Old HP test equipment power connectors...

[tony duell]

>  Now, if you want to talk about really weird connectors, Sony had a number of power
> connectors which can be incredibly hard to find replacements for today...

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