>Rich Measures wrote:
>
>> Millen HV connectors suck -- i.e., they are made of phenolic resin --
>> which is hygroscopic, so the connector insulation literally sucks
>> moisture out of the air.
>> - I use a banana plug and a banana jack. The plug goes on the end of
>>
>> 15kV-rated silicone rubber wire. The banana jack mounts in the center
>> of
>> a 3" square of 0.125" g-10. It's good for 15A.
>> Rich...
>
>I share your feelings about the Millen connector for use in QRO amps.
>However, your suggestion to use a banana plug and jack is frighteningly
>dangerous in my opinion. A child or even a pet might inadvertantly pull
>a banana plug out of its jack thus exposing a possibly very lethal metal
>tip. I have tripped over wires coming out of the back of equipment. If
>the wire was a hot 15 kv line connected on one end with a banana plug, I
>might have come to a better understanding of how a bug-zapper works.
>
>High voltage kills and that is why commercial amp designers make it
>difficult for you to get into the amp without shorting out the high
>voltage line and shorting sticks are recommended in most good books on
>home-brew high voltage power supplies. One should make every effort to
>make inadvertant access to the HV line difficult, if not impossible.
>
>What you suggest will work and frankly has a certain appeal in the
>simplicity of installation and use. But it is a little to much like
>crawling through a fence with a loaded gun. I'll take my own advice and
>use an HN connector, or Carl's advice and use a connector mounted on a
>plexiglass plate and leave my collection of banana plugs for the low
>voltage purposes for which they were intended.
>
>Sorry if this has sounded preachy.
>
- What you did not know is that Rich bolts the RF unit on top of the HV
PS. The banana jack in on top of the HV PS unit, and the banana plug is
under the RF unit. Thus, there is no danger of HV contact when the RF
unit is bolted in place.
- I use banana jacks in my 30kV high-potential tester. They seem to
work okay.
cheers, Ken
Rich...
R. L. Measures, 805-386-3734, AG6K
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