Members Lee Flier Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 This is pretty cool - an electrical outlet whose jacks rotate so you're not blocking both outlets if you plug a wall wart in. You can even plug two wall warts into the same outlet, and the power stays on while rotating. http://www.360electrical.com Doesn't say how much they cost, but if they're at all reasonable I wouldn't mind installing a few around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheLuxLife Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Wow...NICE Thanks for posting. -J.P. LUX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorePaul Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Nifty! thanks! Hmm, I just did a quicky search and this article said $8 http://www.popsci.com/popsci/bown2005/hometech/386bf502e8337010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html but, I didn't see any retailers listed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted December 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 8 bucks, cool! I can certainly deal with that. Yeah they aren't available yet, but apparently will be in all the major stores and you can sign up on their web site to get an email when they are available. I'm all over it. Ooh, it says in the future they'll be offering stuff such as GFI outlets, commercial grade duplex outlets, and power strips! Now that would be cool, a power strip where all the jacks rotate like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lancaster Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by Lee Flier Ooh, it says in the future they'll be offering stuff such as GFI outlets, commercial grade duplex outlets, and power strips! Now that would be cool, a power strip where all the jacks rotate like that. I'll be getting about 10 of those power strips. My prayers...answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Great idea! Thanks for the heads-up Lee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff Leites Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Don't wall warts tend to be non-polarized so you can plug the bottom one right side up, and the top on upside down? I just checked 3 that were in arms reach and they were not polarized. I've also noticed that some of my power strips have the sockets positioned so that you can plug small warts next to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted December 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by Jeff Leites Don't wall warts tend to be non-polarized so you can plug the bottom one right side up, and the top on upside down? I just checked 3 that were in arms reach and they were not polarized. Yeah, some are that way but not all. Also there are some polarized and/or grounded plugs that aren't wall warts but you still have to plug them in in such a way that they block the outlet. I've also noticed that some of my power strips have the sockets positioned so that you can plug small warts next to each other. Yeah I have some of those too and they're a big help. But there are always wall warts that are too big for those. It just seems like hardly any two plugs plug in the same way these days, and I'm always struggling to plug everything in. I'm replacing the outlets in a couple of rooms anyway, so hey, why not use these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veracohr Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 I don't understand why power supply makers don't put a cord between the 'wart' and the plug. Everyone hates wall warts, but no one changes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geoff Grace Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Cool. Thanks for bringing that to our attention, Lee. Here's another cool solution: SmartRack Best, Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted December 21, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by veracohr I don't understand why power supply makers don't put a cord between the 'wart' and the plug. Everyone hates wall warts, but no one changes them. There used to be Dr. Ferd's Wall Wart Eliminator which was just a short extension cord. I see them on the rack near the cash registers at Micro Center under the QVS brand, for about $1.50. They used to have one that had one plug and two outlets on pigtails, and I bought several of those when they were $1.89, but they've never had any more of them. They're called "Outlet Savers" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudolf von Hagenwil Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 To electrify this highlander? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doug osborne Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by veracohr I don't understand why power supply makers don't put a cord between the 'wart' and the plug. Everyone hates wall warts, but no one changes them. Line Lumps! These are a better form factor, but they often cost more than wall warts, and most of them are switching power supplies, which don't work well with all gear. Mike Rivers' Outlet Saver picture is the right idea - cheap! One place that sells them for about $1.79 each, as Smart Strip, is www.bitsltd.us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by MikeRivers There used to be Dr. Ferd's Wall Wart Eliminator which was just a short extension cord. I see them on the rack near the cash registers at Micro Center under the QVS brand, for about $1.50. They used to have one that had one plug and two outlets on pigtails, and I bought several of those when they were $1.89, but they've never had any more of them. They're called "Outlet Savers" I'm picking up a bunch of those... I thought I'd seen a hydra type one, too, something like 1-to-6... I suppose it's a little messier than a big panel set up for warts... but the multitude of wall wart shapes has always seemed to make power line setup a bit of a nightmare... This was a huge issue to me back when I had a live-echo-loop acts in the 90s... At one point I counted cables and between power, MIDI, and signal I had just over EIGHTY CABLES... And I hate wires... it's the bane of technology. Niklas Tesla -- why'd you leave before your work was finished?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsongs Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Just make all power strips with wide outlet spacing already!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members casper2 Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Squid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boosh Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 What I really want is wireless electricity. I don't mean batteries,.... nope,... really wireless. Electricity in form of radiowaves. Plug a thingy in the wallsocket and one in your appliance and off you go. No more rechargable batteries that run out when you need them etc etc,.... And I want a helmet that can pick up my thoughts and burn them on DVD too. And a pot of pickled eggs to sit on while I transfer my thoughts to harddrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff Leites Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Originally posted by MikeRivers There used to be Dr. Ferd's Wall Wart Eliminator which was just a short extension cord. I see them on the rack near the cash registers at Micro Center under the QVS brand, for about $1.50. They used to have one that had one plug and two outlets on pigtails, and I bought several of those when they were $1.89, but they've never had any more of them. They're called "Outlet Savers" Here's something similar to that called a power squid: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nollie Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 A lot of problem wall-wart / power-cable problem solvers here: http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchall.asp?search=power+liberator&sort=rev And I use these to feed power to my racked gear from power strips I mounted on the insides of my racks. Makes rack wiring so much cleaner: http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=6512 Much cheaper than the Hosa rebadged versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsongs Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Originally posted by boosh What I really want is wireless electricity.I don't mean batteries,.... nope,... really wireless. Electricity in form of radiowaves.. [Putting Evil Cap On]Imagine a device that can re-route that wireless electricity to mortally shock someone...Muhahaha! Bahahahaha! Muhahahaaa!!! cough, cough[Taking Evil Cap Off] Did I just say something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted December 22, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted December 22, 2006 Originally posted by Jeff Leites Here's something similar to that called a power squid Those just look so messy, and the only ones I've seen in stores have been pretty expensive. I remember something from what might have been my first NAMM show too long ago to remember, that was simply an outlet strip with the sockets oriented with the blades crosswise rather than lengthwise and spaced a couple of inches apart. I think the company selling it was from Hawaii. They were never seen again, though I occasionally run across an outlet strip that's built that way. If you've ever taken one apart, you'll see why the blades are oriented along the length of the strip. It's cheaper to build that way, and as wel all know, cheaper is better, even if it's a pain in the butt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Charles Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Originally posted by MikeRivers If you've ever taken one apart, you'll see why the blades are oriented along the length of the strip. It's cheaper to build that way, and as wel all know, cheaper is better, even if it's a pain in the butt. Why couldn't you orient the plugs diagonally? If you spaced them right, warts would fit and you could still run rails on the inside... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Chappell Posted December 24, 2006 Members Share Posted December 24, 2006 Wider-outlet power strips ... outlet savers ... diagonally spaced outlets ... why should we have to pay for this shortcutting by manufacturers? When I review a piece of gear, I always give a prop when they included a line lump or some other solution to the wall wart. Conversely, the worst offenders include a wart that's generic -- you can't tell it belongs to the gear it powers. This forces me to break out the masking tape and the Sharpie. If I can, I included a dig in the review for this indignity. Let's throw the responsibility back to manufacturers -- and line lumps seem to be the best solution. And let's push for automatic polarity-correction. I really hate it when the gear doesn't indicate the polarity of the plug -- on the supply, the unit, or the manual. I just received a piece of gear like that (from DigiTech, it must be told), and I find that incredibly annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted December 24, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted December 24, 2006 Originally posted by Jon Chappell Wider-outlet power strips ... outlet savers ... diagonally spaced outlets ... why should we have to pay for this shortcutting by manufacturers? Because you're saving money (presumably more than the cost of the outlet strip) because the manufacturer can buy an off-the-shelf power supply that's already UL/CE approved and doesn't have to get that approval for the equipment. Now I think it wouldn't be unreasonable for the manufacturer to toss an "outlet saver" type cable (also UL/CE approved of course) into the box. After all, they sometimes provide both US and European IEC cables when those are used, and they often throw in a USB or Firewire cable if the device has that flavor of interface. Now you may well ask why the wall wart form factor, not a line lump, particularly one that takes a power cord with an IEC connector on the power supply end. A little bird told me the anser to that one. Let's throw the responsibility back to manufacturers -- and line lumps seem to be the best solution. I've felt for the past several years that this gear is too inexpensive. If manufacturers would bite the bullet and raise prices to cover those nice things, it would be fine with me. But who's gonna be first? If one does it and the rest don't follow, he's going to lose some sales. Look at what happens when one airlline comes to its senses and tries to raise the fare on a route by $10. Sometimes the other airlines flying that same route will go along with it and raise their fares also. But if a few of them stay put, the one who tried it and didn't get any followers will usually drop back to the original fare. Now airline fare can (and do) change by the minute, but if a manufactuer buys 1000 lline lumps and raises the price by $20 to cover his cost, he's stuck if people don't see the value (or don't know why the cost increase) and go to the next cheaper brand. And let's push for automatic polarity-correction. I really hate it when the gear doesn't indicate the polarity of the plug -- on the supply, the unit, or the manual. I just received a piece of gear like that (from DigiTech, it must be told), and I find that incredibly annoying. This would be simple if all wall warts were AC and the rectification, regulation, and filtering was done in the box. But again, it's a matter of cost. It costs less for the wall wart manufacturer to design and build that (because he's making them by the boatload instead of the truckload) than for the equipment manufacturer. My biggest problem with wall wart replacement of substitution is that they're often poorly regulated (or unregulated). If the manual or the sticker on the wall wart says 6V 1.5A you might find another one that says the same thing and has a different open circuit voltage that may not power the device properly or may even damage it. This is why most of them recommend against using anything but the genuine official certified wall wart. It's the price you pay for the price you don't pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.