Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK - I'll use generalized terms to describe what I'm after here.

I love small tube amps. They aren't exactly thick on the ground in these here pars. As a consequence, I buy a lot from the US and ship here to Tasmania, Australia. I have a step-down transformer that I managed to scavenge from an industrial oven (9.1KVA) in a box (a tool box purchased for $14 - it's perfect!). I've got it set up with Aussie style powerpoints (err..I mean "outlets"), and have been meaning to get a 4 way US style powerboard.

So - my question is: Do Walmart (et. al.) sell cheap 4-way powerboards - you know the type where you can turn one outlet into four?? Or are these a more expensive item?

Thanks

10 bucks AU will get you a six-outlet power strip at any retailer in the USA. 40 bucks AU will get you an 8-outlet with surge protector.

Cheers Paul. I might get my next amp vendor to stick one in the back of it. I'll go a 6 way - I don't need any more outlets, and it's filtered through the stepdown for surges.

Great, Andrew! I think I know what you mean about the stepdown being a surge protector.

Weird story: I was sceptical of using surge protectors on anything but my computers until a month ago, when I finally got my new (old) stereo up and running after a long time collecting the components. It represents the best of the best Sansui made, from about 28 years ago, when they were the state of the art in Asian mid-to-high-end components. Now that the stuff's old, it has become affordable, but is still superior in quality to anything made today at ten times the price.

So I assembled a system of this stuff; my first really top-of-the-line system; Sansui power amp, tuner, tape deck, Klipsch speakers, and a current CD transport.

The first time I turned it on, a cool spring evening, I was in heaven. Gorgeous, transparent sound, killer imaging, "big air" in the virtual room.

The second time I turned it on (hot weekend afternoon), I got a terrible high-pitched intermittent hiss/warble from both speakers, independent of music source. Experience tells me, "output transformer" but (a) my unit had been tested and overhauled to read exactly to spec, and (b) this particular amp has two independent amps, including power transformers, for the channels, with the only commonality being the power source itself. And the sound came equally from both channels.

I was pretty disappointed with having to troubleshoot and possibly foot a largish repair bill. I settled down, stopped istening for a few days and put my deductive faculties to work. DUH! Power source. It was plugged into a cheap power strip with a long AC cord, all snakewrapped up in back of my cabinet. I'm on a hilltop, BTW.

Just for the heck of it, I replaced the power strip with a pricier surge protector one. Flip it on--not a whisper from the speakers. So the old strip was picking up some sort of electromagnetic interference, depending upon atmospheric conditions, seeming to peak when it was hot and dry. And the new strip's filters were cutting out the interference.

Now, this doesn't mean I think you should try a separate surge protector, but stories like this contribute to the knowledge base and eventually seem to always help at least one puzzled soul.

I totally agree - my days in the IT industry remind me that UPS's serve the dual role of not only allowing you to safely shut-down, but are great at "smoothing" AC power for better device consumtion. I'm guessing a surge protector functions in a similar way.

I note that when metering the 240V side it wavers around 239-242V, but pumps out a solid, unwavering 110V on other side.

I totally agree - my days in the IT industry remind me that UPS's serve the dual role of not only allowing you to safely shut-down, but are great at "smoothing" AC power for better device consumtion. I'm guessing a surge protector functions in a similar way.

I note that when metering the 240V side it wavers around 239-242V, but pumps out a solid, unwavering 110V on other side.

UPSs are being used on a lot of high-end electronic systems these days, "they're not just for conmputers anymore". I get the APC magazine/newsletter, and every issue contains a testimonial or two of an APC UPS saving an expensive TV, hi-fi, etc.