Live electricity coming out of my cable box (zap!)

[Billkwando]

Um, I was (re)hooking up my Cable/TV/Surround setup, and I had the cable coax in one hand (that goes to the TV) and when I touched my VCR (where the cable box was plugged into) It shocked me. Now it wasn't like a jolt or anything, but it seems that some live current is constantly running out of my cable box. It felt the same to my hand as a 9-volt battery does to your tongue and it's constant.

Is this normal (since cable is an electrical signal, right?)? Can it hurt any of my other components? I assume it's been this way a long time because I only noticed when I was re-hooking it. Should I call the cable company or is cable always "juicy"? I never noticed it in the past....

I'm asking if anyone knows what causes this, if it can damage my equipment, if it could cause interference, if it means the cable isn't grounded correctly, etc.

Any input is welcome!

 

[altyspn]

It could be static electricity. It can generate quite a jolt. To find out if your box is leaking electricity take a voltmeter and put one end on the box, without touching the case with your hand and the other to a receptacle ground and see what the reading is but I think it is static.

 

[Billkwando]

I don't have a voltometer at the moment, but unless static can cause constant current that makes your hand feel twitchy, I have my doubts LOL

Could it be that they didn't ground the cable to the house? I have a serious ground loop problem with my sound and TV-Out card. Should I call the cable company? They did recently rewire our house.....

 

[mtrycrafts]

I don't have a voltometer at the moment, but unless static can cause constant current that makes your hand feel twitchy, I have my doubts LOL

Could it be that they didn't ground the cable to the house? I have a serious ground loop problem with my sound and TV-Out card. Should I call the cable company? They did recently rewire our house.....

No, static cannot cause constant current and shock unless you drag your foot on a carpet in a dry climate over and over again.
But, I have seen this recently at a friends house, 60V+ between grounds or fifferent components with the culprit being the TV. I bet the voltage leak may be coming from the TV not the cable box, unless you can recreate the same shock when the cable is removed from the TV, TV unplugged of 120V and all other connections, and then try the same touching just with the cable box. Then you want to connect one component at a time and see which one has a ground problem.

If you will be into this audio/video hobby, you should buy a multi meter.