Those testers are available at Lowes, Home Depot and Radio Shack.


"Jack" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 18:31:38 -0500, "Ken Hart"
wrote:


"John Steven" wrote in message
. com...
FYI: I recently discovered the hard way that the three JTL
monolights
(Versalight series, 300 and 800) I owned are ELECTRICAL HAZARDS.
CAUTION: you may get shocked quite severely if you use these
lights. I
found this out by getting a good shock when doing a portrait
session
in a studio with a concrete floor. I was wearing shorts and knelt
down
to get a better angle on the subject and as soon as my knee
touched
the floor, I felt a strong electrical current run through my arms
via
the camera. I measured 85 volts AC between the sync cable outer
connector and earth ground. THIS IS NOT NORMAL!! I tried
contacting
the JTL company twice but did not receive a response. The same
problem
was exhibited by all three lights, so I don't think it's an
individual
defect. Instead, it seems to be a design flaw.

Yes, you might say I was an idiot for wearing shorts and shooting
portraits in a room with a concrete floor, etc. I agree, and I'll
not
do that again. However, I recently took delivery of some new
monolights (from Calumet) and they do not exhibit this voltage
problem.

-John

Do the strobes have a plug with one prong slightly wider than the
other?
Does the outlet also have one slot larger than the other? The
larger slot
should be at earth ground potential (get the voltmeter back out!).
If not,
your outlets are wired backwards, and could cause similar problems
with
other devices plugged in these outlets, particularly those with a
wide
prong. ("polarized plug")

Ken Hart

Even so, polarized power outlets, *especially the 2-pin variety* are
dangerous because there is no way of knowing whether the outlet was
wired properly. Should the wires be internally reversed, you have
an
electrical shock / fire hazard just waiting to happen. I've seen
all
too many improperly wired outlets in my years as an electrician.
Many
were even wired by licensed electricians, not simply home-handymen!

Outlet Testers (The round yellow plug-in ones with 3 little neon
lamps - at least those in the USA) are cheap and will tell you if
theres a problem. I consider them part of the kit of anybody who
deals with electrical equipment, including studio and stage
lighting.
And I consider an inexpensive multimeter essential, too. Also good
for
checking cables for continuity, etc.

-Jack-