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I have a hair-raising personal experience to share with you. It brought into sharp focus that well-known caution:
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In 1968, whilst working as an RF engineer at the CERN nuclear research centre in Geneva (Switzerland), I got my hand in the 1 kV screen supply of a 4CW10,000A. I had done all the wrong things; I was working late, alone, in the RF lab, doing output impedance measurements on a 10 kW 10 MHz amplifier for a particle accelerator.
I was holding the earthed probe of an HP vector impedance meter in my left hand, and reached down with my right hand to press the start button on the HV power panel. Carelessly, I missed the button, and stuck my hand in the live terminal block. I am grateful to Providence that it was only the screen supply; had it been the 5 kV anode supply, my goose would have been cooked - and I with it! I was not even an active amateur at the time.
The resulting shock threw me across the lab, and left me with small scars on both hands and a mortal fear of high voltages. As a result, I will never own a tube-type amplifier.
Since returning to the HF bands in 1989, I have only run an all-solid-state station; at first 500W, later 1 kW (since 1998). I feel relatively safe; the highest voltage around is the 240V mains.
Copyright © 2007 A. Farson. All rights reserved. Last updated: 29/11/2007