Temporary bodges that just last the course

[Marky L]

Does anybody else have a dodgy temp fix that has become  semi-permanent? 

 

The earth pin somehow snapped off my pedal board power cube PSU whilst in its case. An IKEA pencil in the bottom of my gig bag pocket and a quick reshape with the multitool and voila! It's now fixed to the PSU with a hair tie and after six months is proving is efficacy 😃

 

 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Marky L

[TimR]

I can't work out if you're being serious or not. 😆

 

Just in case you are: Kids, don't do this! 

[Burns-bass]

49 minutes ago, TimR said:

I can't work out if you're being serious or not. 😆

 

Just in case you are: Kids, don't do this! 

I think the PAT test sticker suggests this is a joke. 

[joeystrange]

Singer from my band plays Charvette guitars. He has about 12 of them. All orange, all the same model, all slightly different. Different pickup configurations, different neck profiles etc. 

Some have fixed bridges but some have tremolo bridges. He doesn’t use the term so he’s found ways of keeping the bridges in place. Some have bits of wood jammed in the back. At least one has a rock that he found in the car park of the studio he was recording in when he was having issues.

 

Most have been in there for 20+ years without issue.

[Marky L]

3 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

I think the PAT test sticker suggests this is a joke. 

 

Well I did use it for a number of gigs and then sat in the bag for a while (hence the six months). TBH, we used to do similar in a computer store I worked in years ago when we got euro plugs in on something. At least I wasn't using a screwdriver to stick in the earth socket 😆

[BillyBass]

Electrician here.

 

@Marky L's bodge isn't quite as unsafe as you would imagine.  The top pin on a plug is used as a path for current to flow to earth, should this be necessary (when there is a fault).  As a safety measure, British three pin plugs will not enter a socket without the top pin present.  You may notice that the top pin is slightly longer than the bottom two pins; when the top pin enters the socket, the guards over the socket holes for the bottom two pins will open and allow the bottom two pins to enter.  You can't access the bottom two socket holes without the top pin entering first.  This is to stop kids, or anyone, sticking their fingers in a socket and getting a shock.

 

Marky's pedal board power supply is a 'class 2' bit of kit.  Class 2 kit doesn't use the earth pin for safety (it doubly insulates the live terminals inside the plug instead).  Consequently, he only needs the top pin of the plug to be there to open the bottom two pins and connect the plug to the power source.  The big lump of a pedal board PSU plug houses a transformer, which takes the 230 volt mains down to a pedal board friendly 9v (or something similar).  9 volts are quite safe.

 

 

Edited 18 minutes ago by BillyBass

[BillyBass]

...but don't do this at home kids.

[BillyBass]

Any class 2 appliance will have a symbol.  A square in a square, which you can clearly see below the CE mark on Marky's plug.  Some pedal board psus use class 2 transformer/plugs, some just us a standard class 1 plug and have the transformer further down.

[Rosie C]

11 minutes ago, Marky L said:

At least I wasn't using a screwdriver to stick in the earth socket 😆

 

The scientist in me wants to test how much electricity the pencil's graphite core will conduct!  😈