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Upon opening the box, you will find five standard receptacles wired in parallel,
and the surge protection circuit wired in-line. Note that the black jumper wire
on the far left is an addition that is not present upon initial inspection and will
be added as part of the next step...
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We will be re-wiring the only one receptacle. It is the farthest to the right, and
opposite the switch, when top is up. As shown in picture to left here: farthest
left when up side down, but still at the opposite end of the box from the switch.
Once done, this receptacle will be wired such that the first socket is in series
with the second, ON THAT RECEPTACLE ONLY. All others remain in parallel
and can be used as normal receptacles to plug in tools or whatever. But only
the one socket as marked in other pictures, is current protected. All others
are normal receptacles.
The whole conversion of the last receptacle is as simple as cutting the copper
buss bars on BOTH sides of this last receptacle only (see arrows on
enlarged picture at left). And adding a jumper wire from one socket to the other
on that one receptacle. These bars run from one socket to the other on both
sides of the receptacle; cutting them disconnects the second socket
completely. I've used a pair of wire cutters to cut through the buss bars. Adding
the black jumper wire (on the far left) from one socket to the other, is the
means by which the final socket is made to be in series (rather than parallel)
with its previous counterpart.
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Now, any type of light fixture may be plugged into the first socket in the last
receptacle (as marked in the picture to the left), and it will be "in series" with
the power "Line" of whatever device is plugged into the second socket of the
last (far right) receptacle. Different wattage bulbs may be used to accent the
amount of current drawn by higher or lower power devices, and also to change
the amount of current the series socket is limited to. I prefer a 60watt standard
bulb for most general use.
This simple device has many handy uses on the workbench of anyone working
on electrical or electronic equipment. Examples:
(1) The light bulb slows the in rush of current when an older device that hasn't
been turned on in a long time is plugged in and turned on. This give old
components an easy initial flow of current, and is much less likely to burn an
old part that has been out or use for a long period of time (this especially
applies to electrolytic capacitors which need time to re-form after sitting a long
time).
(2) The brightness of the lamps glow is an indicator of how much current the
device being worked on is drawing. Most normally working devices will only
allow the light to glow dim or dull. If the bulb burns at full brightness, it is a
warning that the downstream device is drawing a lot of current, and may have
a "shorted" wire or device somewhere in it.
(3) By limiting the current in the circuit, the bulb protects the electrical circuit of
the receptacle into which the limiter is plugged. It also protects the device
being tested, and most importantly, it protects whoever might be working on
the live equipment down-line from a higher and more dangerous potential
electrical shock!
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Brought to you by John King ... aka Rockin_John
Contact: kingsx@swbell.net
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