Cautionary Tale....

[cjdelphi]

I was given an old cassette tape, from the 70's/80's anyway opened it up, has 240ac input, 6vdc input, looks good...

I found a dry joint, fixed, off it went... fix

Next - i see a transformer, ahh relax, risk of death is low!

I simply look at the outputs from the transformer, and measure the voltage, nothing! So i pull the 240plug out, and i unsolder the secondary side of the transformer incase something is shorting it out...

Oh my god!

The 240ac side comes from the pcb! If i had of been careless i'd have easily been shocked or killed (i was only cm away with fingers tedting the secondary ac voltage :O).,. i know not to because i'm always cautious of high voltage caps...

Photos! (240ac into the plug, that is wired to the pcb, then from the pcb to the primary of the transformer) i'll probably replace the dead transformer ... even with no load, the transformer heats up!

 

[(*steve*)]

Yeah, with mains operated equipment it's always a good idea to eyeball the device first to figure out where it (HV stuff) goes.

This is a lesson best learned *before* accidentally coming into contact with the mains, rectified mains, or a still charged capacitor.

 

[cjdelphi]

well, yeah... however this is the first time i've ever come across a transformer wired up like this 99/100 the mains goes straight into the transformer, why waste pcb space?

But yes, i will be eyeballing exactly where mains runs next time!