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PSU Not sure if I'm right in this forum, but need basic electronic help

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by bguilleminot, 8 Dec 2011.

  1. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Hi all, I have a very basic problem so I feel like a dumb making so much trouble to solve it. I want to solder a male power connector to a standard 220v cable in place of the "male head that plugs to the current" (hard to explain sorry for mistakes) so it results something like a power connector extender

    What I know, is that the power cable has 3 cables inside, in my cable is White, Black and Green and I've read that White is neutral, Black is phase and Green is earth, but I don't know in what order I have to place the cables in the male connector to solder them right. I can read in the back where the "pins" are "N E L" does that mean something?

    Thanks beforehand.
     
    Last edited: 8 Dec 2011
  2. deadsea

    deadsea What's a Dremel?

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    Neutral Earth Live.

    Not totally sure if Phase is the Live wire, but it SHOULD be. The colour coding is a bit different here where I'm from.
     
  3. longweight

    longweight Possibly Longbeard.

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    Phase is the live wire.
     
  4. saspro

    saspro IT monkey

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    Why not just buy an IEC male to female cable (aka kettle lead extension lead, aka those cables that come with a UPS)?

    Any reason you'd need to solder it? I usually just use the screw down connectors when making my own cables.
     
  5. Nealieboyee

    Nealieboyee Packaging Master!

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    You can reverse the white and black cables if you want. It won't matter as its AC.
     
  6. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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  7. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Thank you very much, I imagined that was related but it's better to be shure.

    Nah, it's better to learn how to do it by my own :) I'm in a mod so I need to put the power supply in a hard access place so I need to put the electric connector somewhere accessible. And I live in a town where only one humble electronics store is available, so they don't have many things :(

    Is it possible? I would like to study electronics to understand all of this things :eek:

    The problem is that I have limited electronic components because I live in a town, there is only one store and it's very humble, so if they haven't something no one will :sigh:
     
  8. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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    Ah, Ok. Somewhere in Chile, didn't clock that.

    To bodge wires together, twist the ends together and wrap in insulating tape.

    Right I get it now, you want to attach a three core cable to a male plug. Soldering it yeah, I'm on-board, but I wouldn't like to see an electrician here doing it. Just please wrap any exposed surfaces with insulating tape.
     
  9. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks a lot for your advice, I will do it as you say :thumb:
     
  10. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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    Knew a builder that took a shook to the back of his neck, he was by himself so was unconscious for a while. He woke up with his head on the skirting board on the other side of the room, at first he thought a burglar hit him over the head! Later realised what had happened. Plasters wanted lights, but switched all the circuits on, and he stepped back into some dangling, bare wall socket cables :rolleyes:.

    Electrics aren't fun in the wrong hands, but seeing as your options are limited what can you do. I would like to see you get a better solution though.
     
  11. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Everything in the wrong hands is dangerous, you must be very careful while "playing with fire" or "playing with electricity", or even "playing with your girlfriend" :hehe: when you know what responsibility is, at least you do your stuff carefully, that's why I came here asking instead of doing it in the "trial and error" mode :) I hope to study one day electronics technician or something like that, it's really necessary when you need it :)
     
  12. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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    :hehe: Definitely, like making sure it's the right hole! :hehe: Your a level headed fella :thumb:

    You make sound like you really want to get out of that town :lol:
     
  13. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Lol I thought about the consequences of uncared relationships, like pregnancy, but what you said it's possible too in another level :hehe: and thanks ;)

    In fact, next year I move to the capital to study psychology in university. When I finish I will be seriously considering electronic technician :D
     
  14. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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    Cool, but either thats a step down in my book, or you want to do it for practical personal use. Like I want to study maths - just for fun and I'm interested in it!

    "They don't like it up 'em": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhWlAKdlQp4&t=6s.

    Now back to business, I had this little idea:

    If you can make sense of this quick sketch, this should be quite robust.
    [​IMG]

    So;
    black represents the male plug,
    red is the pins (loosely based on the worlds biggest power plug),
    orange is your new cable,
    yellow is the wires (note how they are loose),
    brown is a wooden box protecting the connections (I would still use insulating tape),
    and finally the green arrows are where pinching force is applied to mechanically fix the cable.

    Now I know it looks easy on here, because your plug looks nothing like that. I just wanted to demonstrate anchoring the cable somehow, so that it can take some knocking around without breaking immediately. Hopefully this will give you an idea.
     
  15. RichCreedy

    RichCreedy Hey What Who

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    electrics in old houses are fun, i once had a brother in law ask me why his newly installed fan/light kept blowing the fuse, every time he turned it on.

    turns out when he fitted it, he put all the black leads together and all the red together, not realising that one of the blacks was the switched live, i had to test each of the blacks to find the switched live.
     
  16. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Yeah it will be for personal use, they're not compatible subjects :D

    Hmmm... I don't know if you got my idea, I far simple than that, I will draw it:

    [​IMG]

    That's it :D

    :hehe: What a mess, I don't like when I'm forced to test every alternative to get to the right one
     
  17. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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    That cable won't be mechanically fixed, the electrical connections would be prone to breaking. Also, in Britain that cable is known as a kettle lead, and the thing on the right is actually a socket.

    I'm suggesting that you make a simple box to put it in that will hold onto the cable, to stop any pulling occurring on the wires. This mechanism is what is inside a UK power plug (part #1): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Three_pin_mains_plug_(UK).svg
     
  18. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Hmm I understand, I bought today in my electronics store 3A terminal blocks, they have 2 entries, I imagine that one is to the wire and the other one to the pin? D: I feel so dumb... xD please have patience with me
     
  19. Jester_612

    Jester_612 "Jammy..."

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    Sorry I've been away.

    I'm don't know if 3 amps is right for your needs, if its too low it will work like a fuse. If the rest of the electrics are appropriate, then having something higher won't do any damage.

    The blocks are for connecting wire to wire. So there is no horrible splicing or soldering. At the time I didn't understand what you wanted to do though, and these will still not have a mechanical connection. To use it you'd cut the molded plug off of the other cable.

    Don't worry about it, if it's that much trouble I wouldn't bother. Just give me some rep, or I'll track you down and make you! :D

    So now you can go either way. But if you fashion yourself an extension cable, you'd have something tidier and more convenient.
     
  20. bguilleminot

    bguilleminot What's a Dremel?

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    Like I told you it's just to place the PSU in a non-conventional use it's not an extension cable to use outside the case. That's why I think that just soldering it and securing the cables would be enough
     

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