Strange PSU mains connector - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

22 Jul 2001

On July 22, Matt London wrote:
...
           -     
    -
         o-          -
         -          - 
         A          B

 Did DEC have a reason for doing this, other than to be able to extort
 money from people who need replacement power cords, or to sell them
 new systems when they make replacement power corde obsolete?  
 It's a standard power connector, it's just rated at 15A and not 10A IIRC,
 they're most commonly used here for kettles, hence the name "kettle plug"

  They're are three power connectors in the "standard" family as defined
by IEC...a low-, medium-, and high-current version.  The low-current
version is the one we're all used to, 10A.  The one on some MicroVAX
chassis is the 15A version.  The third is a larger one (20A, I think
but I'm not sure) that has three flat pins in a triangular arrangement
but in two parallel planes, with a plain rectangular body.  Tey're
found on some larger Cisco routers (7513 for one) and on SGI
Challenge-L systems for example.

          -Dave McGuire