Why is it that some plugs (mainly to electronics as opposed to electric appliances) are so large? Namely, the plug for my computer spears which is some 2"x2"x3" as opposed to the plug for my personal stero which is your standard garden variety plug. I can’t think of any special qualities that these small speakers have that would require anything more special than the much larger stereo speakers. Likewise, my modem plug is enormous, yet the computer plug is a standard looking 3-prong plug (with a slightly thicker cord than normal).
What’s in these big mama plugs?
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I believe what you are referring to are voltage converters/rectifiers.
Your computer speakers and modem probablly need 12V DC (or something close). The outlet provides 120V ac. The 2x2x3 box contains the components to do the conversion (a transformer, diode bridge, and probably some type of regulator). Your stereo and computer have these components inside.
other electrical appliances (canopeners, coffee makers, etc.) operate on the 120.
Makes a certain amount of sense, but is there any reason why it has to be in the plug, taking up 2 outlets worth of space, and not in a box halfway up the cord like I occassionaly see (and am assuming are the same thing)?
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I agree, wholeheartedly. There’s nothing more annoying (well, maybe a FEW things…) than buying a power strip with like 6 outlets on it, and then only being able to use 2 or 3 of them because of the size of the rectifier on them. Why can’t they just put those same components up in the modem itself and make the darn thing a wee bit bigger???
While thumbing through an office supply catalog the other day, I happened upon a power strip that has the plug-holes lined up NEXT to each other, rather than the usual configuration where they’re “stacked,” top to bottom. I’ve got TWO power-bars under my desk, because the converter boxes cover up half the outlets on each strip. This is the first rationally thought-out power strip I’ve seen like this - was it really that hard to figure out?
<muttering>'Bout time somebody bought a clue.</muttering>
StoryTyler
“Not everybody does it, but everybody should.” I Spy Ty.
They do it to save a few pennies. The power supplies halfway up the cord cost more to produce, and if the supply was in the unit, the manufacturers couldn’t us an off the shelf supply/cord. It saves them money on design, materials and assembly.
Also, the transformer does produce a magnetic fields that could interfere w/ unsheilded circuits in the modem if they were close enough.
My “Premiere SurgeMaster II™” not only has the paired outlets facing away from each other, it has a pair of outlets at the end of the rows that are specifically spaced an extra inch and a half farther out to allow the rectifier plugs.
(I have no idea whether this brand is any better than–or as good as–any other brand, but it does make it easier to plug in my speakers and my Zip drive.)
Rane has a interesting story on the role of the “wall-wart”, at least in how it applies to their products (and by extension to most other products as well). http://www.rane.com/rap.htm
Anyone know where I could get a power strip that holds at least 6 transformer blocks? unfortunately, most of my videogame collection uses the damn things
I’ll bet putting it in the plug is the cheapest way to do it. For one thing, it means you don’t have to provide a UL-listed cord to the device which will be carrying AC house current - just the skinny little cord carrying a few volts DC. I’ve seen a couple that have just the transformer in there, and output lowered voltage AC, but most of them seem to have the rectifier in there, too.
Putting the heat-generating transformer outside the device probably has benefits as well. For certain types of devices, the transformer being in close proximity might also require shielding to avoid interference.
Doug Adams, of Hitchhiker’s Guide fame, wrote an amusing article a couple of years back about everything you buy having it’s own “power dongle”, as he referred to it. His point was that he had a closetful of the damned things, half of which he didn’t know what they went to anymore, and why couldn’t they be standardized, like light bulbs.
It’s a valid point. It’s not as if there are THAT many output voltages which these devices will require. In fact, I’ve got a couple of those “universal” gadgets that allow you to select several voltages. What really tears it is the complete non-standardization of connectors on the various devices. I bought one of those universal things for something-or-another I’d lost the power cord to. The universal had five or six various connectors, and a little plug arrangement in the middle of the cord to switch polarities. Whatever it was I wanted to use it with had managed to invent yet another kind of socket for the damn thing to plug into.
Standard 3 prong male plug with 1 foot cord and ends in a standard female 3 prong input. Lets bulky adapters plug into female and then male 3 prong end plugs into a standard sized strip. Essential a heavy duty, 1 foot long 3 prong extension cord.
