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Old 2nd Aug 2019, 6:25 pm   #21
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

Quote:
fitted with a BS-gauge 2 pin 5A plug was a German-made Mecabltz flashgun I bought circa 1968. The plug was made in Germany.
This seems very unusual and I don't think I have ever seen a European made BS-gauge plug. Was there an indication that it was made to BS gauge or could it have been a cheat on the part of the manufacturers to supply a (possibly modified) European plug? Large-pin versions of European types have 4.8mm pins on 19mm centres, while BS 5A 2-pin has 5.1mm pins on 16.7mm centres.

Quote:
Was there a good (technical) reason why the 3 pin plugs/sockets were designed with a different live-neutral pin spacing to the 2 pin ones?
I have heard various suggestions but a convincing one is that it was not so much a deliberate measure but a consenquence of BS gauges being adapted from existing proprietary designs at different times. BS317 inherited characteristics from Lundberg products that were not intended to be compatible with existing BS73 types.
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Old 2nd Aug 2019, 7:00 pm   #22
Mike. Watterson
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

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Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
No politics please.
Sorry.
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Old 2nd Aug 2019, 8:40 pm   #23
emeritus
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

I would think that clues could be found in the extensive collection of GEC catalogues that went to the Oxford Museum of Science as part of the Marconi archives. I would hazard a guess that the Edwardian "Midget", Standard" and "Union" plugs made by GEC were adopted as the BS 2A, 5A and 10/15A plugs due to their widespread use. I understand that there were several incompatible configurations of earthed plugs before the BS drew up their standards: perhaps the type that was in the most widespread use was adopted? In the US, Hubbel's 2 flat pin configuration was adopted as a standard by other manufacturers, against Hubbel's strong protests, as it was the most widely-used type. I happened to come across a report of Hubbel's unsuccessful legal proceedings in google books last year by pure chance when looking for something completely different, and updated the Wiki pages on AC power plugs accordingly.

PS crossed with Lucien's post. I think I can lay my hands on the flashgun, buried at the back of the wardrobe, and will post a photo if I find it.
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Old 2nd Aug 2019, 9:21 pm   #24
emeritus
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

Found it! photos show:

General view, assembled;

General view, dismantled;

Front view showing "Made in Germany" marking (by oblique tungsten light, hence the colour difference);

Partly inserted into the 2 pin 5A socket of a WG 5A adaptor to show that it is to the UK 2 pin 5A gauge; and

Compared to a standard 16A dual-earthed Europlug with 4.8mm pins .

No indication that the plug is to BS gauge, but then nor is there any indication on the WG adaptor either.
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Last edited by emeritus; 2nd Aug 2019 at 9:45 pm.
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Old 3rd Aug 2019, 12:35 am   #25
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

Thank you for tracking that down and posting the pictures. I am sure I have a version of that plug, identical except lacking the 'Made in Germany', hence I did not recognise it specifically as imported. In the days when most appliances were supplied without a plug, it is surprising that a supplier would include a plug for overseas use, especially for a country like the UK where there was no guarantee of suitability due to the number of different sockets in use.
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Old 3rd Aug 2019, 12:44 am   #26
teetoon
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

Hi. The plug in post No 25 is very similar to the Goltone design discussed in this earlier thread : https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=149455

David.
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Old 3rd Aug 2019, 12:42 pm   #27
emeritus
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

For the plugs in the other threads, the serrations around the periphery of the covers that provide a finger grip for screwing on the cover are regularly spaced. In the German plug, they are in spaced-apart groups of three. I don't recall seeing any other plugs with this arrangement.
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Old 6th Aug 2019, 6:49 pm   #28
Tom williams
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Default Re: Unknown (possibly general electric company?) 2 pin 15 amp plug

Hi everyone,
Thank you for helping me in my quest to find the manufacturer of this plug, I did guess that it was a GEC because of the logo having the GEC letters around the magnet.
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