Any specific reason for that choice? The power consumption in standby mode is truly minimal.
Are you 110 V or 230V?
I wouldn't be too worried, as long as your signal cables are properly twisted.
Live, most definitely.
Yes, thanks very much. I had a sneaky feeling I missed something obvious. I think you refer to older construction prior to earth requirement in current electrical code.
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I would like minimum current rating for switch for 115V. Ditto 230V.
I perused SMPS1200A400 data sheet for several minutes. Strangely, the only spec related to maximum mains current is "T12AH/250VAC" stenciled on PCB near fuse, apparently a 12A fuse. Do appliances not require different fuse spec depending on supply voltage?
Does not current double when supply voltage is halved? I recently built OTL kit requiring lower fuse rating for 230V, higher for 115V.
I have a small toggle switch that fits the RCA hole, rated 3A 250V, 6A 125V.
I desire single pole switch to fit RCA round hole 8.0mm diameter (per caliper). Double pole seems appropriate with half the required current rating as long as its effective rating doubles with contacts in parallel.
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Yes, that makes perfect sense.
The amp is next to me on the bench. See image/rendering above. Considering two mains Line conductors (one from IEC Line, other from same proximity leads to SMPS Line). The two Line conductors would lay flush against the rear panel, leading to power switch in the top RCA hole.
The two mains Line conductors cross above both speaker + posts (near the top) and the L ch XLR. The Left XLR audio input wires lead away from the XLR, in line with solder pins and at 90 degree angle relative to the two switch Line conductors. I measured 30mm minimum clearance (diagonal straight line) from XLR solder pin ends to the two Line conductors.
Thanks for your time on what might be considered a petty detail.
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A few things to consider...
The Ncores sound significantly better to me after they have been powered up for a few hours, and the amp chassis and all the modules have come to a thermal equilibrium, also note that DC levels should be at their lowest when the amps are fully temperature stable. For this reason, and also because I would rather not add more connections to the AC supply path, I use no switch on the mains side of the amp.
I just wire up Nampon to a switch to take the amp in and out of standby, which mutes the output to the speakers.
I then unplug if leaving the amps unattended for a long period of time (vacation, etc).
If you really want an AC mains switch, I would switch both hot and neutral as incorrectly wired outlets are not unheard of, and if you are doing this for safety, why not be totally safe. I would also choose the biggest (high amperage and 250 volts or more) switch I could find.
As Julf notes, power consumption in standby (Nampon "off") is pretty inconsequential.
The Ncores sound significantly better to me after they have been powered up for a few hours, and the amp chassis and all the modules have come to a thermal equilibrium, also note that DC levels should be at their lowest when the amps are fully temperature stable. For this reason, and also because I would rather not add more connections to the AC supply path, I use no switch on the mains side of the amp.
I just wire up Nampon to a switch to take the amp in and out of standby, which mutes the output to the speakers.
I then unplug if leaving the amps unattended for a long period of time (vacation, etc).
If you really want an AC mains switch, I would switch both hot and neutral as incorrectly wired outlets are not unheard of, and if you are doing this for safety, why not be totally safe. I would also choose the biggest (high amperage and 250 volts or more) switch I could find.
As Julf notes, power consumption in standby (Nampon "off") is pretty inconsequential.
barrows, thanks for your consideration. I use NC400 exactly as you describe. I build NC400 for others and some of them desire switch. I have requested Siliconray (chassis supplier) to change from straight IEC to IEC/rocker switch, which seems ideal and deletes running unnecessarily long mains wires. I do earth chassis, though as you mention, it's highly unlikely but possible someone could connect to un-earthed mains with inverted polarity.
12A would be "large enough" for 115V, and at 230V, where half that rating would be enough, 12A is still a reasonable choice, given that it is there only to guard against a short circuit.
Yes.
6A 115V is roughly 700W. You are unlikely to exceed that in continuous use, but the short-term current surge capacity of the switch might be the limiting factor.
In theory it does - assuming both switch halves have the same contact resistance. In practice they usually are close enough.
The solution I have gone for is have both. A standby switch for daily use, and a proper power cut-off switch (for things like when I am away from home for weeks, or in case of a bad thunderstorm) on the back panel.
Yes, but I guess there are still a lot of older houses wired up according to the old standards with only 2-pole wiring.
Thank you all very much for your kind and generous help.
After this enlightening conversation, my most preferred control would be a 3-position vertically operated toggle switch located center of the lower left quadrant of the face panel: down/power off, center/mute-SMPS standby, up/play...with small low intensity LED just right of mute and play, respective colors red and blue.
After this enlightening conversation, my most preferred control would be a 3-position vertically operated toggle switch located center of the lower left quadrant of the face panel: down/power off, center/mute-SMPS standby, up/play...with small low intensity LED just right of mute and play, respective colors red and blue.
Yeah, its probably enough for a mono block (especially if you switch the power with the amp in standby), but it's too small if it's for 2 PSUs and amps... But you get the idea, and I'm pretty sure there must be a higher current version somewhere.
Not for the LED, but if you want to be able to go into mute or use the power supply stand-by mode (preferable), you need a dedicated switch.
Not sure - it is hard to make a high-current switch that small, especially if it has to be multipole and multiway.
Another issue is that a switch that small will have a very short insulation distance, so it will be useless in protecting against overvoltages caused by lightning strike - the high voltage will jump over and fry your nAmpon/standby input circuitry...
I agree. I suggested this because the question was : "how to do all that with one switch".
My solution has always been to do the same as old tube amps : one power switch (high current DPDT, generally located at the back of the amp) and one standby/led switch (low current DPDT at the front).
My solution has always been to do the same as old tube amps : one power switch (high current DPDT, generally located at the back of the amp) and one standby/led switch (low current DPDT at the front).
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