[Boatanchors] Article on changing from 2 to 3 wire power cords

[Glen Zook]

Not all that uncommon in the "goode olde dayes"!  Since the neutral was supposed to be connected to a ground rod where the AC mains enters the building, and since that connection used to be almost always a cold water pipe, having only the "hot" side connected on the AC plug, the chassis was always at ground potential.  If the AC plug was inserted backwards, both sides of the AC input would be at ground potential and the unit would not turn on.

Especially in the magazines before the early to mid 1960s, such an arrangement was often included in articles on home-brew equipment that was AC operated and did not have a transformer.

Glen, K9STH 
Website: https://k9sth.net 

    On Thursday, August 8, 2019, 01:20:49 PM CDT, Wilson Lamb <infomet at embarqmail.com> wrote:  
 
 And I thought I'd seen everything!!!
That's a new one.