Disposable Camera Nixie Tube Driver

Step 2 Disassemble Camera

This step is going to vary depending on the camera you choose to take apart. I will post a pictorial description of how I took mine apart, but know that not all cameras are alike.

Also, this step is probably one of the more dangerous steps, because you do not know if the capacitor is charged currently. Do not touch the capacitor or the flash circuit at this point, it may still have energy stored that could electrocute you. Being electrocuted is a bad thing.

Once you expose the capacitor, I highly recommend discharging it. This can be done by touching both wires coming out of the bottom of the capacitor with a screwdriver or other metal object. Make sure the object you use to discharge with has an insulated handle, and only use one hand to minimize risk of electricity flowing across your chest. I also recommend wearing safety goggles, because if the capacitor is charged, sparks will fly, and you don't want one of those sparks in your eye. (sparks can also known as superheated airborne metal fragments)

Comments

[dumle29]

ive accedentialy shorted one of those caps with my finger.

i guess as long as its on the same hand, theres no worry (not across the heart) but it HURTS LIKE HELL

[BrunoG]

I only got shocked by a small transformer, nothing big, it was the transformer that comes with the "Radioshack Learning Lab" kit.

[techno guy]

Hey! I have that kit. It's pretty useful. I'm still learning from it. I also made a shocking circuit from it and you could adjust how much the shock hurt. I don't think that kit is still being sold, is it?

[the_don125]

Its true, if you only work with one hand, and zap yourself only through that one hand, you are less likely to stop your heart via electrocution.

That being said, enough of a zap can create internal burning, putting the victim into shock, so there is always the chance of a fatal shock when working with voltages above 36V (some sources say as low as 12V).

Always remember, electricity is our friend, and just like any friend, you better treat it with respect, or else you will get burned.

[eXtremeSomething]

I got a shock of a car battery once, despite my beliefs that there isn't enough potential difference to across our body

[the_don125]

All depends on the person, some can feel shocks from sources as low as 10V, some don't notice till much higher.

[tsagert]

A few people have been killed in my old line of work, 48v DC systems in telecom offices.

I only got ring voltages on my forearm when reaching in to hook up wirewrap connections on the AT&T switch.

You dont always know that cap energy wont go in your finger, up a nerve of vessel and navigate its way to a vital organ and not right out again.

[knektek]

I got shocked by an EL wire inverter and it wasnt pretty. It's output was 200 volts ac but it only ran off 2 AA cells. So, i guess it is a matter of current, not volts. My slayer exciter outputs 4000 volts and it burns my finger!

[pickford78]

Current and voltage play parts in how dangerous it is, but current is the main factor.

[dumle29]

Yes. If you don't have enough voltage, you cant pull the current needed, however high voltage doesn't meen that it will pull a large current. the power supply high not provide enough of a puch.

U=R*I

so if R is high and U is low, I needs to be low or the math wouldn't add up

[tsagert]

Pretty much any wall wart can kill you, hence why GFIs trip at about 4 milliamps (but wont work unless current isnt returning, like using two hands to stick two bare wires into the hot & neutral of a GFI, it wont ever trip if Iin=Iout).

Higher voltage makes the current able to travel along or penetrate your skin.

[Matrix-technician]

While that's true voltage is not what kills you. Tazers operate at 1mill+ volts! It's the amperage that is dangerous.