TubeNexus

Now we come to the part of the show where Norm pauses to review shop safety. Or alternatively, Robbie starts screaming “Danger, Danger Will Robinson!”.

Have you noticed how most DIY sites have taken some extra precautions against litigation from Darwin Award Candidates?

Here is the warning material from AX84.com, a nifty DIY guitar tube amp forum:

High Voltage Warning

WARNING! - Please Read this Information Carefully:

The projects described in these pages utilize POTENTIALLY FATAL HIGH VOLTAGES. If you are in any way unfamiliar with high voltage circuits or are uncomfortable working around high voltages, PLEASE DO NOT RISK YOUR LIFE BY BUILDING THEM. Seek help from a competent technician before building any unfamiliar electronics circuit. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy of these circuits, no guarantee is provided, of any kind!

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: THE WEBMASTER, PROJECT COORDINATOR, PROJECT CONTRIBUTORS AND WEB SPACE PROVIDER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY FOR INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THIS INFORMATION! ALL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ‘AS-IS’ AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
ANY KIND.

• View Safety Info Document

They provide a useful link to a safety information article at Drifter Amps… a good read… please read it!

Charles MacDonald has a short & sweet warning on his site:

WARNING!
Tube Equipment uses voltages that can KILL Please be sure you know what you are doing before you open the cover on any tube powered electronics.

Make no mistake, there are seriously deadly voltages involved in tube-circuits and it pays to develop good safety habits before working on tube amps (things like one hand in the pocket, etc.) There is a poll running on AmpGarage.com about who’s been shocked while working on an amp… so far 75% of respondents have slipped up at least once (I voted: Yes, but I’ll never admit it! (my arm tingled for days afterwards))!

Please take care! And you HAVE BEEN WARNED!

ps:

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: THE WEBMASTER, PROJECT COORDINATOR, PROJECT CONTRIBUTORS AND WEB SPACE PROVIDER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY FOR INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THIS INFORMATION! ALL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ‘AS-IS’ AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.