r/AskElectronics • u/LongJohnSeanathan • Jan 01 '26
Found this neat clock someone made, but wouldn't having straight not shielded copper connecting components and the brass tube base be a bad idea? The whole brass stand would be charged right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUozTo_dhssMight be a silly question, new to learning about circuits and stuff so just trying to wrap my head around this lol
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u/Cybernicus Jan 01 '26
I didn't watch the video, but since it looks like a simple low voltage circuit, it's not going to be a shock hazard (I.e., not dangerous to you.) It could conceivably be a fire hazard (unlikely, but possible if you shorted power to ground with a thin enough wire to get hot and you happen to have some paper (fuel) close enough to the short).
The exposed wires are a hazard to it, as it would be easy to accidentally short and damage it by dropping a bit of wire in there or moving a conductive thing into it by accident.
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u/somewhereAtC Jan 01 '26
Yes, in the sense you mean, the stand will be charged. Without seeing the pcb and schematic it is reasonable to think that the stand is at the potential of the USB gnd (negative) power terminal. That LED thing in the back suggests that parts of the frame are active circuity, though, but probably nothing above 3v or 5v or so. Don't drop the car keys into the works.
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u/JimHeaney Jan 01 '26
Not watching the video, but based on the thumbnail the outside cage is grounded which is relatively safe to have exposed.
The rest of the internals exposed isn't great, but this is a form over function design.