With static electricity in this cold dry winter. I fried the right channel of my Classe Amp last night with the touch of a finger. I usually have anti-static sheets in hand before touching anything but this time did not.
mg16, I think the chassis being grounded is going to be what shunts the static shock from your body, creating the shock. It's the same concept as touching the screw on the switch cover plate on the wall.
Up here in the northwest, real cold weather is rare, but right now we are in a cold snap that is just below freezing. Whenever I touch any component on my system I can get shocked. I got shocked touching the plastic eject button on my cd player! It's just current build up in my body though, so what I do is firmly touch one of the metal supports on my audio rack to drain the current.
The fingers are sensitive, so I use the back of my hand. Or one could have a small metal hand tool to pick up and touch the metal rack so that one doesn't feel the shock at all. A small wrench, punch, whatever.
Voltage ,(static or otherwise) will always seek a lower impedance, path to ground from the chassis, rather than through any internal electronic circuitry.
It will still seek all possible paths to ground, only majority of the current will go thru grounding of the chassis. Grounding is very important, but danger still exists. Humidifiers, anti-static mats or sprays, discharging yourself on the different object etc. are all very good ideas.
If all the chassis of your equipment has a secure connection to ground, this should never happen. Voltage ,(static or otherwise) will always seek a lower impedance, path to ground from the chassis, rather than through any internal electronic circuitry. I have seen where some equipment has had the chassis ground lifted, in order to eliminate hum. If I am wrong, I welcome comments to enlighten me please.
I read a little trick that helps me, as static is a huge problem for me and my system. I touch the little screw that holds on the the light switch cover to my room. I am luck it is near by. Yes, I get a little shock but not as big as when I touch my amplifier. The screw is attached to the receptacle box that is grounded so it minimizes the shock. At least that was how it was explained to me. I don't know if it is right but at least it does the trick.
I did ask Dennis Had who built my Inspire amp and he doesn't understand what happened. That made someone like me with sooo little tech knowledge even more paranoid.
I also talked to Andy from Vintage Tubes when I was ordering new tubes for it, and he mentioned maybe a cap or oscillating. I wasn't clear on what he meant about the oscillating reference and did not want to press the issue at that moment.
I guess my biggest concern since it's playing well is that some parts might have been compromised and could fail prematurely.
If it ever happens again, I will take your advice and shut down immediately.
lpretiring, electric charge on your body is "looking" for return to ground. There will be multiple paths of return with current inversely proportional to return impedance. I'm not sure if it can create effect, you describe, in tubes, but it is possible with semiconductors. Perhaps your CD player was in some form of standby (necessary for remote to operate) and it contained semiconductors. Most of integrated circuits, these days are not bipolar and often contain both NMOS and PMOS transistors. That allows to create parasitic SCR (Thyristor) structures that can be triggered by excessive current flow. This effect known as "Latch-up", very common about 30 years ago, was leading to equipment damage with static discharge. It was often enough to provide more than 30mA per pin to trigger latch-up. Circuit in latch-up was slowly heating up to the point of damage. Since then, protection methods got implemented and circuits are safe from much higher currents, but I'm not sure if it is completely free from it. Turning power off resets the circuit in latch-up. My advise would be to turn power off if you experience it again. Allowing circuit to stay in latch-up can lead to damage (overheating). Perhaps tubes can go into similar state, but it would be better to ask tube experts like Atmasphere.
When you have a "Static", electrical problem of any type. You have an electrical charge imbalance. And that little spark you get when you touch the amp and hear the pop can be ridiculously powerfull, Which is why it can destroy the component. Why do you have a static? Too many reasons to list here. But it comes down to Ion's. Commonly you need negative ion's to balance out too many pos. ion's. I use Ionic filters which make negative ion's and also scrub the surrounding air.. You'll need to use whatever works for you. One thing to know is that the problem is an imbalance of either pos or neg charges. And for you to achieve a balance in the given area that you listen in will not only stop those nasty little shocks but "will", actually change the sound of your rig. At least to you. This is one reason sound is so subjective. Because we all use these charged Ion's which our ears then "transduce" from sound to brainwave. We all have biological chemical potentials in our ears.Your bodies "DAC" if you will. And we are all built just a little differently, "Thank God!". I am sure there is someone here that could expound on this better than I. I just know that I completely solved my own issue and now the room even smells nicer!
About a month ago with almost brand new speakers, and a new tube amp I turned up the volume on my line stage and was startled by a loud snap or pop. It was dark and I might have touched the chassis but I'm just not sure. I turned down the volume, stopped the disc and heard only from the right channel and also the amp a soft pulsating, rhythmic tone from both in harmony. I turned off the cd spinner and sat for about 5 minutes listening. I could not describe the sound at the time. It wasn't a ringing, or hum but some kind of blended soft sound coming and going. This occurred the same night as when I was getting some small static shocks. My guess at the time was that the right output tube was messing up and shut down for the night.
The next night after reversing the output tubes both channels appear fine and the amp is also quiet again.
Does anyone have a good guess what happened I'm guessing from this static electricity shock?
proper equipment grounding also helps. ground->hot->neutral = voltage; neutral->ground = zero. micropore soles are static resistant, but finding such foot wear is challenge. sneaker soles will get ya couple of farads per each foot I guess and you can probably give it back to electric company LOL via powerful 10M resistor HAHA!
I lived in Colorado for 9 years, recently having moved back to Michigan. We had carpet in our basement and the static build up would make one hesitant to touch a light switch, let alone turn my gear on. I used ACL Staticide spray. Stuff worked like a champ.
You and I have a very different view of Heaven....lol.
To tell truth I hate Florida and once daughter goes to college( this year) we are out of here to.....South Dakota. My idea of heaven is 250 acres of wilderness with my home smack in the center, razor wire and auto gun turrets around the perimeter. Yes I like my solitude.....
One blessing living in midwest is to see beautiful white snow in the morning, walk out in underwear, jog, than dive and bathe in that clean and shiny powder and than return home after half-hour of such joy which clearly means a definition of Heaven.
Florida I guess is more similar to the burning Hell.
That's incredible I never heard of such a thing as this static ele blowing equipment.I remember twice not just once at work static ele discharged from the metal clothes locker door while I was changing right through my private part like it was a lightning rod.Scared and startled me.I asked anybody else if it happened to them they said I was nuts.
I have one pair of very comfortable shoes (Skechers) that makes me get zapped from all metal objects (very unpleasant). At home I walk barefoot, but at work I get zapped all the time. I ended up saving these shoes for the rainy seasons.
Humidifiers, anti static spray like Nordost and my Sonic Tonic or even Tourmaline guns or air ionizers, and Mapleshade used to sell the Ionoclast ionizer, long out of production.
The latest Audioquest anti static vinyl cleaning brush uses the user as a ground, which I think is a bold use of the consumer as a participant in an audio issue remedy…this might be illegal in some states, but I use one anyway but store the little charge in a battery that I later use to power my toothbrush.
Like others have suggested I have a brass plate that is grounded to earth that I touch first. My preamp crackles through the speakers if I don’t in this weather
I have had this problem also, never caused harm to equipment however. Had a integrated amplifier that would go into protection mode. Even happened when using the remote (metal one).
As many have aforementioned, a discharge prior to touching equipment is best protection. ALso, as Elizabeth stated, bare feet, or even taking shoes off helps reduce static buildup.
Pops it happened to me , it was the kind of pants and my sweater,iam wearing.google why static happen...I got really educated from it, when I use lotion it removes the dryness as well on my hands...
ATI must have some kind of safeguard, as twice lately I have been bitten by static as I touched the amp and it instantly shut off, and then immediately fired all five channels back up ... Entire sequence last maybe 15 seconds
So which components inside the amplifier/preamplifier get most affected by the static discharge? What about tube vs. SS gear? I'd guess active components like transistors inside SS electronic devices are the first ones to get fried, not capacitors, resistors, etc.
I work with industrial electronics for the last 38 years and by FAR the biggest enemy of our equipment is static(after the "human" factor of course!) as unfortunately the process we are manufacturing generates static at every turn! I have personally seen 400hp drives killed by static discharge before we got a lil smarter in our wiring and approach. And dont even mention the blackened fingernails some techs have suffered......lol. It is a genuine, under-estimated problem for sure.
Static can and does impart damage. Mosfet transistors and ICs are particularly susceptible. Some people destroy electronics with static unknowingly. It doesn't always happen with an obvious shock.
One blessing of living in Florida I guess, no such thing as a dry winter....or any winter really come to think of it...... Sorry to hear of your bad luck though.
Another solution is to have something metal that is not part of your audio system on your audio rack, maybe the rack itself if it's metal, and rap it with your knuckle before touching your gear. Your knuckle is much less sensitive than your fingertip and the rap spares you that unpleasant little shock to the fingertip.
There is good repair shop near me I have used in the past. They are certified for Mcintosh, professional equipment and other hifi brands. I know you used to own a Classe CA series - there are about 30 capacitors in there!
I had 2 different whole house humidifiers in the past that worked wonders for the air but could never get them to stop leaking.
I touched the faceplate on my preamp which shocked the Schitt digital out of me, sent a bang out of the right speaker and put the amp in protective shutdown.
Something we as audiophiles deal with every winter. This is a first for me. I usually defuse myself on my record clamp and rub anti static sheets on my hands. I did neither. Sobered me up for sure!
I bought a 3 inch square anti-static mat that connects to the ground on the wall outlet. It is amazing how much static you can build up just getting off the couch. Best 15.00I ever spent.
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