Re: [TCML] Spark gaps, Solid state switches and diodes

[bartb <bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ed Phillips wrote:
> My personal opinion is that one side of the primary and one side of 
> the secondary should be tied to a solid power-line frequency ground to 
> avoid accidents in the event of stupidity, which anyone will commit at 
> some time or another.  It's one thing to get a bad RF burn and another 
> to take 60 ~  or DC through the body.
I've been grounding the primary for years, but not for a "safety" 
reason. The caps must be discharged and verified before touching 
anything. Ed, there are vast number of floating primary coils out there 
("they don't have a choice"). Center ground NST's? There are also pig 
coilers that float the primary on 2 eared pigs. Several years ago I tied 
one ear to RF ground copying David Riebens setup. But, grounding the 
primary doesn't make it safe (if anything, a false sense of security). 
The transformer is bleeding any charge left on the caps. Should that 
become disconnected at the right time, then a grounded primary won't 
help either (it will just give you a reference point when you get zapped).

Take care,
Bart
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