Re: Remote Power Supply Connection

On May 20, 11:17=A0pm, "Ian Iveson" <IanIveson.h...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
> Iain wrote:
> > A lurker on this thread wrote to tell me that he has seen
> > a
> > German built KT88 amp with a separate PSU and a DC
> > umbilical. =A0Both units have the DKE and =A0CE mark.
> > He has promised to try to find a link to the manufacturer
> > for me.
>
> Presumably this lot consider themselves kosher.
>
> http://www.borderpatrol.net/
>
> They don't show cages, either, which seems risky to me.
>
> Have you seen how their PSUs connect to the amps? I'd be
> interested to know which bits are CE marked.
>
> Who has the right, I wonder, to have sight of the
> manufacturer's statement of conformity? Can anyone challenge
> the safety of equipment? =A0Conformity appears to be self
> regulated, which to me means safety-in-numbers political
> back-scratching.
>
> For a small newcomer to the market, I maintain it would be
> foolhardy to devise a novel solution. But if you are
> empowered to CE mark your produce, and can copy the
> im****tant principles of an established current design, and
> confidently produce a statement of conformity that shows you
> have considered the issues properly and dealt with them
> wisely, you may have an outside chance in court if someone
> gets electrocuted.
>
> My biggest concern with my own amps is the relative
> mechanical fragility of the cable and connector assembly.
> The amps and power supply are heavy enough so if one amp
> fell of a shelf with a foot or so of slack in the cable, it
> could rip a cable partly or completely out of its connector.
> If the power supply were to fall, it would be Total
> Carnage...I think the amps would get slapped against the
> wall and the PS would go through the floor. I solved this
> problem by putting it on the floor, but someone else might
> not.
>
> We should encourage a fa****on, amongst rich audiophiles, for
> very large integrated amplifiers, allowing PSUs to be
> distant, but in the same case. They could have wheels and
> pull-out handles, like posh suitcases. What are they made
> of? If they make them in ally I might have just had a good
> idea.
>
> Ian

No connector should be "solid" at any end in this sort of
applications. Both ends should be suitably socketed against the sort
of eventuality you describe. Mil.Spec. connectors and some medical
connectors, machine-tool connectors and others are locking-types for
very good reasons - the consequences of a fall such as you describe
may be far less than an accidental unplugging - but that sort of
equipment has suitable strain-relief designs as well.

I would posit the umbilical should be male at the P/S, female at the
Amp. The strain-relief to the (presumably armored) cable should be
sufficient to carry the weight of either end, but, again, the
connector should come apart well before umbilical failure. And given a
proper design along the lines Patrick has described, DC voltages would
either drop within a few millesconds, or be entirely disconnected. The
days of the old Dynaco/Eico octal plugs at either end of the umbilical
to octal sockets at either component is simply nuts any more - 'cept
for Bret, of course.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA