PS cable and connector

[rif]

Forgive the simple question, but I'm a newbie

what kind of cable and connectors should I use to hook an external DIY PS into a DIY phono stage?

[Ren]

I made one from scratch, more or less, for the Pearl phono pre. I used two parallel runs of insulated 22 guage chassis hook-up wire for each connection (left channel V+, left channel "ground", right channel V+, right channel "ground", and earth ground) inside a wire mesh sleeve (grounded at the ps chassis) inside a nylon mesh sleeve... if that makes sense.

I made the cable captive at the ps end and used a 5-pin DIN connector at the phono pre chassis end. You can get the wire mesh sleeve, nylon sleeve, and DIN connectors from Michael Percy Audio.

It was actually kind of a pain to do it this way, but the resulting umbilical cord is pretty nice looking and is flexible. You could alternatively just use a length of standard cable (e.g. Belden) that had the right number of insulated conductors for your need.

The grounded wire mesh sleeve may well be overkill, since my umbilical carries DC. Also, I'm not sure I really needed double runs of 22 guage for each connection... I just had several spools of the stuff here and thought "why not".

- Ren

[Sch3mat1c]

Yeah for low current, a DIN sounds nice...
If you can find 'em, octal sockets (by 'find' I mean the male part!) would make a great connector. In fact that's what you see in ARRL Radio Ameteur's Handbooks, in pictures of radios and supplies and such. (Note: female on the PS, male at the amp!!)
If you only want to power a preamp, a PS/2 (mouse/keyboard) connector might even be suitable, though I don't know if it would hold the voltage well.

Tim

[fdegrove]

Hi,

For a phono preamp you shouldn't have to carry high currents,the heaters of a tube based design will be the biggest ones.

Since I heat every tube from its' own regulated supply in my preamp that was no big deal.

Most suppliers such as RS Components,DigiKey,Mouser etc. should have suitable multipin round videoconnectors that will fit the bill.

Mine are from RS in the UK but I'm sure they have points of sale for the US too.

Oops,I just checked...they don't.
Still there is UK EXPORT+ all the other suppliers I mentioned.

You'll need to chack the specs of the connectors for current capability if your preamp is a SS design.

Cheers,