TheSurfinBird
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1. Watch these videos:
http://www.eevblog.com/images/Dave555.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYz5nIHH0iY
In fact, watch all of this guy's videos (Dave Jones). He's fucking awesome. Don't turn it on--take it apart!
2. Buy one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-FX888D-CHP170-bundle-cutter/dp/B00AWUFVY8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404357127&sr=8-1&keywords=hakko+888
Or a used one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xweller+wes51&_nkw=weller+wes51&_sacat=0&_from=R40
Don't get the shitty cheap ones with fixed temperature, they SUCK! And are also fire hazards. Buy a good soldering iron and make sure to follow Dave's advice and get a good chisel tip.
3. Buy a good multimeter, like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Extech-EX330-Autoranging-Multimeter-Thermometer/dp/B000EX0AE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1404357191&sr=1-1&keywords=extech+ex330
Cheap ones (<$20) are ok, but don't use them on high voltage (>80V)
4. Read this:
The first 10 chapters will give you an extremely good grounding in practical analog circuit design, with 80% of the higher math cut out. Excellent book, one of the standard texts of the industry.
5. See these fuckers?
And these?
And these assholes?
These are aluminum electrolytic capacitors, or just caps. These guys are responsible for about 30% of electronics failures, and are piss-easy to replace. You can get Japanese replacements that will last forever for cheap, and shitty Chinese ones for cheaper. I once fixed a $500 LCD TV for $12 worth of parts and an hour of my time.
Make sure the replacement voltage rating is equal or higher, capacitance is as close as possible, ESR is equal or lower, and ripple current rating is equal or higher.
6. Pick up an Arduino board:
A lot of pros sneer at these things, but they're very handy for a beginning electronics guy. Once you become knowledgeable enough you can ditch the mediocre software and program it direct as a quality general purpose microcontroller!
7. Collect old electronics for parts and projects
You never know what you might need!
8. Finally, buy your components from places like this:
http://digikey.com
Or Farnell if you're in the UK. Don't buy parts on ebay unless you have to.
Follow these steps and join a decent electronics forum (eevblog.com is a good choice) and you'll be fixing TVs, stereos, and computer parts in no time!
Remember: Don't turn it on--take it apart!
Credits to @phaedrus2129
Kirak
Inaccurate, Thor would demand to know what kind of "Sorcery" lies before him, then probably smash it with a hammer.
phaedrus2129
Glad you gave credit for the repost, but minus points for leaving out the EEVBlog link, and not updating to AoE 3rd edition
Spritznor
That multimeter is shit. Fluke. You want a Fluke
kisselFL
Love my 179.
squallau
A $20 meter is better than no meter. You don't need a 10,000 count true-RMS meter to check continuity and logic levels.
LLamaTime
Just remember. Let the magic blue smoke out of anything. And the magic will never come back
psychedel0s
I get people with that constantly. Incredible how many people believe I can't fix things because they didn't catch the smoke.
hatefuljesus
Nice try Loki.
Emijean
Now bring me more ale!
ITrollAllDay
ALSO DO NOT TRY TO FIX OLD MONITORS/TVS.. they have 10 of thousands of volts across some wires.
tacticalpants
CRT monitor going dim, opened up to look for more pots to crank up brightness, left power on to view results of tweaking...
tacticalpants
...got tossed into wall on far side of room, left screwdriver (all-metal coz I was that clever) arc-welded to radiation shield, said ow
tacticalpants
...but monitor worked great for another 6 months!
AleksandarK
They have high voltage across few wires that come from a flyback transformer. Yes the first thing you do is short it out (safely)
AIComments
The people at digikey are awesome, be sure to write happy notes to them on your invoice, you'll never know what you'll get in return.
Bunsen
I just got a Hakko FX-888D. The iron is fine, compact, and heats up very quickly. But whoever designed the controls hates everyone.
gregdavid85
that's why i got the weller WES51. turn the dial to the temp you want, when the light stops blinking it's ready. no fiddling. easy peasy!
shtinkNUG
I always go with Hexacon. The best out there.
shtinkNUG
Therm-O-Trac line
AngryAndConfused
Electronic engineer, can confirm its worth spending bit more on 2nd hand Weller iron. Also get spare tips, youre gonna ruin em.
AngryAndConfused
Oh & if you're planning on changing surface mount parts, get some pencil tips, chisel tip won't be any good on smaller components.
xJohnn
Oh, look, a post related to what i do for a living. Never thought I'd see that
G0dHand
Lost me at read 10 chapters
DorkJedi
Can I skip the "Read this" since I have an EE degree?
TK421isAFK
Ditto, and yes. Skimming that book would have saved me 6 years of school and supplanted 20 years of experience.
Queble
The ultimate benefit of our degree is that we can tell people that WE DO know what we're doing when we whack a broken device.
InboxMeYourGermanShepherds
Me too! EE's Unite!
FADEC4
EE fo life
TVCaptain
There is a good student manual to that book also.
TyCarp
Fuckin sparky. You make my job difficult as a ME
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
ditto
SuperRockinMrMagic
Do you not have that book already? It's the one I used for my aero degree
DorkJedi
My training was from 1990-92. I have exactly zero electronics books left in my possession.
ProbablyDrunkAgain
They don't get that in community college.
DorkJedi
I can't imagine why this is relevant. My training was ay Navy and Air Force tech schools, which I converted to college credit.
amishcannoli
I have a Biology degree. Soldering mitochondria to your TV may or may not do a thing.
bbold
making biomedical devices is most prestigious and lucrative in my region.
sparkledick
Funny, I started in EE, got bored and switched to biology. Now I do IT and computer repair, should've stuck with EE.
amishcannoli
I'm now in the pharma industry as planned! In the Complaints dept...:S
sparkledick
Applied for Pharmacology research internships, but the research community tanked right before I graduated :/
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Damn EE's making shit all delicate and complicated. Why can't everything just have gears and run on steam? - MechE me
DavidBrooker
My undergrad was mechatronics. Final group project we made a 4-bit ALU from air-operated valves. We ran it on steam. It didn't work well.
brentblueallen
That sounds amazing. How 'portable' was it?
DavidBrooker
As in how big was it? We laid it out on a 4x8 sheet of plywood and covered nearly all of it. A single pneumatic gate was like, 2-3 pounds.
DavidBrooker
We thought it'd be hilarious that our "VCC" was a boiler. In hindsight, we should have used a regular air compressor.
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Yeah I'm guessing it would have been a little more manageable than a boiler. Still not many people can say they've done something like that!
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
ha. yeah, electronics are tough to work with but I am thankful my computer doesn't run on steam. Sounds like a fun/frustrating project tho!
ridetheshoopuf
As a computer game programmer... yeah!
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
to deal with physics. I have to follow the laws if I wanna make cool stuff.
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
haha. you know what I mean. Bioshock style! Sometimes I wish I woulda gone into game design cause you can make cool stuff without having 1/2
ridetheshoopuf
1. Why don't you try? You're an engineer. Means you already have an analytic mind. Programming is nothing for you. Just get a free >
ridetheshoopuf
> game engine and make the stuff you like. 2. I was also referring to "Steam", the game distribution system.
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Steam! That one went way over my head. Ha! I'll look into that tho. I've done intro c++ and it wasn't too bad. I kept up pretty well. 1/2
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
2/2 I've also always had the itch to write up a good story and put it into a graphical form. Making a game would be a badass way to do it.
Sullivanish
How soldering usually goes for me: 1) Burn finger 2) Melt something I didn't mean to melt 3) buy replacement parts 4) Take to professional.
OddlyCantEven
You forgot 1b) After burning finger, drop soldering iron on kitchen table, leaving permanent burn mark
dipper
But it's a liquid that helps the solder flow over the pad
dipper
I always hear my boss saying "the flux has to flow". Never understood what he meant because I thought he meant electromagnetic flux.
BrahWhatCoons
As an electronics technician/IT support technician named Thor, I approve of this post.
ElecTech
Another?
Reidsb
A few years ago I repaired an LCD monitor when the capacitors went bad. Apparently a while back a large batch of Chinese capacitors were bad
ProbablyDrunkAgain
That is always the case with Chinese components.
Reidsb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague
Reidsb
It would appear it was mostly Taiwanese capacitors.
SgtMichaelCross
Thor would probably use a hammer.
lycar
I was a microminiature repair technician in the Navy. We used these http://imgur.com/IGrvYM0
mckennaaa
As an electrician: That multimeter looks like a pile of shit
jollyrapport
We use them in my intro to engineering class at college. They're not thaaaaat bad...
professionaloysterwalker
Remember: If it's a good meter, it's a Fluke.
squallau
Electrical gear != electronics gear. You don't need CAT-IV rated anything when your projects run at a few volts.
psychedel0s
Hate those weak d CAT-nothing probes though.
thecheese103
Thor wouldn't read a bigass book about electronics... I was waiting for this to be two images and the second one was everything crushed
R3mmy
This seems more like the stark way of doing things
djmaskell
I've read that book, did not find it helpful. Or perhaps it was my analog electr prof that sucked. Hard to tell. Either way, dropped class!
BorderlineBoozehound
Fuck. Took apart my soldering iron. Now I can't solder it back together. Thanks a fucking lot, OP.
HesGotTwoFirstNames
beeratius
He didn't put the cap back on..
MethGasolinePissLemonade
+1 for extreme relevance, gj.
mikekearn
Probably the most relevant use of that gif ever.
lamorak24
glorious
hometowncold
Instructions unclear, dick soldered shut.
Sasqaucth
dick burnt off*
krauraurgg
Step one: buy (another) one of these.
Chickennuggets32
I work for a company like digikey I'm fed up of seeing electronic components.
ElecTech
Farnell? RS? Maplin?
psychedel0s
I spentall day in an working electronics retail store I don't know why I'm still commenting on stuff here.
Beegeezee505
Parts Express?
autosanguine
I used to work for a company like digikey but retail. It was... it was something.
IMadeThisAccountToDownVoteStuff
Step 1) buy a bunch of capacitors. Step 2) apply a high voltage to them. Step 3) ??? Step 4) clean up the mess.
FeiryLatinaBitch
Fixed. How to really fix electronics like Thor would. http://imgur.com/Q9cQzon
fna2000
Thor would fix electronics like Jeremy Clarkson. With a hammer.
ANewBadlyPhotoshoppedPhotoofNobodyEveryday
As an electrician, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING A FUCKING $20 MULTIMETER
Illinest
The old guy in my shop gets by with the 30$ radio shack meter. Up to 480v circuits, ac and dc. You're exaggerating a little bit.
snoogans671
I still use my grandfathers multimeter from radioshack, its almost as old as I am and still works great. it does up to 1000v ac and dc
DavidBrooker
If you'll just be goofing around with an Arduino, the cheapest one you can get your hands on will work fine.
valen00
I buy bunches of $5 multimeters, just don't plug them into mains. Particularly starting out when people try to measure the amps of a car 1
valen00
battery, or the "volts" of their spark plugs, $400 meters are a bad idea. Also the $5 ones are surprisingly accurate like measuring 2
[deleted]
[deleted]
valen00
I believe that measured "AAAHH F#@!$@# MY ARM OH GOD I HIT MYSELF IN THE FACE AHAAAAHAAAA!!!!" volts barry
valen00
the current draw of my micro in micro-amps I could tell the difference between shutting the various components on/off down to 1 microamp 3
valen00
Totally unexpected, (IE .003 ma vs .001ma) Same reading as my expensive one
tfryxell2000
The price only gives you better accuracy. No big deal, auto-shutoff is most important.
TitsMcGee30
what about a free one from Harbor freight?
KitsuneSuzzo
My HP was free (someone ran too much current through it and blew a trace. Jumped it with a nice piece of PTFE insulated wire.) I have a $9
KitsuneSuzzo
one for a secondary.
ProgMetalMan
I got a semi decent $60 multimeter on RadioShack's clearance, and I work with low voltage applications, so I'm good
bmusson
Fucking seriously. Get a Fluke or go home.
labeast92
Fluke dvom and the amp clamp to go with it. Mmmmmmmm electrical diagnostics
SillyCircuits
Agilent/Keysight makes nice meters too.
firecatsrt
Love my fluke 12
cogs
I've got a Fluke 77 that's at least 20 years old and the fucker's unbeatable. I plan to be buried with it.
pugpaws
Fluke shmuke..... Get a Flir!!!!!
zlds
A Flir?! Fuck that get a Funtcase!!!
TeeFour
I got expelled for touching the lab equipment with my funtcase
amscrambles
I laughed so hard because I read this and I legit did/do not know if these are real words or sarcasm gibberish.
pugpaws
Hahaha it totally does.
thatackwardguythatnevertalks
As an electrician you'd need better (the cheap ones don't last), but learning/light duty, the uncalibrated inaccurate meters are just fine.
YouAreLying
I use my 5 dollar multimeter frequently. I'm no electrician though, just a humble electrical engineer.
psychedel0s
I've got one around the same price that comes with me on consultancies. It's perfect for carrying a small kit!
Californiaburritosareamazinghaveyoueverhadone
I use my 150 dollar fluke on live panels at work . I use my 15 dollar extech on little 9v circuit boards at home.
TheSqeeek
Never needed my fluke to work on my car. Or any smaller low voltage stuff. Not going to test 90kv lines with a $20 meter.
greymouser7
Why? I can't afford something that is 200 bucks...
MrBurd
I use my $20 arduino as voltmeter, say what?
LNMigo
What you do for high amps?
MrBurd
None. I use it as a quite accurate millivolt meter in the 0-1000 range. Useful if you're a really lazy and poor chemist (1/2)
MrBurd
(2/2) and you want to automate your job, reading voltage, controlling burette and writing to Excel :3
[deleted]
[deleted]
TeeFour
Oh you
yeaboy67
If the board burns, you're over 500mA :P
Falcrist
It's a digital fuse! :D
DavidBrooker
I've used a $10k oscilloscope as a voltmeter when I couldn't find my $10 multimeter. University labs are weird.
BlackPengu
as an EE, i agree
psychedel0s
Or buy a cheap one, don't touch mains (which you shouldn't anyway if you don't know what you're doing) and stick to testing low current.
yeaboy67
For real, though. At least get something like this for reliable measurements and protection http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FZFTZO/
WhiteOrchid69
Would this be good for a beginner in electronics? Or should I just go for something in the 100$+ range.
underscoreneckbeard
Oh man, not the 100$+ range. That's way too much. Now, the $100+ range, now we're talking.
TheScaryDoor
replying for future purchase. maybe. i just like to save things i'll never use.
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Idk man. If someone is a beginner, they're not gonna be dealing with HV or very sensitive stuff. I've got a $25 one that's worked perfect.
greymouser7
which one is it?
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
if you can find a cheaper name brand one though I'd always trust a name brand more than a china brand.
greymouser7
I have to trouble shoot old Dodge wiring sometimes the electronics leave me stranded.
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Yeah I'd say you don't need a top of the line one to work on a car. Unless your working on a Tesla. haha. Gotta love tracking down wires!
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Just an off brand one I got online. I think it was from adafruit. I've had no problems with it. serves its purpose for simple circuits.
TotallyRealDoctor
I want to upvote but I'm not sure what I just saw. Upvoting anyway so men will think I'm manly.
RoystonVaseyBaby
This guy... I can smell how manly he is!
phaedrus2129
Glad you gave credit for the repost, but minus points for leaving out the EEVBlog link, and not updating to AoE 3rd edition
greenlinesofcocaine
Upvoting because not manly, just electrician.
CitizenPrime
This reminds me of a Seinfeld joke
PossiblyJonSnow
So manly wow
SuperRockinMrMagic
I have that book, it's a dry read but it'll teach you about what you see here
JoshuaPhelps2
I've studied this shit and am still trying to remember having a clue how to fix this without electrocuting myself.
Axleoke
This meeting of no ma'am is officially in session
LordofGoats
Actually upvoting you for your username more than anything, honestly.
JQuentinEvermann
You just saw 6 months into the past, when this was first posted. I liked it so much I got a reworking station and learned how to do it. :)
Leoxcr
Plot twist: @CalvinForHobbes is actually a girl.
thisheretexasdude
Amp you have the capacity to ohm up to it. 1/0 will upvote
metalshoguns
Look at you. Manning all over the place.
SuperCoolHotDogsThatAreCool
Oh, who is that manly guy over there? *upvotes to appear manly as well*
TeeFour
Nice mustache bruh
WhyDidntYouDodge
You're as manly add el macho
MasterPrime
Greeneyeddevil
My god, your manliness...it glows like manly fire for cook MEAT
SayWhatYouMeanMeanWhatYouSay
You ruggedly handsome sonuvabitch!
DarkAndMysteriousInternetGuy
I bet you shave with an axe while riding a bear. Dont you?
jimicos
Wow, look at that manly guy there.
WhatMyHeartHeld
That manly man is so hot right now.
TotallyRealDoctor
*blush*
imgurlsdoexist
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbk68fwO1O1r3xqdd.jpg
SpacemanSpiff0226
Brother?
dynamaux
"See all that stuff in there, Homer? That's why your robot never worked."
onepunchwoman
http://imgur.com/b1V0bDl af
calvinandhobbesbeatsreligioneverytime
Always upvote fellow snowmen.
Myharoth
He's so manly...
CANiBorrowURtowelMYcarHitAwaterBUFFALO
I'm in electrical engineering and I don't know what I saw
JohnBVail
This manly guy probably does all kinds of manly things.
TotallyRealDoctor
I man from the moment I wake up.
JohnBVail
Let me ask you something. You ever defeat a bear in hand-to-hand combat? I've been looking for a coach.
PenisOfDeath
I'm replying here because most people won't see my comment otherwise. BE CAREFUL WITH CAPACITORS! They store electricity long after the 1/?
ProbablyDrunkAgain
Hey, I sold high voltage capacitors for raiguns and other sci-fi shit. It was pretty cool.
PenisOfDeath
Power is gone.
CannibalHoliday
People in our small engines class would charge capacitors then use them as cattle prods on other kids in the hallway.
theshakeymohel
Up voted that because I wasn't too be manly by association..
MrBurd
also: DO NOT SERVICE MICROWAVE OVENS. They work with nasty HV capacitors and eat unskilled repairmen for breakfast. Toasted.
jeromebettis
Microwaved
jediprincess
i'm sure nature will just work itself out...
FireoftheAbyss
more like microwaved
lovemesomepoptarts
I think you mean microwaved breakfast.
diabolicaljazz
Instructions unclear, made runny eggs and soggy toast.
Spice00002
Same with TV's and computer monitors. Especially CRT's.
epiclong1
As an RF tech.... thankyou!
Savagetuna
I made an arc welder from a microwave
Californiaburritosareamazinghaveyoueverhadone
Also guitar amps
suckinsyn
A little less, but same goes for camera flash capacitors. I saw my friend jump scared when he got shocked :)) so good view
YouMagnificentBastard
Or TV monitors power supplies etc
TazR
See this educational video by our good friend Photonicinduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHOlx9_fRQY
SirSidneyRuffDiamond
Crocodile clip to 1 terminal attached to metal part of an insulated screwdriver, touch screwdriver to other terminal then case,repeat
younocall
Had to upvote this. I don't think an electronics trained person understands the devastating effects of a charged capacitor over time.
Max209
don't work on power supplies either.... unless you really know what you're doing there
BannedAgainWTFthatWasntNSFW
But what if I want the magnetron to make a time machine? Or maybe a new type of radiation treatment..
nighshade586
I can't discharge the HV capacitors, wire three up together, mount it to a spear and recharge them; making myself an Odinspear?
snoogans671
I was servicing microwaves when I was in highschool, its tube tvs that scared the shit out of me
plainoldfool
Or computer power supplies
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
really!? Do these hold a deadly charge?
junkhacker
no
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
Thought so. I usually check this b4 taking stuff apart. Remembered taking one apart a few years ago, just making sure I wasn't being stupid!
junkhacker
as long as it's unplugged, the worst anything in a computer power supply is going to do to you is arc against metal tools that touch things
DotishGuy
Just discharge them carefully, no biggie
BlackPengu
As an EE, I can confirm high frequency stuff is dark magic and they sacrifice virgins for it to make it work.
MrRandomUK
So that explains the disappearance of the Imgur userbase...
axelasdf
Black magic alchemy circle: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/63/84/48/638448237113d04c478b2f24bef91db4.jpg
BlackPengu
http://imgur.com/3nnRhLW shit's evil. if you look closely you can see the pentagrams carved into the solder.
JQuentinEvermann
So...put your dick in it?
vraxoin
Best way to tell if your microwave is HV positive.
diabLoDesignz
Yes
BorderlineBoozehound
Randy? Randy Marsh?
Stee4vendetta
Also breaking ghe glass attatched to the magnetron WILL give you cancer
YouMagnificentBastard
Gold. It doesn't but I got a laugh.
MrBurd
It's not glass, it's a ceramic made of beryllium oxide. But yep.
NeoHelios
Ex military here. Once servicing magnetron in radar (oversized microwave) and it had SO MUVH JUICE it was glowing PURPLE! Beautiful.
thecynabal
MUVH JUICE
NeoHelios
Lol yeah, sorry :) iPhone keyboard typos and this new imgur app doesn't let me scroll down to spellcheck half the time.
Leithoa
That's some shitty insulation or out-of-spec voltage there. Purple glows are bad unless the machine is made to make purple glows.
NeoHelios
Been so long, I forget what the actual problem was, but yeah, that wasn't normal LOL
SherMattLockSmith
I made am air spark-gap style tesla coil out of a microwave's transformer and capacitor when I was 12....
holang
Are you Tony Stark?
MrBurd
Arcs are fun. Been there done that. And yes, microwave oven parts :3
drbarrel
I have no idea what happend, but it looked cool.
HelloIAmAnInnocentBystander
Damn, you're closer to arc-welding than electronics here...
ImHonestonhowIseethings
same for old tube tv's the round screen heavy fuckers those were
[deleted]
[deleted]
ProgMetalMan
They're not as dangerous as people say. But the power supplies can be far more dangerous than the sets themselves.
AllisDashChalmersWasAnInsideJob
It's the flyback transformer which has a very high voltage secondary. The electron gun in the CRT is not bad.
ImHonestonhowIseethings
yeah those I didn't know the name of them.
madmatt2024
I got zapped by one, didn't die. Wasn't fun though.
godspeedybe
Is this meant to be a sentence? :S
ImHonestonhowIseethings
yes and no. I'm in a lot of pain in my back and legs so I wasn't thinking clearly when I wrote that sentence is this better?
xXMC2599Xx
Seems like it may be a bug on mobile that you sometimes dont see the entire comment
SilentZed
There's a reason most electricians tend to tap things with the back of hands if they are unsure. That way, if shocked, you don't clamp down.
jimwormmaster
I did not know this. I'm no electrician...but that sounds like smart advice to me. Thanks!
MrBurd
It also hurts way more.
Leithoa
a $12 dollar voltage detector will save you some dirty underwear. Extech 40130 on Amazon
SilentZed
Oh, absolutely. Small anecdote, though - Friend of mine was using another friend's voltage detector that was faulty. Everything read fine 1)
SilentZed
, showed no voltage so Friend 1 proceeded like normal. Got blasted across the room, thankfully he didn't clamp down and fry himself 2)
SilentZed
Turns out Friend 2's voltage detector was faulty 'and' he forgot to turn off the breaker. He could have killed Friend 1 =/ Hence why 3)
FlatPeach
Well, I just use my multimeter to test. Safer than my body. But you have fun.
SilentZed
As you should. I relayed a story about a set of friends that were versed, but made two mistakes. 1. There voltage meter was faulty and 1)
SilentZed
thought it was safe. It wasn't until one of them got blown across the room that they realized. Had he clamped down when shocked, he'd 3)
SilentZed
have died. 4) - END -
FlatPeach
Yep - and proper isolation procedures would've avoided this: Test on a known live, isolate, test for dead, repeat. Then start work.
SilentZed
and how one of them had also forgotten to flip the breaker. A bad screwup for sure, but the faulty meter showed no voltage so they 2)
IAmAllThings
As an electrician, a good rule of thumb is to always stand in a puddle of water to keep yourself grounded
thatguyyouthinkyouknow7
You guys are gonna kill someone...
IamRevyn
I can imagine a 7 year old imgur user ruining hundreds of dollars of electronics frying his brain after reading some of these comments
FourCatsAndSevenMemesAgo
I did laugh, but I can't upvote you due to bad advice, sorry :(
FuckTheUSCjrShamecocks
Also the anus is a great place to cool off the soldering iron once the task is complete.
lamorak24
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/143/b/3/my_anus_is_bleeding_by_sinnedwolf-d3h0iyr.jpg
Jerenemy
Dually noted. Thanks!
Stee4vendetta
Also, don't wear shoes and only touch the brown wire
AeroEngineer
And licking is the best way to determine if capacitors still carry a charge
FlatPeach
The alternative technique is to throw it at your friend and yell "CATCH!"
AeroEngineer
Oooh, that's a great one. Fun, and good exercise!
GrayWhiteWolf
Pro tip, for hard to reach capacitors use your dick to test for charge
yeaboy67
Especially the higher capacity ones
AeroEngineer
Definitely, those taste the best
Narushima
And NEVER unplug the device you're working on. Electricity needs to flow. Otherwise it gets grumpy and attacks.
Cal1te
You joke. But when working with some electronics it is best to leave them plugged in and the power off. As this allows it to be earthed.
Cal1te
Sorry i should mention this is only with 3 pin plugs with an active earthing pin.
AnthonyStark
Curious, where would the charge come from if they aren't plugged in.
Cal1te
Static. I.E your clothes/cats/hair n stuff.
GitToDaChoppa
Stored energy.. A short circuit can cause current to flow. on/off button is only a switch.
ridetheshoopuf
Reading these feels like I am on 4chan
Deerhurst
you satanic fuck!
CodeE42
Be sure to put all electrolytic capacitors in backwards, just to keep things lively while you work.
Thorbane
lively, ie. ON FUCKING FIRE
Engimaneer
Did this is lab once. Thought I got shot
CodeE42
Yeah, classmate of mine jumped back and fell out of his chair. We thought he was dead.
TetraNordeh
And if your computer is full of dust, scrub it with soapy water. It also helps get rid of viruses, so it'll run faster.
RedStarBeograd
and delete system32.
sms001
I successfully hosed out and (eventually) ran a 486. It was a measure of last resort, but worked.