Sony TC350 - power cable - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Jkillington · 11th Jun 2020, 10:34 pm

Hi all. I’m new to this forum, and new reel to reels. I’m trying to renovate my Fathers Sony TC350. Have cleaned it and ready to power it up, but the power cable has no plug. I’m unable to distinguish the 2 wires of the power cable from one another - any advice on how I wire it into a standard plug please? Thank you for your suggestions.

DMcMahon · 12th Jun 2020, 1:36 am

Hello,

The 2 wires will connect to live (normally a brown wire when 3 core UK cable) and neutral (normally a blue wire in 3 core UK cable) in the 3 pin UK mains plug.

Normally for tape recorders it does matter which of the 2 wires connect to live or neutral because they ultimately connect across the primary winding of the mains transformer.

In this case I would suggest that the wire that connects to the input of the on/off switch is connected to Live and the other wire that connects to the input of the internal mains fuse is connected to neutral.

With units that are fitted with 2 same size round pin mains plug (like some continental European countries), the plug can normally be physically fitted either way round so a 50% chance of where the live and neutral actually connect to internally .

If a standard Japanese 2 core mains lead then I think colour wise it is the same as USA, namely Black = Live and White = Neutral.

I should add that I personally convert (when practical) 2 core mains cable machines to 3 core, so as to have a permanent safety earth connection.

David

11th Jun 2020, 10:34 pm	#1
Jkillington Diode Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Aldershot, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 1	Sony TC350 - power cable Hi all. I’m new to this forum, and new reel to reels. I’m trying to renovate my Fathers Sony TC350. Have cleaned it and ready to power it up, but the power cable has no plug. I’m unable to distinguish the 2 wires of the power cable from one another - any advice on how I wire it into a standard plug please? Thank you for your suggestions.

12th Jun 2020, 1:36 am	#2
DMcMahon Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 6,603	Re: Sony TC350 - power cable Hello, The 2 wires will connect to live (normally a brown wire when 3 core UK cable) and neutral (normally a blue wire in 3 core UK cable) in the 3 pin UK mains plug. Normally for tape recorders it does matter which of the 2 wires connect to live or neutral because they ultimately connect across the primary winding of the mains transformer. In this case I would suggest that the wire that connects to the input of the on/off switch is connected to Live and the other wire that connects to the input of the internal mains fuse is connected to neutral. With units that are fitted with 2 same size round pin mains plug (like some continental European countries), the plug can normally be physically fitted either way round so a 50% chance of where the live and neutral actually connect to internally . If a standard Japanese 2 core mains lead then I think colour wise it is the same as USA, namely Black = Live and White = Neutral. I should add that I personally convert (when practical) 2 core mains cable machines to 3 core, so as to have a permanent safety earth connection. David