Passive B+ lamp

[PeddlerPete]

just a little thing to show when B+ is there.
Not to be trusted.
Use the DMM at all times.

[what_wires]

I think you have a little too much time on your hands....

[BooBird]

What_Wires Said : (I think you have a little too much time on your hands.... )
No, this is what you get when ya got too much time = A Full Dashboard with guage's for temp, RPM, Oil/Pressure, A stick/shift for changin pre/amp's, a throttle pedal instead of a vol. knob, and Break/light's in the rear of she' sputter's and die's, 4/way flasher's to warn everybody to run cause she's gone into Thermo-Nuculer Melt/Down ! Boobird

[PeddlerPete]

So how will you know that the lamp is off because there's no voltage and not because the bulb's burned out?
Multiple Bulb/circuits 1 alligator clip., DMM.
Actually I was thinking something more along the lines of a bench item

[what_wires]

I bought one of the inexpensive meter modules from Marlin P. Jones and mounted it in a small rat shack plastic enclosure. I then fastened the enclosure to a nice plastic clip. I made a set of test leads with grabber clips on them and I always clip the leads across the first filter cap in any amp I am working on. The meter is always at eye level and constantly monitoring the HV section of the amp.

[candh]

bleed resistor.........but I still always check.

[PeddlerPete]

I've had experiences where anything could fail.
DMM cables fail.
An added active safety backup system would be ok I guess , just not for me.

[BooBird]

Mo Simple is Gooder !
Boobird

[what_wires]

I've had experiences where anything could fail.
DMM cables fail.
An added active safety backup system would be ok I guess , just not for me.

I guess you are one of those guys who likes to work on their amps in an infant incubator apparatus through insulated gloves and the amp surrounded in a gaseous nitrogen environment...

[PeddlerPete]

Just curious: How many of you check your meter on a known live circuit before trusting what it says about your amp?
...you're supposed to do that ? then yes.
Ok, you've helped me narrow it down.
After getting some input I'm thinking I'd prefer something 'dual' and made only from rugged/small contruction made strictly of passive components, able to hook right on the edge of the chassis.
When I get some spare time I'll get right on it. The house kind of got turned upside down with the restoration, 2 row piles of boxes to the ceiling where possible to permit walking, finally getting that sorted out, I'm not a neat freak by any standard, but it's nice to be able to vaccum.
I guess you are one of those guys who likes to work on their amps in an infant incubator apparatus through insulated gloves and the amp surrounded in a gaseous nitrogen environment
You've never heard of a meter lead failing ?
Most of the time you know the state of your amp [speaker noise floor etc.], so in those cases, DMM is good enough for verifying.
in the case of a broken lead, readings look very much like when taking a 0.0 volt measurement, like caps are sitting at Gnd. We trust luck in such cases.

[what_wires]

Are you serving time in jail??? Where do you find time to think of this stuff?? If I fixated on getting whacked, I wouldn't enjoy building and repairing amplifiers.

I am not saying throw caution to the wind. Quite the contrary. I have to be more careful than most because I have an implantable cardiac defibrillator and I don't want to zap it.

If I am working on an amp I excercise the utmost in caution and adhere to sound safety practices. I also inspect and maintain my test equipment on a regular basis

[PeddlerPete]

Where do you find time to think of this stuff??
Are you serving time in jail???
You're OT dude...
We were talking about a broken wire sending a message of safety to human through DMM when there are Potentially Lethal Voltages Involved.
Is that off base here?..let me speak to the manager....whoops, oh..you Are the manager?...ok I talk of safety here or there, but it doesn't really matter to me unless it matters to you, either way you choose is right enough by me.
Anyone concerned may want to know BTW, that when meter lead breaks, meter will read 0.0v, just like it does when there is exactly 0.0V under test or when a lead is broken, easy program to follow, any questions and relevant comments welcome, PM me anytime with more idiot light and jail jokes.
Or am I to understand that when PLV's are directly involved, the importance of understanding wire failure ceases to exist?..safenot.
Broken meter wires are fairly common so I test and read [no?].
I'm apparently a bit quicker than the inmates you are familiar with.
Not quite genius, far from idiot light, but thanks for the offer.
The scenario is quite simple, I don't know how to better explain it.
fixated on getting whacked
That bad? nahh..Simple logic.
I understand how a concept like this [with very scary, 'whacky' dangers involved] could be difficult to understand, [even though I believe you did], then becoming even more difficult to accept as fact.
In an earlier post I commented "Maybe I missed something", but I'm pretty sure I haven't.
Any pertinent questions and relevant comments welcome, PM me anytime you have time with more 'idiot lite' and jail jokes, all suggestions welcome with open mind unless I've seen it 100 times out of 100: and have decided it only works a certain way.

[PeddlerPete]

A "broken lead" is unlikely

[MagicMan]

Such a tempest in a teapot! To answer the original question: Put a 30k 5w resistor in series with an LED across the B+ (assuming 300 volts). Most of us use a 220k bleeder resistor.

Remember: no idiot light is a substitute for proper care. No amount of proper care will prevent a determined idiot from zapping himself. Fortunately its rarely fatal.