Hi all,

would really appreciate it if anyone could spare a couple of the old 1940's screw-together style bakelite power plugs or tell me where I can get some, the one on the set I'm working on right now is well beyond re-use and I havent got any spares.

my email should appear on my profile page.

thanks,

Jarrod Carney

Scrounge the junk places & clearing sales. They are now illegal I believe.

Marc

G'day marc,

Thanks, i'll have to read into that with regards to using them now days. Have had my eye out for them in the junk shops, will keep looking.

Jarrod

I might have one. Got a picture of the broken plug?

Just to clarify on legality; any plug that does not have a cordgrip clamp similar to those on the modern transparent plug tops are now considered illegal as they do not comply with AS 3112 (Clause 2.5).

Personally, this does not stop me fitting the previous generation bakelite plugs that have a cover over the terminal screws to stop strands of wire poking out towards fingers and thumbs. The first generation plugs with exposed terminals make great exhibition pieces but I wouldn't fit them to a working radio. The decision I make on old bakelite plugs relates more to safety than a belief about a requirement to upgrade to current standards. I fit older plugs subject to what I said above simply to make a radio look more authentic and because I don't sell any of the sets I own I'm not really subjecting anyone but myself to the unlikely chance of danger. If I was selling receivers I would definitely fit the uglier plastic plugs.

NOTE TO CLIPSAL AND/OR HPM: Please make us vintage radio buffs some old-looking plugtops that meet AS 3112! We need them in black, brown, white, cream, jade, turquoise, red, orange, pink and grey. With this the base of the plug (the bit facing the GPO) could be transparent to meet that part of the standard that allows inspection of the connections.

One other thing to remember with bakelite plugs and it goes to the main reason why they were replaced with plastic - if there are chips or cracks in a bakelite plug it is best to replace it.

I would agree on some points. I have never seen one die of insulation failure.

It is normally dangerous design or mechanical damage that is the hassle.

Marc

Sorry guys havnt been on the computer for a few days.

thank you very much sue, can email a piccy or Brad might be able to put one on this page for me? (my email should appear on my profile page, I will reply with a pic if you contact me on it)

i can see why they are illegal to use now days. they're so brittle its not hard to imagine one cracking on the kitchen floor or a child unscrewing it.

saying that though, I agree with Brad... unless they have any physical damage/faults and you use a bit of common sense with them I really cant see any harm in reusing them just for myself.

Jarrod

Right from the heart of the original Vintage Radio website in 2003...

http://vintage-radio.com.au/default.asp?i=plug.jpg.

These are the bad ones, no cover to stop strands of wire touching fingers.

Later today I'll take a photo of some more ideal specimens.

Even if one of these looks perfect in condition and wiring it can have an invisible crack in it. I have received tingles from such plugs, presumably because of moisture in the crack. This is of course what happens after you have washed and polished it!
So it is always best use one hand only if plugging or unplugging and make sure that there is no other path to earth by using insulating shoes and making sure that no other part of the body has a path to earth.

Cleaning them with WD40 would reduce the risk of cracks conducting, and there's always the simple precaution of making sure the socket's turned off before pulling the plug!

Having just read another post where WD40 was blamed for attracting dirt and creating a leakage path, I would not use it for this purpose.
Good old Laundry Stain Remover (various Brand names in the supermarket or Power Clean from your detergent supplier) in a pump spray bottle plus a brush (dish, tooth or small paint variety) and warm/hot running water will clean any bakelite or plastic knob, plug or cabinet.
In the case of plugs rinse off thoroughly and then thoroughly dry by airflow or sunlight or both together. An old car in the yard (all closed up) makes a good "hot-house".

If you ever get a transformer wet, then dry it as above for several weeks, then test it for leakage before firing it up and then do so progressively, ie with no secondary load and reduced primary voltage (use either a variac, a step down transformer or by series lamp protection).

Some of those have very poor cord anchoring and rely on the internal wires. Not good when the lazy, use the cord to remove the plug.

I have liberated a couple of bakelite plugs lately. The Radio Club's Radiogram had one and a two wire cable.

As It goes to public exhibitions "had applies" when I reffitted it after failure, it got new 3 wire mains cable, cable anchoring and a new plug top.

I may not have tossed the bakelite yet?

Marc