roger
Rookie Solder Flinger
Posts: 19
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Post by roger on Feb 11, 2008 23:27:25 GMT -5
Guys, I would like to verify if I just installing 0.22uf 630v on the back side of my strat is enough and safe already. What I did is unsoldered the black wire soldered on metal which the tremolo spring hooked on it and solder the black wire to the capacitor then the other side of the capacitor pin directly soldered it to the metal. Is this correct?
Pls confirm, Roger
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Post by sumgai on Feb 12, 2008 2:50:29 GMT -5
roger, Hi, and welcome to the NutzHouse! ;D What you've done is correct, in the same way that driving on the right side of the road in the USofA is correct. There's more to the story, but that's the basic requirement, to be sure. As things stand, whenever you touch anything else on your axe (made of metal), you are still at risk. Of course, one needs to keep in mind that this particular risk occurs only if you are using a tube amp, and that you are indeed touching an unprotected metal part of your guitar at just the precise moment the tube amp goes ker-blooey. From that standpoint, yes, you're covered for about 99% of the risk. HTH sumgai
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Post by gumbo on Feb 12, 2008 4:03:00 GMT -5
Ker-blooey??? ...I'll have to listen out for that sound
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Post by sumgai on Feb 12, 2008 11:37:33 GMT -5
Ker-blooey???
...I'll have to listen out for that sound Oh, believe me, you'll know when it makes that particular sound. So will the rest of the band, most of the audience, the house electrician, and possibly assorted members of the Fire Dept. and the First Aid crew. Just make sure that you're not the reason for the latter crew coming around, eh? sumgai
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roger
Rookie Solder Flinger
Posts: 19
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Post by roger on Feb 12, 2008 19:43:01 GMT -5
Many thanks Sumgai
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clr
Meter Reader 1st Class
Posts: 80
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Post by clr on Feb 12, 2008 21:46:39 GMT -5
you guys made me deftly scared to plug into a tube amp. Somewhat like your first health class. Thanks for saving my life and making it less fun!.
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Post by sumgai on Feb 13, 2008 4:48:47 GMT -5
clr, I'll not get all electro-pedantic on you, but here's the short version: In a tube amp, which has some pretty high voltages, there are parts that, if one of them were to fail, it's possible that the high voltage would be sent to the ground side of the circuit. Now ordinarily you'd say "so what, that'll just blow the fuse". Yes, that's true in any event, but...... for the moment it takes for the fuse to decide to act, ground is no longer at 0vDC (or AC), it's at the full value of that high voltage. Now, pretend you have an ordinary guitar, and that you're touching your guitar's unprotected strings, just when the fateful melting of the amp occurs........ The amp's ground is where your fingers are touching, thanks to the guitar cord. Which is to say, your fingers are now at a much higher voltage than they were intended to withstand. If you are even contemplating being in contact with something else that might conduct electricity (thus completing a circuit), your hair is about to go from straight to Yahoo Serious in one Gawd-almighty painful painful moment! The chances of this happening are slim indeed, but..... if you can prevent even that slight chance, and not affect your tone, why not "take out the insurance policy", so to speak? For the record, tube amps can be good, until you get older than Methuselah, when your back starts to complain about your desire to make beer splash out of the pounder at the far end of the bar. At that point, you start (albeit about 30 years too late) to consider smaller/lighter just might be better after all. But hey, it's all good, don't let me pee in your Cheerios! Carry on!! ;D HTH sumgai
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Post by gumbo on Feb 13, 2008 7:05:48 GMT -5
Love yer turn of phrase, SG!! ;D Just for the record, and in case anyone else might be interested as well.... ...what's your take on this system vs the good ol' Safety Switch (as they call 'em down here) or "Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker" or "Residual Current Device" or ..as a matter of course, I always run the 59 Bassman through one ( a simple in-line model that cost me about AUD20)..love the amp (sigh!) but always think back to earlier times when it kept popping internal fuses at one point in its life..before we changed the SS rectifier about three times!! ..that got me thinking at the time (about a decade ago) that funny things could always be happening somewhere, sometime... and I didn't fancy becoming part of the stage lighting.... ...just interested.... Gumbo
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Post by sumgai on Feb 13, 2008 11:36:38 GMT -5
gumbo,
Tell ya the truth, I've never actually heard of someone saying "I was saved by the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt device!" But in principle, it can't be a bad thing. They're usually rated to "blow" at something like 50 milliamps, but that's not necessarily a magic number that's guranteed to prevent harm to one's body. Some folks can't withstand even that low an amount of current, they'd suffer greatly.... others, probably the more robust and healthy, might well withstand twice that amount, for the short time of exposure we're talking about.
Still, as an insurance policy, you can't beat the one-time premium. They're cheap, easy to hook up (no soldering!), easy to test for capability, replacable if necessary, and they're supposed to protect the whole shootin' match, not just you and your bod. If I used a tube amp regularly, I'd probably have one in my tool box. But the old Twin only comes out on special occasions now (see my comments about an aching back, above), so the only valuable tool I rely on these days is the $8 circuit tester that checks the house wiring for polarity and a valid ground. It also tests GFCI devices, if there's one on the line - push the button, the device should blow. That's assurance enough for me to believe my equipment won't go up in smoke just for plugging it into the wall socket, and that I probably won't get stung if I touch a mike stand or sumpin'.
Oh wait........ I use a cable made of RF! ;D Never mind, nothin' to see here folks, move along now.
HTH
sumgai
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