Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
Interesting thread. Someone made mention of the AC caps that were commonly used at the AC cord to ground on each side. I always thought they were for bypassing RF for TVI purposes. Is this true? In any case, I have had many leaky ones, one of which caused RFO Interesting thread. Someone made mention of the AC caps that were commonly used at the AC cord to ground on each side. I always thought they were for bypassing RF for TVI purposes. Is this true? In any case, I have had many leaky ones, one of which caused RFI whenever the transmitter was plugged in, and others that caused a hot chassis. I've been just removing them for years. Any reason to replace them, when replacing 2 wire with 3 wire cord? Ron K2RP -Original Message- From: Boatanchors [mailto:boatanchors-boun...@puck.nether.net] On Behalf Of donro...@hiwaay.net Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 4:19 PM To: boatanchors@puck.nether.net Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords Old farm houses didn't have ground paths in the living rooms. So, we were probably safer there than in the barnyard with a couple of angry mules. Don W4DNR Quoting Wilson Lamb : > BIZARRE! > If you left the ground disconnected or, if the ground were poor, > you'd have a real pile of hot stuff! > WL > - Hy Chantz wrote: >> When I was a mere boy : )CQ Magazine had an article called "The >> 22 Watt Monster". It was a low-power CW transmitter, whose >> schematic featured a grounded chassis and a one-wire plug. It took >> me a LONG time after pondering it to understand how it worked >> >> 73 >> >> W2HY >> >> - Original Message - >> From: "Wilson Lamb" >> To: donro...@hiwaay.net >> Cc: boatanchors@puck.nether.net >> Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 2:20:34 PM >> Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords >> >> And I thought I'd seen everything!!! >> That's a new one. >> WL >> - donro...@hiwaay.net wrote: >> > I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a >> > ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC >> > cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before >> > I understood how that worked. >> > Don W4DNR >> > ___ >> > Boatanchors mailing list >> > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net >> > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors >> >> ___ >> Boatanchors mailing list >> Boatanchors@puck.nether.net >> https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors >> ___ >> Boatanchors mailing list >> Boatanchors@puck.nether.net >> https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors > > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
I faced this dilemma with my 'novice' Hallicrafters S-38D. The situation was complicated by the fact that the outer case of the receiver is metal and the chassis kinda floats on fiber stand-offs, but not really, having a 10K resistor between it and "B-" I moved the power switch to the "hot" side of power (black wire), connected "B-" directly to the "cold" side of power (white wire) and connected the protective ground (green wire) to the metal case (but not the chassis, that 10K resistor would have fed just enough current out of balance to trip a ground-fault protector). I posted the before/after schematic excerpts on the Arizona-AM website. It is a 200K GIF file, totally safe... http://www.arizona-am.net/test/s38d_pwr2.gif Jim, K7JEB On 8/8/2019 3:11 PM, Glen Zook wrote: > Using the ground connection for the neutral AC mains connection was never a > good idea! But, doing so did make transformerless units a little bit safer > IF the ground wire was connected before connecting to the AC mains. If the > ground wire was not connected first, then a whole lot more unsafe than with a > 2-wire cord. > > > Glen, K9STH ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
Old farm houses didn't have ground paths in the living rooms. So, we were probably safer there than in the barnyard with a couple of angry mules. Don W4DNR Quoting Wilson Lamb : BIZARRE! If you left the ground disconnected or, if the ground were poor, you'd have a real pile of hot stuff! WL - Hy Chantz wrote: When I was a mere boy : )CQ Magazine had an article called "The 22 Watt Monster". It was a low-power CW transmitter, whose schematic featured a grounded chassis and a one-wire plug. It took me a LONG time after pondering it to understand how it worked 73 W2HY - Original Message - From: "Wilson Lamb" To: donro...@hiwaay.net Cc: boatanchors@puck.nether.net Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 2:20:34 PM Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords And I thought I'd seen everything!!! That's a new one. WL - donro...@hiwaay.net wrote: > I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a > ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC > cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before > I understood how that worked. > Don W4DNR > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
Using the ground connection for the neutral AC mains connection was never a good idea! But, doing so did make transformerless units a little bit safer IF the ground wire was connected before connecting to the AC mains. If the ground wire was not connected first, then a whole lot more unsafe than with a 2-wire cord. Glen, K9STH Website: https://k9sth.net On Thursday, August 8, 2019, 04:43:13 PM CDT, wrote: Well folks, the latest trick using the ground connection, is a bad idea. The ground is not for current carrying. It is there to protect you if there is a break in the neutral [white] wire. Take a meter and measure for voltage between earth ground and your radio chassis or metal cabinet. Any reading tells you, there is a problem- fix it. Russ wb3fau ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
Well folks, the latest trick using the ground connection, is a bad idea. The ground is not for current carrying. It is there to protect you if there is a break in the neutral [white] wire. Take a meter and measure for voltage between earth ground and your radio chassis or metal cabinet. Any reading tells you, there is a problem- fix it. Russ wb3fau -From: "Glen Zook" To: "Wilson Lamb" Cc: boatanchors@puck.nether.net Sent: Thursday August 8 2019 4:52:34PM Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords Not all that uncommon in the "goode olde dayes"! Since the neutral was supposed to be connected to a ground rod where the AC mains enters the building, and since that connection used to be almost always a cold water pipe, having only the "hot" side connected on the AC plug, the chassis was always at ground potential. If the AC plug was inserted backwards, both sides of the AC input would be at ground potential and the unit would not turn on. Especially in the magazines before the early to mid 1960s, such an arrangement was often included in articles on home-brew equipment that was AC operated and did not have a transformer. Glen, K9STH Website: https://k9sth.net [1] On Thursday, August 8, 2019, 01:20:49 PM CDT, Wilson Lamb wrote: And I thought I'd seen everything!!! That's a new one. ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net Links: -- [1] https://k9sth.net ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
Not all that uncommon in the "goode olde dayes"! Since the neutral was supposed to be connected to a ground rod where the AC mains enters the building, and since that connection used to be almost always a cold water pipe, having only the "hot" side connected on the AC plug, the chassis was always at ground potential. If the AC plug was inserted backwards, both sides of the AC input would be at ground potential and the unit would not turn on. Especially in the magazines before the early to mid 1960s, such an arrangement was often included in articles on home-brew equipment that was AC operated and did not have a transformer. Glen, K9STH Website: https://k9sth.net On Thursday, August 8, 2019, 01:20:49 PM CDT, Wilson Lamb wrote: And I thought I'd seen everything!!! That's a new one. ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
BIZARRE! If you left the ground disconnected or, if the ground were poor, you'd have a real pile of hot stuff! WL - Hy Chantz wrote: > When I was a mere boy : )CQ Magazine had an article called "The 22 Watt > Monster". It was a low-power CW transmitter, whose schematic featured a > grounded chassis and a one-wire plug. It took me a LONG time after pondering > it to understand how it worked > > 73 > > W2HY > > - Original Message - > From: "Wilson Lamb" > To: donro...@hiwaay.net > Cc: boatanchors@puck.nether.net > Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 2:20:34 PM > Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords > > And I thought I'd seen everything!!! > That's a new one. > WL > - donro...@hiwaay.net wrote: > > I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a > > ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC > > cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before > > I understood how that worked. > > Don W4DNR > > ___ > > Boatanchors mailing list > > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors > > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
[Boatanchors] Changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
This article references the "All American 5" AM Broadcast receivers so popular in the '50's but is applicable to any device with a "hot" chassis: https://antiqueradio.org/safety.htm I've replaced the power cable on my junkyard AA5 with a 2-wire cord, just like the original, but I marked both the back panel's AC connector and the plug to indicate proper polarity so that when I plug it in to a properly wired outlet the chassis side is connected to the white, or negative AC line. But I still keep my fingers out of it... On Thu, Aug 8, 2019 at 2:43 PM Hy Chantz wrote: > When I was a mere boy : )CQ Magazine had an article called "The 22 > Watt Monster". It was a low-power CW transmitter, whose schematic featured > a grounded chassis and a one-wire plug. It took me a LONG time after > pondering it to understand how it worked > > 73 > > W2HY > > - Original Message - > From: "Wilson Lamb" > To: donro...@hiwaay.net > Cc: boatanchors@puck.nether.net > Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 2:20:34 PM > Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords > > And I thought I'd seen everything!!! > That's a new one. > WL > - donro...@hiwaay.net wrote: > > I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a > > ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC > > cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before > > I understood how that worked. > > Don W4DNR > > ___ > > Boatanchors mailing list > > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors > > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors > -- Frank Barnes W4NPN Chapel Hill, NC Grid Square FM05 Cell 919.260.7955 ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
When I was a mere boy : )CQ Magazine had an article called "The 22 Watt Monster". It was a low-power CW transmitter, whose schematic featured a grounded chassis and a one-wire plug. It took me a LONG time after pondering it to understand how it worked 73 W2HY - Original Message - From: "Wilson Lamb" To: donro...@hiwaay.net Cc: boatanchors@puck.nether.net Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 2:20:34 PM Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords And I thought I'd seen everything!!! That's a new one. WL - donro...@hiwaay.net wrote: > I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a > ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC > cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before > I understood how that worked. > Don W4DNR > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
And I thought I'd seen everything!!! That's a new one. WL - donro...@hiwaay.net wrote: > I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a > ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC > cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before > I understood how that worked. > Don W4DNR > ___ > Boatanchors mailing list > Boatanchors@puck.nether.net > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Re: [Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords
I recall listening to my uncle's shortwave radio and there was a ground wire going outside and to the metal plumbing pipe. The AC cord only had one blade on the plug. I think I was a teenager before I understood how that worked. Don W4DNR ___ Boatanchors mailing list Boatanchors@puck.nether.net https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
