Solid State Things that make you say Ouch

or at least Huh?.


To (new) Or not to  Link            to the top of the 2003 Website (2003) and The Fancy Home Page

If you find any problems on the site, contact me through Audio Asylum mail.


These are my Open Notes about my Audio Hobby. Because I'm not trying to compete with these pages with other really cool looking web pages, they will look like something developed in the 80's. (Long Live SeaMonkey Composer!)

The link to Volt's old 2003-ish web pages  

Some of the old pages are broken, I'll repair them as I find time.

First lets repeat the warnings. I've worked with solid state at greater than 10kV and at greater than 100A.  Solid State can make your significant other collect on your life insurance just as well as Tube State can.

Ouch
, that capacitor just blew the ends off my pliers!
High voltages and stored energy can hurt you dead. Don't play with them unless you know what you are doing and respect the danger involved.

Don't work on high voltages alone, someone has to be around to at least laugh at you when you get shocked and have to go change your underwear (or worse, they need to douse you with a fire extinguisher.)

Don't work on high energy alone or without a face shield (not just safety glasses.) Someone has to be around to at least laugh at you when you get blow up a part that dents the 0.062" steel metal work of the chassis or a flame shoots out of it and they cut a notch in a 3/8" thick aluminum cold plate.
 
OSHA says dangerous voltages start at 50V peak. 

Voltages below 50V can hurt you too. At 24V DC
I've seen co-workers electrically shocked and have seen wires throw shrapnel feet, not inches, from high currents.
24V can cheat and make high voltage. Opening an inductive circuit running from 24V with current flowing will generate high voltages.

Touching a wire that is smoking because of too much current will burn you. It can cut through your "meat" like a hot knife through warm butter. I watched a buddy do this and had to drive him to the ER.

I'm not your guardian, you are responsible for your own safety if you try anything I'm discussing or linking to in these web pages.

If you do any of these, contact Bill Engvall and get a sign:

Liking your finger and touching a circuit to see if it hot

Sticking your tongue (or licked finger) in a light socket so see if it is on. I don't care if if was a double dog dare. You will get hurt.

The list of stupid thing you can do would fill 1/2 of google servers if it covered everything.

These design ideas come with negative warranties,
        if you try them, your warranty is void!

Manufactures may change their designs over time and some manufactures do not change their model number when the make the change. Before you make a change, make sure your version of your equipment matches the version the change was written for.

This means before you attempt a modification, make darn sure the stock version is working correctly first. If the stock version has a problem, there is a chance the manufacture will fix it for you. If you do anything not in the manual and it does not work, it is your challenge to fix it, not mine nor the manufacture's.

For example: If you hear that putting elephant snot on your circuit will make it perform better, it is your problem to make the circuit work with the elephant snot on it. Nobody, not me, nor the manufacture, is required to touch a circuit with elephant snot on it. Once elephant snot touches your circuit, your warranty is void. This same concept applies for mods that do not involve elephant snot.

By the way:

1. If you are close enough to an elephant to see its nose without binoculars, you are too close for safety!


2. The odds are 10:1 that real elephant snot is a controlled substance.


VOLT'S Evil Twin:  AMPSECOND
Notes and Ideas

(15-Jul-2024) Training Class: What is the worst case Vbe "Off" for a BJT transistor?

In the works:
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First version 1-Jun-2024, Last update 29-Jul-2024. 
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  ( New 2024 index page.)     _( Old 2003 index page.)

_( AMP Second index page.)    ( Fancy index page.)       

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