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In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: The power AC Outlets?
Post Subject: A . few . tiny . points .Posted by jessie.dazzle on: 10/31/2008
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Romy wrote :

"...I would like my AC power outlets but be solderable and do not use screws. I have no idea why no one talks about it. Is my desire to solder the AC power outlets are not obviously preferable way to do? The 12 channels’ of Melquiades sack out of AC power outlet 1260W, it is a slightly over 10A continuously (in class A). Would it make a sense do not have a screw in power entity under this current but rather to have the wire’s joint flooded with solder?..."

I completely agree.

And though it is completely impractical, hard-wiring a component directly into the mains, meaning well soldered and completely free of all AC receptacles (sockets and plugs), would result in a far better connection than even the most precious, crio-treated, audiophile-approved connectors... Unless of course the connectors were packaged in a velvet-lined box!

Seriously, the point of contact of even the best AC connector is likely to be just that, a small point, or most likely two or three small points (like these . . .) per conductor, where the hard springy metal of the receptacle meets the hard metal of the conductor it receives. Even two perfectly flat conductive plates laying one on top of the other, held together under pressure, will in practice still end up passing most of the currnet via three small points.

The best non-hard-wired connector (be it for AC, interconnects, speaker wires, tube sockets, etc) would be one that maximizes the surface area and pressure acting on the contacting surfaces, themselves being made of highly conductive materials.

Something like this :

http://www.shredair.com/news/pics05/04dec.jpg

Or this :

http://www.chsymington.com/newimages/clamp1.jpg

Following this logic, the very best practical, meaning interruptible connection might be one that simply clamps down on soft, bare, multi-stranded wire.

Like this (One could build this type of connector into a large insulated terminal block...):

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11065089/Split_Bolt_Connector.jpg

But lets say we go to the trouble of hard-wiring a component directly to the mains, on a dedicated circuit; now what? Are we going to bridge the internal fuse holder, the power switch/relay, and at the other end, the circuit breaker?

Fuse holders, circuit breakers, switches and relays all have the same issues mentioned above; that is they pass current via a few tiny points. One finds breakers, switches and relays having higher current carrying capacity used in audio circuits, as they should in theory have a greater contact surface area, that "lives" under greater mechanical pressure. In practice however, I don't see how such a device might escape passing current via the same few tiny points where the metal of the conductors simply meets, regardless of how precisely the mating surfaces might be machined/assembled/aligned (and they are not). Take the two perfectly flat conductive plates mentioned above, still laying one on top of the other and under pressure; in practice they will not equal the surface contact area of a similarly-sized well soldered joint. The only exception to this (that comes to mind) is the mercury switch.

Of course one should not forgo circuit protection; in which case my specs for the ultimate series of connections would call for hard-wired (soldered directly) fuses; one at the breaker box, and the other inside the component (replacing the spring-loaded fuse holder), multi-stranded bare-wire clamped at all interruptible junctions, and a murcury-type power switch.

Of course I have not done any of this; I make do with the few tiny points everywhere.

jd*

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