Sourcing nice 'fig 8' mains plugs DIY UK

[Interconnect]

Does anyone have a reasonably priced source for Fig 8 mains plugs in the UK? (sky HD power etc..)

Im going to make up a few cables and will need a few of these fittings, non molded type. The ones I can find (farnell for example) look cheap and nasty.

Will also need a few IEC kettle lead jobbies (3pin PS3 style)

No rhodium plated diamond encrusted £120 ones mind.... just nice quality :) ~ £5 ea nice

Thankyou

[realysm42]

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/

Not sure about fig 8 plugs but they can help with the latter part of your query, ranging from low to tear inducingly high prices ;)

[Interconnect]

Thankyou, some awesome gear on there. Ideally though I'm looking for a place not aimed at audiophiles.

[Welder]

Why bother?

Wire your mains leads directly into the component and use the old style round 15A 3 pin plugs and sockets to connect to a mains distribution block, thus avoiding a considerable amount of snake oil, expense and messing about. :)

[Interconnect]

I dont want to modify any of my units by permanantly wiring them one end. Unless I have mis understood?

Theres no snake oil in replacing flimsey throw away mains cable for nice thick shielded stuff :) That said I very much doubt It would be worth me spending £50 per cable based on my current equiptment/household wiring.

Ive sourced all the gear now, although I would rather find a screw together fig.8 connector. The one I have found is a solder together jobbie, which isnt a problem, just means I have to wait for it to arrive before I know what size heatshrink I will need to cover the plug and cable nicely.

I should be able to make 5x nice cables for around £40.

[Welder]

Nope, you haven't misunderstood.

Not quite sure about the permanent thing; if you can wire direct then you can reverse the process.:scratch:

[Effem]

Every "figure 8" connector I have ever seen has been cheap and flimsy, plus the awful solder tags for good measure.

There are available adaptors that convert standard 3 pin IEC connectors to the 2 pin Fig 8 type.

http://www.russandrews.com/images/products/1858new.jpghttp://www.russandrews.com/images/products/1858_3.jpg

Only £3 a pop on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IEC-C13-SOCKET-C7-PLUG-FIG-8-CABLE-ADAPTOR-CONVERTER-/230594317414?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item35b07e0c66#ht_1221wt_698

[synsei]

Thankyou, some awesome gear on there. Ideally though I'm looking for a place not aimed at audiophiles.

To be honest Chris if you want quality leads, plugs or sockets you are either going to be needing to look at audiophile products or premium computer products, and again, if you want quality it tends to come in at a premium price. I know from experience that Dave Brook at Mains Cables 'R' Us stocks what your are looking for and his prices are more than reasonable. There are also a of couple of other dealers on AoS who offer a similar service :rolleyes:

[Mark Grant]

Every "figure 8" connector I have ever seen has been cheap and flimsy, plus the awful solder tags for good measure.



Maybe that was a while ago Frank :)

Furutech do a good quality figure 8 called the FI-8N available in gold or Rhodium plated contacts, it does cost a bit though.
There is nothing else quality wise in between that and a cheap one unfortunately.

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx234/server9/forum-pictures/FurutechFI-8N.jpg (http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=45_16&products_id=207)

[Mark Grant]

Ive sourced all the gear now, although I would rather find a screw together fig.8 connector. The one I have found is a solder together jobbie, which isnt a problem, just means I have to wait for it to arrive before I know what size heatshrink I will need to cover the plug and cable nicely.



19mm adhesive lined heatshrink with a shrink ratio of 3:1 or 4:1 will be ideal.

[Interconnect]

To be honest Chris if you want quality leads, plugs or sockets you are either going to be needing to look at audiophile products or premium computer products, and again, if you want quality it tends to come in at a premium price. I know from experience that Dave Brook at Mains Cables 'R' Us stocks what your are looking for and his prices are more than reasonable. There are also a of couple of other dealers on AoS who offer a similar service :rolleyes:

Steady old bean!

Quality comes in levels, throw away bundle leads being the lowest, the awesome equipment Mark Grant and Dave Brook (as examples) sell being amongst the highest.
I require somewhere in-between.

With quality of course comes expense. What I'm trying to achieve is basically 'middle of the road' and as cheap as possible (hence DIY). Being the perfect length is also a plus.
Why middle of the road? There’s no point (purely in my opinion) on connecting a £350 AV receiver with a £50 mains cable. Its horses for courses.

That doesn’t mean the £50 mains cable is over priced. Working out the prices for my Middle of the road cables with no fancy plated components, no labour included etc... I do wonder how company’s like 'mains cables r us' turn a profit on some of their lines.

Mark, thankyou for you help :thumbsup:

[Reid Malenfant]

You could try removing the pins in the plug & plate them yourself ;)

Silver plating solution (http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=silver+plating+solution&_sacat=See-All-Categories)

Gold plating solution (http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=gold+plating+solution&_frs=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m359)

:)

[Interconnect]

:D

[Interconnect]

Heres one I made:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v122/mk3ghia/mc.jpg

Ive made 3 IEC cables and changed the cable in my 4 way surge protector so far. I have enough cable and connectors for another 2 fig 8 cables = £43.

I cant see the fig 8's going very well, the solder tags are molded with the plastic plug. I forsee 'meltage' :doh:

Improvements? None if I'm honest, with the exception of the PS3 which now produces a noticeably sharper image. This improvement is no doubt due to the shorter new cable (old one was 3x too long and coiled up), rather than improvements in materials quality.

Was worth doing IMO, the 'spaghetti' has been tamed further, PS3 (only used for films these days) looks better, had fun making them. :)

[MCRU]

If you have time to make your own cables that is good, hope you used CY cable and not SY, and connected the braiding to the earth pin at the plug end (of course you have to cut it off at the Fig. 8 end for obvious reasons). If you had fun making them that is what it's all about. Well done.

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/325-728-thickbox/mains-cables-r-us-no18-fig8-power-lead.jpg

[Interconnect]

I used SY cable, I will be honest I didn't know the difference untill you mentioned it !

I did however connect the braid (with heatshrink) at the wall socket plug ends only. (earth pin obviously).

They took me about 1 hour each to make, I did 1 per night after work. Was an hour I didn't have to speak to the missus...... Bliss!

[Rare Bird]

I have the same problem. Even though people have pointed me to an high quality Figure 8, my machine is so deep adding the head on connect makes it even more deep, depth i dont have the accomodation for. However the clamp up Furutech is number one on the list but i'm not stupid enough to pay that much, it's only a crappy Techy machine.

[Spectral Morn]

Missed this but the Mark Grant DSP1.0 is a very good one.

You can read about it here...... http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/30/08/2010/a-great-figure-of-eight-the-mark-grant-dsp1-0-mains-lead/

Regards D S D L

[MCRU]

dude

you don't need an adapter for right angles, you need to go to someone who has been making cables for many years and knows about these potential problems, he has the answers! :)

use more flexible cable and shorter heatshrink

[Mark Grant]

Missed this but the Mark Grant DSP1.0 is a very good one.

You can read about it here...... http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/30/08/2010/a-great-figure-of-eight-the-mark-grant-dsp1-0-mains-lead/

Regards D S D L

Thanks Neil :)

[Mark Grant]

I have the same problem. Even though people have pointed me to an high quality Figure 8, my machine is so deep adding the head on connect makes it even more deep, depth i dont have the accomodation for. However the clamp up Furutech is number one on the list but i'm not stupid enough to pay that much, it's only a crappy Techy machine.

You picture has gone :)

here is a picture taken just now:
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx234/server9/forum-pictures/dsp-1-IMG_0887.jpg

Smaller diameter cable so more flexible.
Even though it is small diameter there is a foil and a braid screen in there and the cores are made in such a way that it works very well, it's not off the reel industrial cable.
Could be made shorter if the heat shrink was bent down during assembly while it was hot.

http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=45_18&products_id=47

[Rare Bird]

dude you don't need an adapter for right angles, you need to go to someone who has been making cables for many years and knows about these potential problems, he has the answers! :) use more flexible cable and shorter heatshrink
What ever :rolleyes:

[Interconnect]

I cant beleive how scarce Fig 8 plugs are :mental: Right angle ones could be handy.

Mark that mains flex you use looks the business :thumbsup: is that 2 core (no earth) ?

[Mark Grant]

Mark that mains flex you use looks the business :thumbsup: is that 2 core (no earth) ?

Yep, it's the Busniness :)

The DSP 1.0 cable with figure 8 connector has two cores and a drain wire in between the two layers of screening to hold the foil in close contact with the two cores and this also makes it easy to ground the screening at the plug end.

It is my custom design and build that cant be bought anywhere else and I will soon show some very detailed pictures of the insides of various power cables and accessories etc on a new website to show the build differences.