RadioBanter - View Single Post - Are RF safety questions too hard for the proposed new Novice exam?

April 20th 04, 01:35 AM

(Steve Robeson K4CAP) wrote in
:

ubject: Are RF safety questions too hard for the proposed new
Novice exam? From: "Alun L. Palmer"
Date: 4/19/2004 10:02 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

(Len Over 21) wrote in
news:20040415150839.09913.00000288 @mb-m26.aol.com:

snip

Back in Junior High basic electricity shop class in 1947 I and
all classmates learned the "left-hand rule" (for right-handers)
which said "keep the left hand in the pocket if you have no
choice about turning the power off and working with the right
hand...that keeps a circuit from going through your heart."
Since we'd all had basic biology by then, that made a lot of
sense.

snip

LHA / WMD

Actually, it's a left hand rule regardless of which is your preferred
hand, because your heart is on your left side. (Some people's hearts
are on the right, but it's very rare).

I was taught to keep one hand in my pocket over 200V, and both hands in
my pockets over 1kV !!

Acutally, at potentially fatal amperages, it doesn't matter which
hand you
grab the juice from. I've had to deal with electrocutions in which the
victim had no upper extremity contact with the source at all...they're
dead none-the-less.

Steve, K4YZ

The current kills you, but it takes volts to jump the gap, thousands of
them. I have a little L-shaped scar on my right index finger from 10kV that
I didn't touch. I'm an EE amongst other things, and I assume you are a
physician?? If you say it doesn't matter which hand it is, then I beleive
you, as it sounds like you know. I've never worked with power transmission
or distribution, only with electronics, so that limits the current quite a
bit (but not necessarily the volts)!