things between the rods to show what conducted, what insulates and what the electricity just blasts it's way through.

I was young and dumb back then. These days I would be WAY more careful about playing around with those kinds of toys... and I would have a long conversation with myself first about if I really needed to do it in the first place.


----------



## jason0

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I actually have avoided being shocked with live current in the theater. My list:

120v (stuck a paper clip in the outlet in 2nd grade, got hit testing a computer power supply i was converting to use with a practical, a toaster, and a few other ones) which isnt that bad. 

I work part time in a machine shop. THese machines are all 30-60 amp, 3 phase runs. In older shops, where no neutral wire was run, people would take single phase using the ground wire as a neutral. It worked, but it energized the machine body, and you could literally feel it.

a disposable camera

a tv i was taking apart that i thought i had properly shorted the caps on (turned out i missed the main ones, thats about 10000v but so little current i was okay. And it only went from one finger to another in the same hand. I was lucky.

The best (worst?) is a moron-techie story. At my school, our lavaliers are pretty shitty. we replace the batts for every dress rehearsal or show. Anyhow, we ended up with a bucket full of partialyl used 9v batts, like 50 or something. The projector guy, who really didnt have a job, decided to take them all and clip them together, then run wires and poke people with me. HE hit me with it first, in the shoulder. my arm knocked the light board too close to off the table. Hes been build-crew only since then.


----------



## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Oh sure, stick him on the build crew ! Where he's surrounded by power tools and sharp objects! There he's only a danger to the Carps !


----------



## Dani

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

The Act curtain box, thankfully its fixed now....kinda


----------



## steine

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Having almost 70Volts between the stageframe and the groundsupport truss.
(It made the monitor system recieve clear shortwave broadcast as well = one of the leadsingers found himself singing while he was singing a different tune in the radio)

Getting a few shocks from a lightsystem, all cables had to be connected to the right fixtures, because the 3 wires were not connected similar in any of the plugs. (phase-neutral changed place in one cable, phase-ground in another and neutral-ground in a third... etc.)

Usual shock between an ungrounded pc and a similar console.


----------



## Cooze

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Just for what its worth, if you have ever been electrocuted then you should be in a casket, if you are reading this, you were probabaly shocked.

Im only correcting you because one of my old teachers would always get on our backs for this. No hard feelings.

Thanks!


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## v75vette

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Anybody ever have the Carpal Tunnel test?

I had it done last week on my right wrist. Nothing reminds you that you've messed up quite like a nice little shock. Let me tell ya... I almost smacked the doctor when he shocked me the last time (not on purpose it was from the shock I swear!)

Very interesting test...


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## steine

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I've had the test, pretty unpleasent at times.


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Cooze said:


> Just for what its worth, if you have ever been electrocuted then you should be in a casket, if you are reading this, you were probabaly shocked.
> 
> Im only correcting you because one of my old teachers would always get on our backs for this. No hard feelings.
> 
> Thanks!



I believe I pointed that out in post #7...


Chris15 said:


> ...To quote propmonkey from an old thread on electric shock, "... shocked(electrocution is being killed by the way)...". None of you has ever been electrocuted. You are all still alive since you are able to post.
> 
> There have been several other threads on electric shock in the past. Some of them are:
> http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1926
> http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2989...


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## SAWYeR

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

A female stagepin connector in the ports of our smaller theatre. The ports are about 15-20 feet off the ground, 6 inches wide, and have a 40 degree slope in the back. You get into them with a ladder, and crawl on hands and knees in a harness. I was told that the power to the cable was off and the dimmer in the dimmer racks was off.....wrong. What a surprise I got when my pinky and ring fingers went in the sockets while I was leaning out to grab it. Glad I was wearing the harness, I almost fell out! Bogus.


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## Toffee

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

We have gas lanterns that we wired to have LED's in them so that we can control them from the board. Well they have to be wired every night since we can't leave them just out in the open during the week we have to lock them in the prop cabinet. Well I was setting them up for the weekend and I got shocked by the dimmers when I sure as hell remember me turning them off. I got hit so bad my hand felt numb and tingly for a hour or so.


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## TimMiller

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I've been hit by a few things. Um nice big caps 250mf 250V. Got my fingers across a lamp powersupply in an x-spot two legs of 400V (i have a scar to prove that one). Been shocked by 120 and 240 once or twice at least..... When i was doing industrial electrical our electrician got his tape measure across the lines on the over head crane (3 phase 480) that shook him up pretty good. I'm suprised he didnt fall off the beam he was holding onto.


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## astrotechie

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

many plugs, my desk speaker, pool pump. Most of these where when i was pluggin them in, in the dark . SO feeling around try to put the plug in, part of hand touching the plug, quick shock.

nothing larger than 120V


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## Mharriman

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

ok i have a good one i had knee surgery a couple of months ago and i got shoked when the brace they gave me to keep my leg straight hit a wall out let and i needless to say it hurt for 2 reasons one the shock from the out let and the fact i jumped cause of the shock and hurt my knee. The funny part of the story is the fact that most of the brace is like cloth but at the point were the knee bends is the only metal and yes thats the part that hit the wall outlet.


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## Logos

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I have only been shocked once in over 35 years in the business since then I have never trusted anyone else to tell me the power is off but have always made sure that the thing I am touching is not plugged in. Sure I've been hit by static a few times but that can happen anywhere. 
I do not understnd why anyone would open up something that is plugged in.


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## PadawanGeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I was changing a bulb on a PAR and the guy told me it was off, but then when I go to change it, I get shocked and almost fall off of the ladder. Another time I was changing a bulb and I thought that It was unplugged, so i touched the wires with both hands and I get a shock up both of my arms  :neutral:


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## avkid

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Most of the lamp changing incidents could have been prevented with the use of a non-contact voltage tester like this:
Gardner Bender Circuit Alert


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## Edrick

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Those things suck I have two of them for the electrical work I do and they give of all sorts of false readings for god only knows what reason. Plus if you tap it or you go to put it against the wire it will cherp.


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## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Toffee said:


> We have gas lanterns that we wired to have LED's in them so that we can control them from the board. Well they have to be wired every night since we can't leave them just out in the open during the week we have to lock them in the prop cabinet. Well I was setting them up for the weekend and I got shocked by the dimmers when I sure as hell remember me turning them off. I got hit so bad my hand felt numb and tingly for a hour or so.


 

It's quite possible that what you got hit with was a preset warming level voltage. Alot of dimmers will go ahead and throw somewhere around 32 volts or so down the line to keep the filaments warm. That's why you UNPLUG ANYTHING Plugged into a dimmer before working on it. Just because the board is off doesn't mean the circuit is not energized.


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## PadawanGeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> It's quite possible that what you got hit with was a preset warming level voltage. Alot of dimmers will go ahead and throw somewhere around 32 volts or so down the line to keep the filaments warm. That's why you UNPLUG ANYTHING Plugged into a dimmer before working on it. Just because the board is off doesn't mean the circuit is not energized.




Learned that one the hard way... thanks for the explanation lol!

Also, is there a relativly low-cost non contact voltage tester that will detect that kind of voltage as well as the voltage of a par can turned all of the way up?


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## avkid

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Rickblu said:


> Those things suck I have two of them for the electrical work I do and they give of all sorts of false readings for god only knows what reason. Plus if you tap it or you go to put it against the wire it will cherp.


*Disclaimer: these are not a substitute for a DMM or contact voltage tester of any kind.*


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## Chris15

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> It's quite possible that what you got hit with was a preset warming level voltage. Alot of dimmers will go ahead and throw somewhere around 32 volts or so down the line to keep the filaments warm. That's why you UNPLUG ANYTHING Plugged into a dimmer before working on it. Just because the board is off doesn't mean the circuit is not energized.



Van, allow me if I will to simplify it to this:
That's why you UNPLUG ANYTHING before working on it...


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## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Chris15 said:


> Van, allow me if I will to simplify it to this:
> That's why you UNPLUG ANYTHING before working on it...


 
Chris once again you have crystallized my thoughts Elloquently


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## PadawanGeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Chris15 said:


> Van, allow me if I will to simplify it to this:
> That's why you UNPLUG ANYTHING before working on it...



Man, I've started doing that, but it's a pain because we have a low ceiling, so I just use a ladder, and I keep having to get off of the ladder and move it around to get to all of the plugs and switches.


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## Chaos is Born

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


PadawanGeek said:


> Man, I've started doing that, but it's a pain because we have a low ceiling, so I just use a ladder, and I keep having to get off of the ladder and move it around to get to all of the plugs and switches.



We have a 12' grid in one of our theatres. We built a Cart to set the ladder on and roll it around to get around the lights better. Makes hang and focus as well as notes go a lot smoother.


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## gafftaper

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I recently checked pricing on contractor's scaffolding. I was quoted under $1000 for a used 4'X8' rolling scaffold that is 12 feet high ($1300 new). That's a really safe and stable way to get up there and deal with problem lighting. I think that 4X8 scaffolds can go up to 16 feet high without requiring outriggers. And at around $1000 that's a price most theater's can afford. My old college theater had the ladder on wheels... scared the crap out of me on many occasions. Save some money and buy a scaffold.


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## Chaos is Born

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

our theatre built ours out of scap metal. while that doesn't sound half bad... when i say scrap i mean we were taking and welding pieces of 2x2 steel back together and grinding it smooth so that we could build it...


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## PadawanGeek

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Just a little question,  what's a "grid"?


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## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


PadawanGeek said:


> Just a little question,  what's a "grid"?


 
The "grid" can mean a couple of different things. In a traditional, Proscenium, house, the grid is area above deck that all the rigging hangs from. You would usually access this by climbing a looooong steel ladder up one side of the stage. There are two types grids in a moving rigged house. one is under hung, the is over hung. Under hung usually implies a series of steel Ibeams running up to down stage, Loft blocks and head block are then tied to the underside of the beam via beam clips, or sometimes welded < ick >. Over hung grids can be either wood or steel but typicially consist of a bunch of beams running up to down stage with 4-6 " gaps between them. Blocks are usually secured via a large U-bolt or sometimes a beam clamp if the setup is steel. 
The third type of grid is the one you might find in a black box. Though this is best described as a "Pipe-grid" it usually consists of 1 1/2" scd#40 steel pipe suspended in a room with cross pipes every 4, 6, 8, feet. it really depends on the architects , or theatre consultants fancy as to the spacing on the grid.


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## Logos

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Having previously boasted on this thread about how careful I am and how I haven't had a shock for years yesterday I somehow managed to get 70 volts between finger and thumb on my left hand while working on a badly behaved Martin Robocolour Pro 400 I am trying to fix. 
Just goes to show don't it.


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## TimMiller

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

A lot of time you cannot turn off the power. The other day I popped open a 480 disconnect to see why the exaust fan in the shop wasnt working, well when a rats nest of wires fell out i jumped back so quick the guys thought i had gotten electrocuted. That was a little close. There were lines feeding through the disconnect so i didnt know what was hot and what was cold. So now its going to stay there for now, until i have some undestracted time and my gloves along with meter.


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## Van

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

If you can't turn off the power, then your not qualified to work on what you're getting into. Or you're a High-tension Linesman who makes enough money to justify the risk he's taking. 
If you can't turn off the power then it means you need to call the Power company to disconnect it from the pole. Something tells me, however that 480 disconnect is being energized by a transformer, which can be disconnected.


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## Charc

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> Or you're a High-tension Linesman who makes enough money to justify the risk he's taking.



Actually I saw some really cool show on those guys. Apparently a TON of their work is done my helicopter now. It's a lot easier to get from point to point on the line (wait, we are talking about the huge power-lines right?). Anyways, they use some clamps to connect to the wire, and they use some term I forget (like "bond on") to the current. As they are the same current / amperage / whatever as the wire they can manipulate it without any other safety precautions. I believe the entire helicopter gets the same treatment, and as long as you don't ground out anywhere, you are golden. Anyways, all they need to wear are work gloves. Kinda cool.

Edit:
This video has the exact thing I am talking about, except this guy just doesn't "bond on". A comment on page two explains it further:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEKbMMHAwm0&mode=related&search=


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## TimMiller

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> If you can't turn off the power, then your not qualified to work on what you're getting into. Or you're a High-tension Linesman who makes enough money to justify the risk he's taking.
> If you can't turn off the power then it means you need to call the Power company to disconnect it from the pole. Something tells me, however that 480 disconnect is being energized by a transformer, which can be disconnected.



The building is old. I'm very familiar with working with 480 hot. Who knows all the wires could be cold now that the disconnect is off, but you always treat is as being hot. Plus working with hot it makes things more fun LOL. To be able to kill everything would require shutting down power to the whole building which is not an option.


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## tomed101

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Old thread I know, but today I had quite a strange experience.

Our auditorium has in-floor boxes which contain our mic multi cores, additional power outlets, network ports and vga ports etc.. Today I was patching a mic into one of the sockets and my hand brushed to metal housing of the box and I was shocked. I felt it come right up my arm. Not full mains but had enough force to throw my arm out and throw me onto the floor. Now the casing was supposedly earthed and an electrician has checked it and cant figure out what may have caused it. And there is no longer a charge in the box. The first person I mentioned this to instantly said that it would be static, but since when does static have enough force to throw you to the ground???


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## Charc

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


tomed101 said:


> Old thread I know, but today I had quite a strange experience.
> Our auditorium has in-floor boxes which contain our mic multi cores, additional power outlets, network ports and vga ports etc.. Today I was patching a mic into one of the sockets and my hand brushed to metal housing of the box and I was shocked. I felt it come right up my arm. Not full mains but had enough force to throw my arm out and throw me onto the floor. Now the casing was supposedly earthed and an electrician has checked it and cant figure out what may have caused it. And there is no longer a charge in the box. The first person I mentioned this to instantly said that it would be static, but since when does static have enough force to throw you to the ground???



Is there anything carrying significant power in the box? My vote is for static, though I don't know anything.


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## tomed101

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


charcoaldabs said:


> Is there anything carrying significant power in the box? My vote is for static, though I don't know anything.



There are 4 GPO power outlets carrying 240v each. Other than that, only mic cables, VGA and CAT5. I doubt that it was static just from the feeling of the power moving up my arm. I have been hit by strong static a few times, you get the initial shock (which can be quite strong if there is a lot of buildup) but I have never had the feeling of it coming up your arm, not to say that it doesnt happen...


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## Chaos is Born

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

any possibility that your ground on your mic is crossing a hot? that would cause it too...


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## Jamie

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

one of our spots in h.s. had some grounding problem, it was great to see the freshmans' faces when you told them they could only touch it in certain spots without gettin a buzz


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## Edrick

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

20 AMP Romex I cut through that was a powerfeed to the kitchen. Not theater related but still


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## SAWYeR

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Well, I've never been _electricuted_ by anything, because electricution always results in death. ALWAYS. But, I've been shocked by a female Stagepin connector that I was told was "off", a Sourcefour cap, and one of our nasty, dirty floorpockets.


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## loki

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I have been shockd by many things but i have a funny story about someone else being shocked.

The CD player we were using had swallowed a disk, this noob decided to get it back, he left it pluged in and proceeded to unscrew it, he then started to poke about with a screwdriver, after about a minute he put his fingers in to get the CD and one hell of a supprise, (yes raktor this was tristin)

lol, ever seen somone get shocked like that?


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## Raktor

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

I've been zapped by a fair few things, most of them not theatre related.

I've been zapped by numerous DIs.

Live RCA cables.

USB cable from my printer...

And I used to zap people with the lighter things used to start hot water heaters.


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## Logos

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

And I am shocked that this thread has been revived.


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## Charc

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Worst I've gotten it?

5V DC power supply.

Yep, _that_ was a harrowing experience.

Actually, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but it was when I was making our projector douser.

Ol' CD Drive + polarity reversing momentary on/off DC switch + 125' of two conductor "intercom wire" + ol' 5V DC power supply + solder + iron + electrical tape + heatshrink tubing + heatgun = Kickass project.


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## gafftaper

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*

Is there any chance of getting someone from the senior team to correct the spelling of this thread's title? It's been driving me crazy for a year and a half now. And as long as you are fixing the spelling why not change to title to "Shocked By" which makes more sense.


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## derekleffew

So if you had asked a year and a half ago, you would have to have used a different excuse for your craziness? I'm shocked by that!


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## Hughesie

240v 10 amp

right out of a wall socket, i was unplugging a laptop

not a good feeling


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## bobgaggle

I got shocked through an electric batten from an exposed wire within the pipe. Needless to say it was a bugger trying to get it fixed.


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## Dustincoc

*Re: wat have you been electicuted by ?*


Van said:


> Now that's Funny! I'm sending it to our SM's
> Speaking of shocks... this one is none theatrical. I was tuning a freinds Bug < a cherry '74 super beetle> , he had been doing some work and had screwed up the idle to the point that it was idlling at about 2500 rpm. So I grabbed my really long thin screwdriver, hunkered down on the left side of the engine,sort of leaned forward and placed my forehead up against the engine cover so I could see the fast mass air flow screw. Then holding the screw driver by the shaft I shoved it into the side of the carb. unfortunately on a 74 super beetle the ignition coil is mounted up side down right right next to the carb. When I accidently hit it the shock ran up my arm accross my shoulder and out through my forehead, 4 cylinders 2500 rpm, and it probably took a whole second before I could let go. You do the math and figure how 100,000 volt shocks I took through my brain.
> I have to admit a few minutes I started feeling real relaxed and happy.




You know, I though I was going to get the highest voltage. Off a spark plug wire that had bad insulation.


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## Techiegirly

Knock on wood, I've yet to shock myself!


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## gafftapegreenia

I've had two zaps I can recall:

One was a few years ago on a production of Guys and Dolls, and was completely my fault. We had built these two lamp posts, but, being as I was head of multiple projects, I was not the one who wired them. Well, one night after a rehearsal, one of them stopped working. I took it apart to see that the wires had been spliced with DUCT TAPE. They weren't even twisted together, just taped together. I proceed to rewire, and then get a nice tingle. It was that day I learned that putting a dimmer at zero does not always take out all the voltage, and also to ALWAYS make sure things are uplugged. 

The other little zap was from my iPod. Somehow I touched the engaged hold switch on the top on the unit to my upper lip, and that caused a small shock.


----------



## PadawanGeek

gafftapegreenia said:


> I've had two zaps I can recall:
> 
> One was a few years ago on a production of Guys and Dolls, and was completely my fault. We had built these two lamp posts, but, being as I was head of multiple projects, I was not the one who wired them. Well, one night after a rehearsal, one of them stopped working. I took it apart to see that the wires had been spliced with DUCT TAPE. They weren't even twisted together, just taped together. I proceed to rewire, and then get a nice tingle. It was that day I learned that putting a dimmer at zero does not always take out all the voltage, and also to ALWAYS make sure things are uplugged.



learned that one the hard way too, up on ladder and then I went to change a lamp and low and behold, ZAP! then I thought that the guy had put it up on purpose and then he told me that it was all the way down.


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## soundlight

PadawanGeek said:


> learned that one the hard way too, up on ladder and then I went to change a lamp and low and behold, ZAP! then I thought that the guy had put it up on purpose and then he told me that it was all the way down.


I learned that one by popping three fuses in a row in a crap-tastic lightronics dimmer pack. That was fun...and that was the same day that I got zapped by a PAR38 lamp base, which was attached to the lightronics dimmer pack.


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## derekleffew

Similar thing happened to me 30' up in a scissor lift in a (metal) convention center ceiling. I was focussing, someone else had done the hang. The female connector literally fell off the cable, exposing all three wires; sparks and smoke, I almost had an unwanted bodily function emission. It was a 10' cable, so I was able to, carefully, reach the male connector and unplug it from the non-dim receptacle.

Moral: Always keep your cables in good repair! And check for proper strain relief often.


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## PadawanGeek

It was sortof funny in gym the other day because I was playing basketball and the ball went by a door and when I touched the door, is shocked me. So i touched it again and It shocked me again, but this time when it touched it, I pulled my finger back and there was an arch about 2 in. long. It was either faulty wiring around the door or just static.


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