unless your a purest, convert to the standard modern AC cords I have converted everything i own to them. On 5/26/2015 7:27 PM, Kyle Owen wrote: -- The contents of this e-mail and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the named addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized use, copying, disclosure, or distribution of the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited by the sender and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail.

I thought that I remembered encountering line cords with at least two different wirings to those connectors when I saw the subject, and your comment suggests that my memory is correct on that matter. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/

On 05/26/2015 09:27 PM, Kyle Owen wrote: Thanks - that's the critter! My modified calculator cable is probably the "Japanese calculator" type, although it seems to work OK with 163-type sockets despite the mention of the pin diameter of the 163 being a little larger (presumably the receptacles within the plug are pressing up against the pins of the 163 type socket, but not actually fitting over them). I would much rather have the right type, obviously! Indeed :-) Jules

On May 26, 2015 8:28 PM, "Brent Hilpert" <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca> wrote: type name. Also: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171763233717

If you mean the one that a mad friend of mine calls the 'figure of 12' (on the grounds that the 2 pin one used on radios, etc, is often called a 'figure of 8') then I believe it _is_ an IEC connector, in the same standard as the more familiar 'kettle plug'. The thing that annoys me about this connector is that a rewireable cable socket does not seem to exist. Just moulded cables, which I dislike on the grounds I can't check that the wires are properly connected (and not just held on one strand). A rewireable 'figure of 8' does exist, but the version I have seen doesn't have a proper cable clamp. -tony

Once again, there's no legitimate explanation for this sort of nonsense, outside of proprietary vendor lock-in. And IMO, what we all term the 'IEC' connector (15A) isn't all that great either - the footprint is excessively large for the limited voltage range (240VAC tops), but at least it's properly keyed and widely adopted. We can live with it.. But there's just no excuse for the 'cloverleaf' crap, or any other latter-day proprietary "standard". Ultimately, it only means that a pissed-off user buys some knock-off Chinese crap that works, rather than purchasing an OEM item. On Wed, May 27, 2015 at 12:03 AM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:

In the 1960s/1970s just about every major consumer electronics company seemed to have their own mains connectors. An old Maplin catalogue shows a page of moulded cables (strange connector to bare wires to fit to a mains plug) for all sorts of manufacturers, but I have seen many more than that, Incidentally, back then the common 'figure of 8' one was listed as 'Telefunken'. I have used the odd Philips one -- 2 flat pins at 90 degrees to each other with a sort of figure-of-8 moulding round it, but with the sections octagonal not circular. My N1500 VCRs use it. But the connector on another (slightly older) Philips tape recorder is different to anything else I've seen (rectangular moulding with 2 round pins). Just try finding some of those today. There was another European connector which had 2 flat pins and a metal shroud round it, the cable socket had flat springs on the sides to make contact with the shround as the earth contact. Very common on electronic instruments over here in the 1960s, just try finding one now. Even standard connectors (some still in production) like the Bulgin 1.5A and 5A ranges and the XLR-like LNE connector are not that easy to get. -tony

Shaver cords are odd in the UK. Certainly at one time (and I suspect it is still the case, but I haven't checked) the only socket outlet that could be installed in a bathroom ('room containing a fixed bath or shower') was a transformer-isolated shaver socket. These often have both 110V and 220V outlets, either of which would take either the common US 2 pin mains plug or a 2 pin round-pin plug. The isolating transformer is typically rated at 20VA, FWIW [1] Anyway, electric shavers tend to have a 2 pin round-pin plug on them to fit said device. You can easily get 'shaver adaptors' which take said plug and go into a normal UK BS1363 socket so you can shave in other rooms. Oh yes, and most of the time the cable is tinsel wire (thin copper strands round a string core, like old telephone handset cables) so re-wiring to a different plug is a pain. But almost all shavers sold over here now run off internal rechargeable batteries. Why I do not know. It's not as if the cable is a major problem (unlike having a battery that is flat when you need it and which has a limited life anyway). Amazingly the chargers that come with these shavers have the 2 round pins to fit a shaver socket. Quite why you need to be able to charge it in a bathroom is beyond me, but... [1] At one point one of the pound shops (==dollar stores) over here had some shaver sockets for sale. Obviously bankrupt stock or something like that. Put it this way, a nice little 20VA isolating transformer with a secondary tapped at 110V and 220V has a lot of uses. And generally costs more than a pound... -tony

On Wed, 27 May 2015, tony duell wrote: That's because they fit virtually all ordinary mains sockets across continental Europe, that happen to be compatible to the common UK shaver socket for 2-pin unearthed (class II) appliances. So manufacturers simply do not bother making a special version of shaver charger plugs just for the UK. The same applies to toothbrushes. Maciej

On 05/27/2015 12:03 AM, Chuck Guzis wrote: Do you mean IEC 60320 type C5/6, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60320#Appliance_couplers ?? That's the connector I was assuming you and wulfman were talking about using as a replacement for the old 163 power connectors - not the common "PC type" connector, because that's much larger and would mean cutting into the original equipment panels so that it would fit. I'm thinking it should be possible to drill the rivets holding the original 163 sockets, then make up mounting plates to hold an IEC C6-style socket and rivet/bolt those in place. That's assuming that I don't lay my hands on some original 163-type cables! cheers Jules

On 2015-May-27, at 11:54 AM, Jules Richardson wrote: For my part, no, I've always replaced them (where doable) with the common IEC C14 chassis inlets. See the bottom of my web page. Yes it does require some cutting of the original, so it depends on whether one wants to do that, and one's will and skill with hand files. I've never tried the C6 type as I rarely see them anyways. Note the C5/C6 has a considerably lower current rating than the C13/C14, which is presumably why it was introduced as an additional standard. I keep around a box of C14s scavenged from discarded equipment for the purpose, but I also replace fixed lines cords with C14s whenever I can, because I hate moving and storing equipment with dangling power cords.

On 05/27/2015 12:45 PM, Brent Hilpert wrote: I use a plain old sheet metal hand nibbler. Much cleaner and doesn't require dressing of the edges. One usually can find them for USD$10 or less--all seem to come from Taiwan. I've got one with the anvil modified to allow for notching of "dragon's teeth" when joining two bits of sheet metal. My HP Scanner uses a C5/C6 connection, but a much smaller thin client uses the C7/C8--although later versions of that piece of equipment use C13/C14--I suppose that the maker (Neoware) received too much flack on their choice of receptacle. The 2.5A rating on the C5...C8 connectors had me wondering if the UK versions have fused mains plugs--and if it's still customary to use the ubiquitous 13A fuses in those... --Chuck

On 27/05/2015 21:06, Chuck Guzis wrote: Nope, normally 3A. 3A, 5A and 13A are the most common sizes, with plugs commonly available off the shelf with 3A fitted, though I keep 1A, 2A, 7A and 10A as well. BTW, those C5/C6 connectors are almost universal on HP, Sony, and Toshiba laptops over here. PITA. If you ever need to buy a spare, you can bet it'll cost twice as much as the same cable with a C13 on it. C13 connector cables are commonly fitted with 5A fused plugs for PCs (and used to be for CRTs) or 3A for LCDs etc. -- Pete Pete Turnbull

On 2015-May-27, at 2:18 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote: Oh, unfortunately the screw holes are not quite the same spacing, but it's possible to file them a fraction to the side on the chassis and still have good coverage and seating of the nut. See pic at bottom of page: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~hilpert/e/powerConn/index.html Yup, I should take pics of the progressive stages when I do one sometime.

On Thu, 28 May 2015, Jules Richardson wrote: Try these: Schurter 0724 series: 4300.0100 - solder terminals 4300.0101 - pcb terminals Schurter 2561 series: 6160.0001 - solder terminals Schurter 2562 series: 6160.0002 - pcb terminals http://www.schurter.com/Components/Connectors/Connectors-Inlets-Outlets http://www.mouser.com/Connectors/Power-Connectors/AC-Power-Entry-Modules/_/… [I couldn't do much more than a quick search since I'm really busy with flood cleanup.] Keep in mind the C5/C6 couplers are only rated for 2.5A. Something else other list members may find interesting is the Bulgin PX0578/63. Those are a C13 input coupler with 0.25in (6.3mm) quick connect terminals. I'm using some of these to connect power to some really small SeaSonic switch mode PSUs for embedded applications. Both Bulgin and Schurter have all sorts of IEC 60320 connectors/couplers, but the best way to find them is to look at the datasheets and not Mouser's search. Mouser often has the terminations, mounting type, and sometimes even the coupler type listed wrong, so I always use the manufacturer's part number when searching.