[rescue] Rescued iMacs looking for input on repair

[Wes Will]

>I saw a friend get knocked back about 10 feet just from the power supply 
>in a Sun 411 external enclosure.  He was using it as a temporary external
>SCSI box (with the top cover off), trying to get a balky piece of hardware
>to work.  Had it all plugged in and live, etc.

Drum roll, please!

>Touched the wrong part of it (the power supply), and it was almost comical -
>it looked like he tensed up and kicked himself backwards.  Landed on the 
>(carpeted) floor, out cold.

That's exactly what did happen.  The muscles all shorten and then lengthen,
and aaaaway you go!

>He woke up after a couple minutes of us going "OH CRAP!" and standing
>around.  Got up, "Why the hell am I lying on the floor?"; he didn't
>remember a bit of it.  Also wasn't "quite himself" the next couple of
>days after that.

Spitting sparks, was he?  He was lucky that his sphincters didn't cut
loose.  I've seen several people wake up in a puddle.

>On the other hand, we had a tech support guy / stoner who would discharge
>CRTs with nothing more than a large, long flat-head screwdrive and an
>impressive "BANG!".

The only difference (other than shape) in the screwdriver and the discharge
tool is a big honkin' resistor.  The difference is the "Bang" and not much
else... except for maybe the small burnt spot on the frame of the machine
where the discharge exits.

High voltage is not fun, and you should respect it, but with (un)common
sense there isn't any more danger than any other thing we do routinely.  Be
alert, keep your wits about you, and put your off hand in your pocket.
It's no big deal.

--
wes will