TV-OUT on laptop causes major damage, fire / shock

[Brian Densmore]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Duane Attaway
> 
> OK, I recreated the laptop video out to television experiment.
Dude! You are seriously twisted. ;')

> 
> The first video was connecting the RCA cable to house 
> current.  It was 
> uneventful and promptly blew the 20A house breaker each time.  So I 
> started up the generator and was able to use unfused power.
> 
> Here is a frame by frame of the video of the outer (ground) 
> conductor of 
> the video cable melting under 120 volts at 7500 VA:
> 
> http://dattaway.org/whitewire.jpg
> 
> Closeup of melted RCA cable:
> 
> http://dattaway.org/whitewire2.jpg
> 
> Other side:
> 
> http://dattaway.org/whitewire3.jpg
> 
> It took about two seconds of short current to melt the wire 
> and break the 
> circuit.  It flashed when it broke.
> 
> So what does that mean?  It takes a lot of current from a 120 
> volt feed to 
> blow the tiny stranded wires of a RCA video cable.  I believe 
> each one of 
> the copper strands alone, seperated in air, should take 5 
> amps each.  I 
> counted 15 strands.
> 
> Could a capacitor do it as someone suggested?  Well it could, 
> but it would 
> have to be instantaneous.  I have some capacitors up to 8KV 
> if you want to 
> see more video and pictures.
Well it depends on the type of capacitor. It would have to be 
a polarized capacitor. I remember when I used to test power 
supplies for a company I worked at. We would buy them for
our products, but they needed to be tested before being installed in
our equipment. Every once in a while a PS would have the capacitor in
reverse polarity. Quite a show when a big capacitor blows.
Less frequently the capacitor would take too much voltage with 
the same end result, explosion. why do you say it would have to
be instantaneous? Although from the description of the event it was 
instantaneous.

> 
> I'd say his power supply had a minor meltdown inside, causing 
> the AC to 
> couple with the DC side.  This allowed current to flow from 
> the AC mains, 
> through his laptop, and return through the television back 
> into the wall. 
> Televisions are designed with a neutral grounded chassis and 
> this may have 
> allowed a possibly defective power supply to complete a current loop.
I'd tend to agree he's got a current/voltage leak in the PS, which
of course could lead to a capacitor explosion. Haven't heard whether
the laptop is usable now or if the adaptor is usable. If a cap went the PC
or adaptor wouldn't work anymore. He's lucky the TV still works.