Shocks to the lips from the mic

Easy to convert - at least in most homes. Everything is 3 pins with ground/earth, BUT in Europe 2 pin is very common, and there are also 2 pin plugs that have a ground/earth socket, so you can plug in a connector that may have or may not have earth/ground!! As many imported products have a earplug, we use the never to be recommended adaptors. these things can be good quality, but most people have what has come to be known as the 'death-raptor' - a small, multi-hole device that enables most plugs to be inserted into UK big, safe outlets. You can mis plug these leaving one pin exposed and loads of people have pulled them out, touched a live pin and got a shock. Nobody as far as I know has died, but they're well known, and got the deathdaptor nick-name. They have no approval markings, or have fake ones, and are around in the thousands - often supplied free of charge with a Chinese import. Using them with a two pin plug does allow live/neutral swapping, and it does often result in lower noise. This swap is not actually considered a safety issue, because most kit that uses them is double insulated. The most common connection being the two pin figure of 8 shaped connector, good for a few amps and very common on Class II double insulated products worldwide.

In the UK, we have a safety culture - we warn about high risk and often go over the top. In electrical safety cases, our 240V makes taking these things seriously common sense. In the past month I have lost too much equipment to electrical faults for me to disregard electrical issues.
 
Jeezus Rob.

I have a few things with just 2 pins which I have put into those 2 pin to Brit 3 pin plugs. The internal type where they fit inside and just one screw to tighten them in. The latest I purchased was a set of monitors. Well known ones as well. All plastic but this probably means they have no earth. Dunno ..... Are they safe?
 
The safety rule is that the design should prevent you inserting the plug wrong - so the device needs to be big enough to stop you putting one pin in a socket and having the other one dangle outside the adaptor.

The best source of info is a great guy called Big Clive. he's a Scot, so don't hold that against him and he has a series of videos on youtube where people send him dodgy stuff and he pulls it apart and comments - death dapter was his name for these horrible things. He's a very clever guy who is into stage electrics. Well worth a watch. YouTube

A good example of one of these horrible devices that I think most of us may have - I have probably a dozen, collected over the years.
 
I would like to say, anything impotred into UK (domestic, portable electric) MUST be terminated in the correct plug for UK* i.e. a 13A 3pin with the correct value fuse.

There are devices that come with wall rat power supplies that often use a "universal" slide/locking adaptor for mains connection. If well designed I can see no problem with them but do wonder what the internal fusing is to protect against fire?

We have come a long way since bare copper cables down walls on hardwood spacers. Homes now have RCD in the consumer unit and the regulations get ever tighter. Let us NOT fuck that about!

*How this will play after/if we leave the EU..who knows? I do know I shall not be eating Chlorine washed meat!

Dave.
 
Alan,

Thanks for the update and I would love to know the end result when finally released.

David
 
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