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Macs leak electricity?
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I suspect that my G4 Titanium Powerbook is leaking electricity… when i rest my hand on the encasing i seem to get mini zaps… the encasing seems to… kind of ‘hum’... it feels funny to touch. last night i noticed that when i am physically in contact with the machine i seem to ‘hum’ as well. My wife approached me last night and touched me on the shoulder as i was using the computer only to notice this electrifying touch… she got zapped through me. Has anyone had a similar problem??? Time to get a new laptop?
by
Jake Nowakowski
at
Tue Sep 18 02:08:27 UTC 2007
(ed. Mar 12 2008)
Mount Isa,
Australia
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Jake, you should check the Apple website as there was a battery recall awhile ago which may be the problem as well as it is a safety concern for fire. Take Care, Pete
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I’ve always had the same problem with my 12” G4 Powerbook, although it’s never been enough to zap my wife. I’ve had several people tell me it was static buildup from the metal case.
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jake,
i had a similar experience in haiti with a 12 inch powerbook. the electrical circuit there was not grounded and the power was coming from a generator to batteries to inverters. i could actually feel a low vibration-like field around the computer whenever it was plugged in. back in the states, the problem did not exist before or after my trip. it also didn’t do it when running on batteries.
i would try plugging it into some other circuit or another location before spending too much money. as for a real solution, i suspect some sort of surge protector or other isolator might do the trick.
best,
- ben
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Cancer generation is just an “undocumented feature”
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I’ve had one and only one zap from my old Powerbook 12”... it was in really humid conditions in a rainstorm in Burma (and no, the computer wasn’t in the rain, but it was raining outside).... the next day, however, it did get drenched… but, anyway, yeah I’ve been zapped by a mad mac before.
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“titanium” huh? If you can swing it, you’re due for an upgrade.
Stick that baby in a creek, and gather up all the stunned fish that rise to the surface. Or hook it up to a metal button in your palm so when you shake peoples hand, you can leave a lasting impression. Even better, wire up some electrodes, and rent it out to middle aged socialite so they can smooth out their forehead wrinkles. That will surely make enough dough to cover a new machine.
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thanks guys… people always used to tell me i was electrifying…
maybe a surge protector is the way to go…
anyone heard of any rumors re: 12inch or mini macs being realesed?
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Jake, I had the same problem… I think Ben is right, it sounds like a grounding problem.
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what would be the solution to a grounding problem? getting an electrician in and earthing the circuit in the house?
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You might try a three prong adapter first. You can get them at the hardware store and their cheap.
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A 3 prong adapter wouldn’t do the trick as the Mac PSU is not grounded…however, in situations like these you may want to turn the plug 180 degrees in the wall socket, it can solve the problem. This problem occurs when the mains is badly unbalanced (when the cosine “phi” is way out of wack) and just reversing the plug in the socket sometimes works. Another ‘cure’ when in difficult situations is to carry a car adaptor, I always do and there is always some kind of car around…
B.
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Bruno – you can’t spin your plug around in Oz because they look like this:
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I have the same problem on my G5. I have a surge protector, an UPS, a voltage regulator and a voltage stepdown and I still get that little tingle feeling.. I figured it was the ground, but no plug in the house is grounded. What to do what to do…
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wade… love your work. mmmmm, do you think there would be any health concerns with having electricity running through your body for long periods of time?
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oh shit! says he who just managed to spill beer all over his mac! seems like all systems go… no damage… hopefully.
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Wade, you can…use a standard mains cord into the Mac PSU, you can reverse it!
B.
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“Same thing with my aluminum 15 inch PowerBook. Only when it was charging and only at home. “
i have exactly the same problem here in BKK when my wrist touch the edges of computer – a rubber mat reduces it somewhat.
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Phnom Penh has it x my 12”. Paris doesn’t. Brussels doesn’t. Must be the Asian electricity…
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Mine gives the tingling shock in the US (with the 3 prong grounded Apple cord), and also with a 2 prong, non grounded cord in Turkey, Iraq, and here in Kazakhstan. So with mine it isn;t a grounding problem. Guess I’ve gotten used to it….
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Might have something to do with the electric charges that Mount Isa Mines use to blow up rocks twice daily! I can remember they used to set of all sort of alarms on the surface when they were blasting underground!
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every morning at 7:45 and every evening at 19:45 the house shakes. lets you know you’re alive.
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No Earth in Thailand – I have 2 towers and 2 laptops, expensive scanner and various other bits and pieces all as ‘live’ as hell….all sitting behind surge gangs, 2 large UPS’s, modern building – makes no difference…..
If I could only bottle that buzz I get when I touch the kit in the morning, I’d be a millionaire….! ;-)
S
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John, Steve, easy to get rid of it, just ‘ground’ your kit…a simple lead from one of your tower’s chassis to the house water pipes and voilà…
B.
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Bruno, knowing Thailand, the damn water pipes will be live too….!!
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You have to make sure the water pipe is actually in the ground, I believe. Otherwise run outside and drive about a six to eight foot solid copper rod into the ground and attach a ground wire directly to that. If you want to ground it for lightning strikes you’ll need various lengths say about three 4, 6 & 8 foot in length. Easy. It’s a bit of a nuisance to add an eight foot length of copper rod to your traveling kit, but you can get use to it.
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“If I could only bottle that buzz I get when I touch the kit in the morning, I’d be a millionaire….! ;-)” Amen to that EVERYTHING is live here in Thailand.
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and a lot of the waterpipes especially in my condo are PLASTIC not copper so how do you earth that?
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you still with us Jake? As loads of people said it’s a poor earth. Not necessarily the whole house. Try somewhere else in the house first
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i always thought it was a normal thing…. when it happens to me i touch some metallic object before getting my hands on the PB and i no longer get zapped.
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I sing the Body electric;
The armies of those I love enirth me, and I engirth them;
They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul.
-Walt Whitman
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rubber soled flip flops solve the issue where I am currently at
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Do you have the retailer address where they sell those rubber sole flip flops for my powerbook?
John
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You crack me up John ! ;-)
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gee, i never thought it was abnormal… maybe that’s why i needed a new cable and battery… :p
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the flip flops come from the near by market, I can buy a similar pair and DHL them across. guaranteed to work with a 12” PB. giving it a second thought the soles are actually PVC, not rubber.
cheers
petr
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Macs leak electricity? Shocking!
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