Posted by Mr SaLTy on August 24, 1999 at 18:51:54:
In Reply to: Could someone please give me some life saving info. . . posted by Ace on August 24, 1999 at 09:25:29:
: I was looking back on some old posts and came across one speaking of the danger w/ an arcade monitor(CRT)the high voltage and about "discharging" the electricity out of the monitor.Now, all I want to know is some basics. . like
: 1. Is it allright to solder to the fingerboard as long as the unit isn't plugged in?
: 2. Can I wire up the 5 or 6 leads on the back of the monitor as long as it is not plugged in?(or do i have to discharge the monitor first?)
: 3. I was originally under the impression that as long as I wasn't fiddling with the inner mechanics of a monitor, I was fine, now I don't know. I am now just about at the point of getting
: my cabinet, but this made me think a little(ain't worth killing myself over.)In all of the how-to's, I don't remember reading anything about how to handle the electricity in a cabinet, or maybe it's info that you should already know. . in my case I don't. I know that one page removed info for fear of legal matters. And I don't want to be directed to a page that talks alot of "electrician" technical warba that i wouldn't understand.If someone could kindly post some basics for me, I would feel much better.Thanks for your time.
Here's my 2 cents....
Yes it can be dangerous fooling around with your monitor. But its ok if you are careful. Its the flyback transformer and the monitor that you need to be careful of. The monitor can store up to like 30,000 volts and if the charge is present, and you are the ground... ZOT! There is a big fat wire that goes from the flyback transformer to the monitor. That is the anode wire and it has like a big suction cup on it where it attaches to the monitor. The cup protects the metal clip that attaches it to the monitor. That is where most of the charge will be. There are also other capacitors that are on the main tv board that can hold a pretty nasty charge to if you ground them also... but nothing REALLY bad.
Many monitor loose their change after a period of time when left off. If you are going to be fooling around back there there is a way to make dissipate this charge. You can read about it here on this page about installing a cap kit. (which I did on my monitor and it really helped the quality of the picture on my 18 yr old monitor.)
http://www.gamearchive.com/video/faq/capkit/index.html
If you attempt to do this be warned that it may be dangerous. I just say that so that you know of the potential risk(no pun intended heh)
I gotta admit that it was a little scary for me at first cuz of all the stuff I heard. But my monitor seems to loose its charge after a few days of being turned off.
Thats just my opinion and i'm no expert so take it for what its worth. Good luck and be careful.
If anyone thinks that I am misinformed please let me know.