Re: Homebrew - Doc B. - Tubes Asylum

Re: Homebrew

209.20.170.132

Posted by Doc B. on April 30, 1999 at 09:51:06

In Reply to: Homebrew posted by bryan on April 29, 1999 at 13:23:24:

"Do you have a copy of the parts and instructions typed out? and ready to email? or on your website? Thanks."

LOL. Sure, it's our pleasure to serve! Let me take some photos and call the printer about four color brochures.

Here's the extremely detailed instructions...

Step one - do some soul searching and decide if you really want to build something that can kill you if you are not careful, while realizing that Doc is worth about 12 cents so your family will be very disappointed if they decide to sue him because you wanted to play homebrew electric chair. It's not that difficult a project, but you are playing with AC mains, folks, and each person is responsible for their own actions when it comes to living through them.

Step two - buy some 12 ga. solid wire (the standard stuff with 600V PVC insulation) from a home improvement store. Black, White and Green are practical, if aesthetically uncouth colors. Get enough of each color to match the length of the cord you need, plus a little extra, because braiding it will create a shorter length.
Also pick up one of those big ugly yellow three prong AC plugs that has a screw on cover and a clamp where the cord comes out. My cords are hard wired at the component end. If you need an IEC connector for the other end, call Ron Welborne, and god help you cramming those three big wires into the thing.

Step three - Crack your knuckles, grab a beer, and start three braiding(you know, like hair) the very stiff wire. It is a bitch, your hands will ache afterward, but try to get a fairly tight braid, because the point of braiding is to get the wires crossing as close to perpendicular to each other as possible. It won't be perfect, just do the best you can.

Step three - strip the ends about 1/2" and attach the wires to the terminals in the AC plug, paying attention to which wire goes where (for example, black is hot, goes to the small prong, white is neutral, goes to the large prong, green is ground, goes to the third, rounded prong )
Attachment is easiest by using the screw terminals in the AC plug, probably better by soldering those connections, but the heat will deform the plug and you'll have top pull the prongs back into proper alignment as the plastic housing cools.

Step four - slip the cover over the wire and screw it onto the plug, and then tighten the clamp on the braid.
NOTE: This is my favorite step to forget. You put the connector on the other end, then realize you left the damned cover off the first plug. I do the same when building interconnects - I think it's called PCDD -Plug Cover Deficit Disorder. The PCDD sufferer is typified as swearing a lot and carrying desoldering braid with him wherever he goes.

Step five - Now do likewise at the equipment end if using an IEC plug, otherwise, hardwire the cord to the AC mains connections in your equipment for a serious connection. If you wire directly, you generally want the hot wire to go to the fused side of the power trans primary, most likely it will be connecting to a switch. Natch, the neutral goes to the other leg of the PT primary circuit, and the ground wire attaches to the chassis.

Note that this cord is stiff, ugly, very unweildy, and people will say, "where did you get that thing?"

God, I love it.

Remember, your AC goes through maybe 20-50 feet of this stuff in the wall anyway, before it gets to your power cord. Think about the effect of adding 6 feet of exotic $800 power cord to the end of $3 worth of that stuff in the wall, and maybe this seems not such a bad alternative.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - bryan 23:25:35 04/28/99 (32)

Re: Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - Phil 07:11:53 04/30/99 (4)

Phil ..... or is it Old, grey and definetly in the way ;-) - bryan 07:48:38 04/30/99 (3)

Re: Phil ..... or is it Old, grey and definetly in the way ;-) - Old, gray and definitely in the way 00:21:51 05/01/99 (2)

Breaking in is hard to do - bryan 11:34:43 05/01/99 (1)

Re: Dewey beats Truman - Old,gray and definitely in the way 22:16:55 05/01/99 (0)

Re: Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - Jerry P 09:44:37 04/29/99 (9)

Re: Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - bryan 10:23:55 04/29/99 (8)

Re: Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - Tazsmonn 15:50:31 04/29/99 (7)

Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - Jerry P 17:29:01 04/29/99 (6)

Re: Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - Tazsmonn 06:03:25 04/30/99 (2)

Re: Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - Tazsmonn 14:14:23 04/30/99 (0)

Re: Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - bgp 11:15:34 04/30/99 (0)

Re: Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - HarryS 19:28:15 04/29/99 (2)

Re: Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - Jerry P 07:41:13 05/01/99 (1)

Re: Tazsmonn, will they drive Maggie 1.6's OK? (nt) - BGP 16:11:02 05/02/99 (0)

What are your old cords? (nt) - Jack G 07:50:54 04/29/99 (14)

Cords... - bryan 10:00:27 04/29/99 (13)

here's acouple - Jack G 10:45:08 04/29/99 (12)

I hould have specified a cap of ~$350 each - list - Fun, not ... - bryan 11:03:43 04/29/99 (11)

Re: I hould have specified a cap of ~$350 each - list - Fun, not ... - Doc B. 13:05:05 04/29/99 (10)

Welcome Back! - Jack G 04:46:51 04/30/99 (0)

Bottlehead & Jena & AC cords - bryan 19:23:55 04/29/99 (1)

Re: Bottlehead & Jena & AC cords - Doc B. 08:30:15 04/30/99 (0)

Homebrew - bryan 13:23:24 04/29/99 (5)

Re: Homebrew - Doc B. 09:51:06 04/30/99 (4)

Re: Homebrew - bryan 11:31:23 04/30/99 (2)

Re: Homebrew - Doc B. 14:34:31 04/30/99 (1)

Re: Homebrew - bryan 15:24:46 04/30/99 (0)

Thank you! (nt) - Stephen 10:24:32 04/30/99 (0)

Re: I hould have specified a cap of ~$350 each - list - Fun, not ... - Stephen 13:23:22 04/29/99 (0)

Re: Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - JohnE 07:50:16 04/29/99 (1)

Re: Aftermarket power cord for Atma-Sphere M60's - Jack G 08:19:45 04/29/99 (0)

Follow Ups

Re: Homebrew - Doc B. 09:51:06 04/30/99 (4)

Re: Homebrew - bryan 11:31:23 04/30/99 (2)

Re: Homebrew - Doc B. 14:34:31 04/30/99 (1)

Re: Homebrew - bryan 15:24:46 04/30/99 (0)

Thank you! (nt) - Stephen 10:24:32 04/30/99 (0)

You can not post to an archived thread.