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I bought 3 power cords from Ice Age Audio and a friend of mine had bought one cord a month before mine. Of the four power cords which would amount to 8 ends 4 of the ends were wired wrong. If you have these cords check the polarity! Poor quality control and Rick at Ice Age Audio didn't seem to alarmed when I contacted him about the issue he seemed more upset that I discovered it and did say that he had the problem in the past.
Follow Ups:
to anonymously assassinate people's reputation over the internet without good reason or fear of repercussion? Rick's version of the story is not in complete agreement with yours. I suggest you resolve your differences in a more gentlemanly fashion and quit posting debatable statements about his products. It seems he did everything to try to satisfy you, and now maybe you're being vindictive.
I think the moderators should remove this thread completely. Too bad, because there is some useful information here.
Keep your eye on that there polarity, boys. It can kill ya.
Peace,
Tom E
Amen to removing this thread and any like it.
The OP has registered in Audiogon as well and immediately began posting in 2 different sections (as here in Cables and General).
The OP declines to provide information on the type(s) purchased, how they sounded, what they may have ben compared with, etc.
This appears to have gone beyond alerting the public to a possible issue - and instead, seems vindictive.
And yes; both parties' posts can't be correct.
Good riddance.
threads @ A'Gon and what I gathered is that product was not properly connected/wired in some instances.
Ive been watching Ice Ace on flea bay but never pulled the trigger.
Cheers
While the position of the live, neutral, and ground termination slots within a typical AC plug and IEC connector is the same, the position of the live, neutral, and ground conductors within a typical 3-conductor power cords cross section is not the same at both ends, in that the position of the conductors within the cross section is a *mirror image* at the IEC connector end of the power cord, meaning the the order of the conductors in the bundle are in reverse order (counter-clockwise).
Since the notion of a reversed order at the IEC connector end may seem counter-intuitive, some folks who are not aware of this matter may simply terminate the IEC end of the power cord based on how easy it may look at the AC plug end without noticing the alignment of the color coding order does not match at the IEC end of the power cord. Since the alignment of the live and neutral conductors are in reverse order at the IEC end of the power cord, the required method to terminate the IEC connector is to place the ground conductor between the live and neutral conductors "like a dog's tail placed between its legs" in order to reach the ground conductor termination slot.
Even though I've terminated a multitude of power cords, I always use a multimeter to check the polarity as well as continuity when a DIY power cord build is finished.
Ever wonder why the inventor/standard for the IEC connectors is not like that of the NEMA standard?With the NEMA standard for a straight blade NEMA 125V plug and a NEMA female receptacle cord cap used on an extension cord the female receptacle contacts make up configuration, there in the hot and neutral, run straight through for obvious reasons. With the IEC female connector mated to the NEMA male plug they do not run straight through, they shake hands. Do you suppose any rime or reason, thought, went into why the standard is the way it is? LOL, maybe the inventor just flipped a coin and that became the standard.
If a NEMA female receptacle cord cap was laid next to the female IEC connector as in your picture illustration it would be easy to see the difference. (It should be pointed out that IEC connectors can be used for 120V or 240V depending on country of use.)
With the NEMA standard, the wiring of the cord runs straight through.
With the NEMA 125V plug and the female IEC connector the wires must cross over one another to wire the IEC female connector for the proper polarity connection as you pointed out in your post.
Jim
Edits: 02/20/15
The only obvious thing about the matter is an IEC inlet has the same polarity orientation as an AC outlet, but I don't see why that would be important since one type of connector interface is a power inlet, while the other type of connector interface is a power outlet, which would make better sense in terms of safety if the polarities were purposefully reversed in order. Furthermore, the reason why a cable-mount IEC connector has the same order of polarity as a cable-mount AC plug seems pointless and counter-intuitive. The only important aspect of a cable-mount IEC connector is that the electrical contacts are shrouded for safety, which should negate any safety requirement of which prong should be for live, and which one should be for neutral. Which is to say, the reasonable idea would be to feature a different polarity orientation for an AC power inlet vs. that of an AC power outlet.
Hi Duster,Thanks for responding to my post.
See the link below.
Note the polarity of the inlet panel mount plug. It is reverse that of the IEC inlet plug. Again the inventor of the IEC connector who set the wiring configuration standard for IEC connectors could have just as easily matched the NEMA configuration standards beings NEMA standards were in existence way longer, I believe, before the IEC connector was thought of.
You would have to admit it would be easier to make-up, wire, the female IEC connector to a cord like you showed in your picture had the inventor of the IEC connectors reversed the hot and neutral contacts polarity. You would not have to cross the hot and neutral wires over one another, not to mention it would have matched the existing NEMA standards.
I realize things are going to stay the way they are. LOL, no turning back now... I only wondered what the guy was thinking when he set the configuration standard for the IEC connector.
Note, the inlet plug in the link below is quite commonly used on portable food warming equipment used in hospitals and such. Though I would have to say twist lock panel mount plugs are quite common as well.Jim
Edits: 02/22/15 02/22/15
The specialty inlet you point to has the opposite polarity orientation as an IEC inlet does. The powers that be were thinking smart that time, indeed.
BTW, thanks for keeping AA forums informed about NEMA and other issues of AC code and safety over the years. I for one appreciate it.
Cheers, Duster
Duster,
Thank you for the kind words.
Jim
Of course, one has to at least be aware of the issue, to even look for those.
Edits: 02/19/15
Never heard of Ice Age Audio. Plan to never even consider buying anything from them if they can't make a simple power cord correctly. Easiest thing in the world of DIY or commercial products. No excuses.
Anyone who messes about with any aspect of audio involving line voltage should know what the F they're doing or get out of the business. If an amateur, they had damn well better study a bit before undertaking anything involving power. It is not difficult to do properly, but can be dangerous if done carelessly.
Reversing polarity is not going to make or break the sound of your system, possibly not even change it audibly. But do you want someone who can't keep one polarity apart from another doing anything that could burn down your house or kill someone?
Peace,
Tom E
I'm really getting tired of putting out fires created by one "Audiot" on a quest to do damage to my company. Here's a few major points I'd like to make.
1. He was offered a full refund and declined
2. He was given a $100.00 refund for the inconvenience
3. The polarity was not reversed so there was never a true issue
4. He kept the cables and is using them, what does that tell you?
Ask Cal how they sound, that's the question that needs to be answered.
There are other underlying issues best left off the web. if you want to know exactly what happened feel free to contact me directly. There 2 sides to every story.
People are so quick to jump on board to offer a negative opinion. You can't have an opinion if you have no idea what you're talking about. If you want honest answers, go to eBay or my website, read my reviews, check my feedback, I can't fake this stuff.
As they say, if you're doing a good job nobody will say anything. But if you make a mistake everyone will hear about it. Apparently I've been doing something right since I have sold over 300 cables globally with zero complaints prior to this one. This is proof that you just can't make 100% of the people happy.
Rick
Ice Age Audio
No, how it sounds is not the question that needs to be answered. What needs to be answered is number 3. Are you right or is the OP right? If you did all that to accommodate him and he was wrong to begin with, then he should not be posting any of this and I owe you an apology.
If you're in business, you do what you must to minimize risk to your business and your customers, even the "audiots." Reversed polarity will probably not endanger anyone, and I never said it would. If that's the worst "mistake" that anyone makes, probably not a big deal. If your company did not sell a faulty product, then you do not deserve any criticism, and I sincerely apologize. You should get all over the OP for disseminating false information. If you have 300 happy customers, then mine is a pretty small, solitary voice.
If, however, you or anyone else did sell a cord with polarity reversed between the plugs, then that is an indication to me of carelessness, whether they sound good or not. Someday, that carelessness may or may not result in a more serious mistake. There isn't much that can go wrong with building power cords, but if it does, it could be bad news. I would not purchase anything from a company that made those kinds of mistakes. It is too easy to make cords properly to excuse errors of carelessness.
If you did not sell faulty equipment, I apologize again, and shame on the OP. If you did, quit defending yourself and learn something from your mistake before it happens again.
I like the name of your company. I'm sure your cryo treatments are thorough and effective. That's a good service to offer.
Peace,
Tom E
@Duster...what would happen if polarity was reversed? Would it play at all? If yes....in what way would it affect sonically? Thanks.
This example is for a piece of audio equipment that uses the safety equipment ground.
IF a ground fault event condition were to happen on the fuse switch side of the electrical circuit wiring inside a piece of equipment where the AC power polarity was reversed because of an improperly wired power cord the hot conductor from the wall receptacle will be connected directly to one side of the primary winding of the power transformer of the equipment, two current paths will be provided for the current to flow back to the source the electrical panel. One path, if the power switch is closed, through the neutral conductor. The other path through the safety equipment grounding conductor. If the power switch on the equipment is open the current will only flow through the safety equipment grounding conductor back to the source. Of course in this instance the ground fault condition would have to be on the load side of the power switch.
With the AC power polarity reversed as described above the safety fuse for the equipment would not blow in the event of a ground fault condition. The fuse would only blow due to an overload condition placed on it from the power transformer's primary winding connected load.
If the 120V AC power circuit is drawn on a piece of paper with the 120V Hot AC conductor connected directly to one side of the primary winding and the other side of the winding connected in series with the on/off power switch and safety fuse, in the event of ground fault condition it is easier see.
120V mains Hot > > one lead of primary winding > > out other lead of primary winding > > power switch > > equipment safety fuse > > neutral Line of mains power. Then you can show possible variation points along the circuit where a ground fault condition connection to metal enclosure, chassis, might happen.
I could give several electrical safety problem scenarios in the event of a ground fault event along the fuse switch circuit path. Though what are the odds of a ground fault event condition ever happening inside the equipment? Well electrical safety codes and NEMA standards are written because of, what if.
Jim
Here's a brief article about the issue of AC polarity.
See link:
A few days ago I made a power cord with some left over cable I had laying around for a few years. My method of construction and checking the results was the same as you outline. Using a meter to verify polarity, continuity and check for shorts is always a good idea before using.
But your last statement is the important one - why would you not check with a meter when done?
Regards,
Geoff
What I mean is even though I have plenty of experience building DIY power cords, I'm never arrogant enough to think I don't have to check my job with a multimeter when done. Not only for proper polarity. The most obvious factor is "safety first" which means anyone who builds a DIY power cord, whether it be for the first time as a newbie or the hundredth time should not be too proud to check their work with a multimeter when it comes to anything having to do with AC delivery.
This prompts me to check any future "store bought"cords for continuity before I use them. Other than the ones I made, I haven't previously done this.
If I discovered this on a cord I purchased, I would be livid. I may or may not have kept it.
But you did keep yours and in exchange for a $100 refund, corrected the problem yourself.
What cords did you purchase, what did they replace, and how did they sound.
From what you just described, the latter may be the better option, at least for personal safety.
Your tale does not inspire much confidence, and left me definitely somewhat 'cold' to trying "Ice Age" products, if you'll pardon the pun.....
thank you for pun-tificating on the subject. I have now frozen any funds that I would have spent on Ice Age products.
E
T
What a bunch of Neanderthals! (Tee-hee)
Dave
I represent that remark! Thank you!
E
T
knuckledragger
.
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