If you need assistance, please send an email to forum at 4hv dot org. To ensure your email is not marked as spam, please include the phrase "4hv help" in the subject line. You can also find assistance via IRC, at irc.shadowworld.net, room #hvcomm.
Support 4hv.org!
Donate:
4hv.org is hosted on a dedicated server. Unfortunately, this server costs and we rely on the help of site members to keep 4hv.org running. Please consider donating. We will place your name on the thanks list and you'll be helping to keep 4hv.org alive and free for everyone. Members whose names appear in red bold have donated recently. Green bold denotes those who have recently donated to keep the server carbon neutral.
Special Thanks To:
Aaron Holmes
Aaron Wheeler
Adam Horden
Alan Scrimgeour
Andre
Andrew Haynes
Anonymous000
asabase
Austin Weil
barney
Barry
Bert Hickman
Bill Kukowski
Blitzorn
Brandon Paradelas
Bruce Bowling
BubeeMike
Byong Park
Cesiumsponge
Chris F.
Chris Hooper
Corey Worthington
Derek Woodroffe
Dalus
Dan Strother
Daniel Davis
Daniel Uhrenholt
datasheetarchive
Dave Billington
Dave Marshall
David F.
Dennis Rogers
drelectrix
Dr. John Gudenas
Dr. Spark
E.TexasTesla
eastvoltresearch
Eirik Taylor
Erik Dyakov
Erlend^SE
Finn Hammer
Firebug24k
GalliumMan
Gary Peterson
George Slade
GhostNull
Gordon Mcknight
Graham Armitage
Grant
GreySoul
Henry H
IamSmooth
In memory of Leo Powning
Jacob Cash
James Howells
James Pawson
Jeff Greenfield
Jeff Thomas
Jesse Frost
Jim Mitchell
jlr134
Joe Mastroianni
John Forcina
John Oberg
John Willcutt
Jon Newcomb
klugesmith
Leslie Wright
Lutz Hoffman
Mads Barnkob
Martin King
Mats Karlsson
Matt Gibson
Matthew Guidry
mbd
Michael D'Angelo
Mikkel
mileswaldron
mister_rf
Neil Foster
Nick de Smith
Nick Soroka
nicklenorp
Nik
Norman Stanley
Patrick Coleman
Paul Brodie
Paul Jordan
Paul Montgomery
Ped
Peter Krogen
Peter Terren
PhilGood
Richard Feldman
Robert Bush
Royce Bailey
Scott Fusare
Scott Newman
smiffy
Stella
Steven Busic
Steve Conner
Steve Jones
Steve Ward
Sulaiman
Thomas Coyle
Thomas A. Wallace
Thomas W
Timo
Torch
Ulf Jonsson
vasil
Vaxian
vladi mazzilli
wastehl
Weston
William Kim
William N.
William Stehl
Wesley Venis
The aforementioned have contributed financially to the continuing triumph of 4hv.org. They are deserving of my most heartfelt thanks.
Registered Member #2628
Joined: Fri Jan 15 2010, 12:23AM
Location:
Posts: 627
If it gives you migranes, I suggest you get some good sunglasses that can block UV, or #4-#5 welding goggles (still fairly visable looking through them, as they are designed for oxy-acetalyne welding, so you can see what you are doing, but it will block out the light to quite tollerable levels).
I personally never had an issue with arc brightness except when I tried making a carbon arc lamp (a crude setup with some carbon rods, a shiny salad bowl and an arc welder).. that was ungodly bright. (needed a #10 arc welding mask just to view the "heart" of the lamp).
Registered Member #3429
Joined: Sun Nov 21 2010, 02:04AM
Location: Minnesota, USA
Posts: 288
A portion of the light given off by electric arcs is in the UV range, which your eyes cannot adjust to. So, even if the light doesn't cause pain in your eyes, it's not an indication that no damage is being done. Whether or not your eyes seem to be sensitive to bright light, it's never a good idea to stare at electric arcs, even if the overall brightness appears to be dim.
Registered Member #2893
Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242
I've never had problems with flyback arcs, and they are quite "dim" as a matter of fact. You can veiw the UV output with a piece of bleached paper, and a FBT arc doesn't make it shine too bright at all.
MOTs on the other hand have ungodly bright arcs, and you'll need 2 pairs of sunglasses if you want to play with one.
Maybe it's not the light that is giving you a headache, but the intense ultrasound instead?
Registered Member #3637
Joined: Fri Jan 21 2011, 11:07PM
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 1068
Grenadier wrote ...
I've never had problems with flyback arcs, and they are quite "dim" as a matter of fact. You can veiw the UV output with a piece of bleached paper, and a FBT arc doesn't make it shine too bright at all.
MOTs on the other hand have ungodly bright arcs, and you'll need 2 pairs of sunglasses if you want to play with one.
Maybe it's not the light that is giving you a headache, but the intense ultrasound instead?
That wouldn't be the case, because I had the same issues with a cutting torch. Cutting torch = hot metal = bright stuff = pain for meh.
Registered Member #3414
Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245
Polycarbonate safety glasses block UV light, and they are completely transparent. There is a condition known as 'arc-eye' which can be caused by being in the vicinity of welders, but polycarbonate safety glasses prevent this. symptoms are headaches, nausea, etc.
EDIT: Apparently repeated exposure to UV can cause permanent damage.
Registered Member #3610
Joined: Thu Jan 13 2011, 03:29AM
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 506
A cutting torch heats metal to incandescence which produces some UV. Not nearly as much as an arc welder, but enough to cause problems. Yes, UV is damaging, it kills biological matter, it's why UV lamps can be used for sterilization. X-rays are nothing but *really* deep UV photons.
This site is powered by e107, which is released under the GNU GPL License. All work on this site, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. By submitting any information to this site, you agree that anything submitted will be so licensed. Please read our Disclaimer and Policies page for information on your rights and responsibilities regarding this site.
How dangerous is it to view a flyback arc directly without glasses?
