Robert Green wrote:

My wife said she felt a small electric shock last night when she touched a
fluorescent clamp lamp and the new DVD recorder at the same time. Sure
enough, when I got my meter out, there was about 60VAC between the CATV
cable's center conductor and the metal frame of the lamp.

There was no voltage reading on the cable between center and shield, but
clearly there's something between both the cable's center and sheath
conductors (and therefore the DVDR) and the ground.

Where do I start looking for trouble? Is the incoming cable improperly
grounded? Is there normally a detectable voltage between the cable and
nearby equipment?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

--
Bobby G.

60VAC is standard CATV line power. It's possible that one of their techs
improperly set or forgot to remove / cut power pass jumpers on a line
amp somewhere. Call the cable company and they should track it down and
fix it.

Pete C.