From: coyoteboyuk@hotmail.com   
      
   > I can't imagine how it would fail... High end of pot to the video   
   > card, low end to ground, wiper to monitor/projector. Any failure there   
   > would be rather unusual, to say the least.   
      
   I was thinking if you had it faded "up" and then accidentally shorted the   
   wiper you could blow the card, im unaware of the protection on VGA cards and   
   overly aware of the lack of care/knowledge of students when handling   
   hardware so I like to be extra specially sure it cant cause damage,   
   especially as it may end up being used with something other than a basic PC   
   etc, or even have a bored idiot pushing the end of a biro into it. I just   
   like to cover my back!   
      
   > That said, I've not seen any VGA outputs that won't survive some abuse   
   > such as shorts. They are not high current devices... I don't think an   
   > additional amplifier is worth the effort, afterall it could be the   
   > failure point!   
      
   Thats the kind of info I needed really, I know they arent high current   
   devices but I've blown a few low current devices in my time with stupid   
   mistakes and accidental shorts - the input device *could* be a custom-built   
   high-end machine and I dont want to be liable for replacing the card, but as   
   you say its not overly likely to fail. I'll knock one up at the weekend and   
   let you know how it goes on.   
      
   Cheers   
   J   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)