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Appendix F
Now I know this may seem like an odd subject to include in
a document about the GT-3/5, but as the document has been
pretty much all encompassing I cannot pass by the
opportunity to make you more aware about electrical safety
and what it means to you as a musician.
Use a LED/neon socket tester
These are fantastic testers and are dead cheap. You just plug
them in and you normally have 2 or 3 lights that illuminate,
which will tell you if the socket you are about to plug into is
correctly wired. I use one. So should you.
Use an RCD permanently on your
rig
Residual Current Device. Another fantastic cheap addition
to your gear which will keep you VERY VERY safe. What
they are is a clever and VERY fast circuit breaker. Its not
like an earth leakage trip which just detects earth leakage
problems (as it says). These little beggars monitor the live
& neutral as well and if any discrepancy occurs it kills the
circuit. I fitted such a device to my house consumer unit the
minute I moved in. You can buy small portable ones at very
reasonable sums from must high street retail outlets. Failing
that Radio Shack, RS Components & Maplins most
definitely will have them.
Avoid solder for electrical
connections
I know how everyone likes nice tidy mains connections. But
when wiring up mains cables to plugs/sockets DO NOT
USE SOLDER.
Every wondered why you've just been able to tighten up a
plug that you made up some time ago – the connections
seemed not as tight as you remember making them? You
even used solder to make sure you had a good connection
and the end of the wire was tidy didn't you. Well, read on.
The problem with solder is it suffers from something called
COLD FLOW. It's basically a very slow liquid metal, and
over the years the wires become loose in the connectors.
This can initially cause noise, but more seriously can lead to
fire due to arcing.
You have been warned – use solder for signal cables ONLY
– NOT power cables where you are using ANY FORM OF
screw connection to provide the electrical connection/keep
the conductor in place.
Ground/EARTH Connections
ANY ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE EARTH FROM
A
POWER
SUPPLY
INCLUDES PLUG CHEATS – 3 PIN PLUGS
WITHOUT THE EARTH WIRED. YOU MAY WELL
INVALIDATE
THE
© Copyright 2000-2002 Barry S. Pearce et al.
Electrical Safety
IS
DANGEROUS.
THIS
MANUFACTURERS
WARRANTY
AND
SOMEONE
ELSE'S
DECIDE.
If you have problems with ground/earth causing noise check
out Section 9 Noise Elimination.
PLACE
YOUR
LIFE
LIFE
IN
DANGER.
OR
YOU
158
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