I've been playing with our company's TravelMate

[JulieA]

I've been playing with our company's TravelMate C100 for the past couple of months. Because of the type of work I'm doing, I end up using it in the normal laptop configuration, where I'll use the stylus on the screen.

A while ago, I started noticing that I would get what feels like a number of constant, small static shocks occasionally when my forearm was touching the base of the machine (lasting a number of seconds until I pull my arm away) - particularly along the sides of the base. After having it happen to me 4 times today, I figured out that it's particularly noticeable when I'm writing on the screen while having my arm in contact with the keyboard base.

It's driving me crazy. I was talking on the phone one of the times that this happened, and the person at the other end could actually hear the "Bzzzzt!" sound when I was zapped.

It doesn't feel like a good old normal shock - it's more of an extended shock that doesn't hurt as much as the traditional zappy kind :). It took half an hour for my hand to stop tingling after I quit using it.

Has anyone else had this kind of trouble? I'm sick of feeling electrocuted and I'm actually getting scared of using this machine.

Thanks.
- Julie

[Gigabit]

I'm almost positive that I know what's causing that, and how to fix it. The charger that comes with the unit connects the neutral power line from the wall socket directly with the chassis of the tablet when it is plugged in. Or rather it connects it to what [u]should</u> be neutral. The bottom of the Acer is magnesium alloy, which is a good conductor of electricity, and is part of the chassis.

What I think the problem is in your case is that the "hot" and "neutral" wires to your electrical outlet are reversed, meaning that the chassis of [u]any</u> device you plug into it will be "hot"! So when you touch the bottom of your Acer, you are touching the "hot" wire of your buildings electrical system![:O]

This is a very dangerous situation, and you should have the electrical outlet rewired correctly by an electrician.

I should add: you can check to see if this is the case by merely disconecting the charger from the tablet. If it doesn't shock you when it's not plugged in, the culprit is most likely your electrical outlet. Although there is also a remote possibility that the charger is itself wired incorrectly. RadioShack sells an inexpensive outlet wiring tester that you could use to prove or disprove that the outlet is incorrectly wired: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F008%5F017%5F000%5F000&product%5Fid=22%2D141

[JulieA]

Thanks for your advice. Though the problem does occur even when I'm running the machine on battery power. I think I'll try to contact the Acer technical support about the issue.

Thanks again!
- Julie

[Gigabit]

Guess I was wrong. [:I] It sounds like some of the high voltage from the backlight's inverter circuit is leaking into the chassis. That's not nearly so dangerous.