European ceiling lights will start to use a common plug for easy installation. Device for Connection of Luminaires (DCL) is a European standard for ceiling light fixtures introduced in 2005 and refined in 2009. The history is longer. The history of the common ceiling light plug goes longer. In Finnish apartments, for over thirty years, →
I got a mains power (230V AC) surge protector for teardown and analysis. This one is designed to be installed to DIN rail on the small electrical distribution panel or inside electrical equipment. This one was in original package but already the indicator showed that it was broken. This protector protects against voltages above 320V →
What is low Z on multimeter? Dual impedance digital multimeters have feature to control the input impedance of the multimeter. LoZ stands for Low Impedance (Z). This feature presents a low impedance input to the circuit under test. A typical digital multimeter has typically around 10 megaohms input impedance, which loads the circuit being measured →
Here is a tear-down of a mains powered (230V 50 Hz) timer switch. Let’s look how this is built. Many mains power timers use mechanism that has mains powered syncronous motor, but this is different. This one has a electronic clock timer in it. There seems to be one clock IC with a crystal (around →
Bang on design and use! ‘Forbidden reach around’ Tell people – just because it fits you should not plug it in. Did you know that figure 8 power cable plug (IEC 60320 type C plug also known as IEC C7) fits into XLR make connector? If it’s round outside, don’t plug an AC cord in, →
Very many electrical equipment and fluorescent lamps powered from 230V AC have a filtering capacitor on power input between live and neutral. This is typically there for interference suppressing. That capacitor is normally X rated “self healing” type, but they can sometimes fail. When they fail their case starts turning black, and they can start →
No audio signal. Only humming. This is how 6.3 mm plug and PowerCON meet. There are XLR and Speakon combo connectors designed for things like this. But this is PowerCON connector designed to carry mains power. Read more on PowerCON at https://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2018/10/01/powercon-connector/ Fortunately the 6.3 mm plug here only connects to the center ground pin. →
ElectroBoom is fun to watch https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwIvUbOhcKE So are also those: Kreosan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ugxq0FMjoQ Diode gone wild https://www.youtube.com/c/diodegonewild/videos Big clive https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RmZGwEPt1ck →
Germany and the EU have spiraled headfirst into the globe’s worst energy crisis since the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s and 1980s. All across the continent, Europe’s energy policies have led to astronomical price increases, industry shutdowns, potential energy shortages, and geopolitical vulnerability. The European Union and its 27 member states have invested more →
I just saw this Facebook post in AC Disaster group and had to react to it! Source: Post by Jerry Hicks at AV Disasters Facebook group (used with permission) Almost clever! You can actually plug in US charger to speakon connector and have it to make contact with two “pins” (1- and 2-). You can →