> On May 27, 2015, at 1:26 AM, tony duell <a...@p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>> Right now, I'm cursing the guy who thought that the "cloverleaf" or
>> "mouseketeer" power receptacle was a good idea. I'm sitting here
>> looking at an HP ScanJet wondering if it would be worth the effort to
>> replace it.
>>
>> Fer heaven's sake, what was wrong with the IEC connector?
>
> If you mean the one that a mad friend of mine calls the 'figure of 12' (on
> the grounds that the
> 2 pin one used on radios, etc, is often called a 'figure of 8') then I
> believe it _is_ an IEC
> connector, in the same standard as the more familiar 'kettle plug’.
The “figure 8” connector is certainly IEC, as is the “mouseketeer” one — which
adds a ground pin offset from the middle. The latter seems to be uncommon.
The argument for the figure 8 plug is that it’s substantially smaller and works
well when no ground is needed (double insulated equipment) and current is
modest. I have some Dell laptop supplies that use that connector, and it makes
sense there.
There are quite a number of IEC connectors. The familiar 15 amp C13 model is
just the most common, but there’s a 20 amp variant (horizontal blades), high
temperature versions (with bumps in the inlet that prevent inserting a standard
cord) and so on.
paul
