ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area What was your first spark?

Let me think, several incidents got me interested in the sheer "power" of power... My dad was an electrical engineer for British Rail, so I had an interest in the complex diagrams he used to bring home (he actually did it so I could draw on the blank back, but you know kids ) First shocker so to speak was about age 8... I knew christmas tree lights were low voltage, so a non working set is only carrying a few volts right?... out with nail scissors, tidy up the tree... BANG Learned about 240 volt series connected christmas lights FAST!..it kinda grew from there, fewer bangs these days though

Those fairy lights!

It was far from my first ever shock (see above), but a chain of these was responsible for the worst shock I ever remember getting hit with. I was about 13 at the time, and had a holder disintegrate in my hands, leaving me with the wire which had come adrift from the center contact in one hand and the outer shell of the tiny screw base in the other.

240V hand-to-hand isn't fun!