ZAPPER (Health Hazard?)

[Richard Wagner]

List,

I've built, and burned out a couple of "Zappers" over the years using them
on all kinds of things both piano related and not... 

And "No," just because I've burned a few out, doesn't mean that I've been
out there charring flange bushings and birdseyes instead of repinning.

Let's just say that I'm fond of experimentation, and leave it at that.


Anyway, long ago,  I was told by someone who worked on electrical doo-dads
for a living, that the Zapper, ala Mehaffey was a "potential death trap."

I didn't ask him why at the time, because, knowing nothing about
electricity, I didn't want to appear ignorant.

Now, years later, I'm still mostly ignorant about electricity, but have
learned just enough to fool around with it and get myself killed.

I think that simply going down to Radio Shack, buying the appropriate
transformer, wiring it up with a plug on one end and shorting it across a
tight center pin on the other, could be dangerous if not lethal should that
transformer choose to burn out, fusing the internal widings together
somehow, and connect you directly into the power grid.

After all, the thing works by creating a short circuit across the center
pin thus heating it up, but everything involved gets hot especially the
windings in the transformer itself.  This is what fuses are in your home
wiring to protect against...(sort of.)

Anyway, I could be wrong here folks, and perhaps John Fortiner, Larry
Fisher, or some other electrical wizards on the List could set me straight,
but I believe that the simple "Zapper" described in the paragraph above is
potentially dangerous if not modified somehow...

Please help me out here as I'd love to continue experimenting without
killing myself...


	Richard Wagner RPT