Forgot to discharge a CRT monitor and got zapped so bad I saw stars

Was cleaning out an old office last month and found a dusty CRT monitor in the corner. Figured I'd crack it open for parts since nobody wanted it. Stupid me didn't wait or short the anode cap. Touched something inside and got hit with a jolt that threw me back a foot. My arm went numb for like 10 minutes. Lucky it wasn't worse. Anybody else learned that lesson the hard way or am I just the clown here?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_webb7d ago

Oh man, "saw stars" is exactly the right way to put it. I did the same thing years ago with an old TV from my grandpa's basement, thought I knew what I was doing but completely forgot to discharge it. My whole arm went numb and I had this weird tingly feeling for a good hour after. It's one of those lessons you only need to learn once because the fear sticks with you forever. CRT monitors are no joke with that stored charge, they can hold power for months even unplugged. Glad you're okay though, that could have been way scarier.

sam_anderson7d ago

Wait, hold up... months?? I always thought it was like a few days or a week tops if the thing was unplugged. That's wild. So that old Sony Trinitron I've been meaning to haul out of my garage has probably been sitting there juiced up this whole time? Man, I was gonna try to mess with it for fun but now I'm second guessing. Good to know I should probably just leave it for the pros or whatever.