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Old 29th Jan 2020, 4:51 am   #21
broadgage
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ColinTheAmpMan1 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard_FM View Post
I could understand if they were in a hotel room to fit both US & European 2 pin plugs.
I agree that the location might be a hotel room, but that beggars the question of the differing voltages between the US and Europe, doesn't it?

Colin.
Although these days we associate two flat pins with 110 volt to 127 volt circuits, and two round pins with 220 volt to 240 volts, this has not always been the case, and even today there are exceptions.
Two flat pins, similar to USA connectors are used in China for 220 volts.
And two round pins was formerly more or less standard for any voltage except in the USA where there was a bit more standardisation.
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 6:35 am   #22
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

Since post #4 I have been convicted about what these are.
The consensus however seems to be that they are not French style telephone sockets. Can I ask why that possibly has been rejected?
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 9:00 am   #23
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

And is it me or do the sockets have a slight rectangular recess, a bit like a lot of European sockets but no where near as deep.
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 9:01 am   #24
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

If you look at the picture of a French telephone socket in post #8 you will see that the rectangular part is longer than in the OP picture, also the rounded end is oval in the French telephone socket and round in the OP picture.

It would help if we knew where the OP picture was taken and what type of wires were attached behind.

Peter

Last edited by Electronpusher0; 29th Jan 2020 at 9:02 am. Reason: fingers cant spell
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 9:51 am   #25
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

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The consensus however seems to be that they are not French style telephone sockets. Can I ask why that possibly has been rejected?
French as suggested previously or French style? As far as French goes, the slot in the French ones is proportionally longer and the hole is flat rather than round. In France they are often referred to as "T" sockets. These certainly aren't modern French phone sockets. Just look at the picture above. French phone plugs are enormous and you wouldn't be able to plug two in side by side in one of those unknown sockets

As for "French style", apart from a vague similarity in the shape of the hole I don't see anything else in common. A French socket only has one hole. These sockets all have two holes in strange orientations. Why would you do that rather than have two or three sockets in the same orientation like a German TAE socket? The holes look to me as if the pair are related and whatever plug goes into them is plugged into both at the same time.

Maybe it's worth pointing out that although TAE sockets may appear to be double or triple, the sockets are actually different, being either F for telephones (Fernmeldegerät) or N for non-telephones (Nicht-Fernmeldegerät). N sockets are for devices with an input and an output whereas F sockets are for devices which terminate the line. The idea was you could plug something like an answering machine into the N socket but the line was routed further (either within the socket or the answering machine if one was plugged in) to a phone plugged into the F socket. A triple socket is NNF for say a modem, answering machine and phone. You couldn't put a F plug into an N socket or vice versa.
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Last edited by bluepilot; 29th Jan 2020 at 10:06 am. Reason: Minor clarification
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 1:47 pm   #26
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

I still think it is a dual mains type, playing with a US plug and a Euro plug, it fits the picture.
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 1:55 pm   #27
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

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I still think it is a dual mains type, playing with a US plug and a Euro plug, it fits the picture.
Maybe Chinese and Euro. Then the voltages would be about the same.
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 2:22 pm   #28
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

The Paris flat of my late brother-in-law had its original 2 pin unearthed 6A sockets with 4mm pins, but in the kitchen there was a socket similar to the present UK shaver sockets that would accept both a 6A French plug and a US flat pin plug. I guess that when the flat had been built, France was still on 110V. Regretfully I did not think to take a photo.
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 3:15 pm   #29
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

A bit more information; I can't post the original photo, as it is a bit rude (and therefore well off-topic for this Forum), but it looks like it might be in a hotel room which has some electric lamps, but nothing is plugged into these sockets. There is, however, what looks like a European electric socket which does have something plugged in. So if it is an electric power socket, it is probably defunct. I am not sure of the location of the sockets and so I don't have access to go looking behind them.
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 5:59 pm   #30
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

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Originally Posted by emeritus View Post
The Paris flat of my late brother-in-law had its original 2 pin unearthed 6A sockets with 4mm pins, but in the kitchen there was a socket similar to the present UK shaver sockets that would accept both a 6A French plug and a US flat pin plug. I guess that when the flat had been built, France was still on 110V. Regretfully I did not think to take a photo.
In the 60s much of France including Paris was on 127v (not 110). In other parts 220v was used. However the sockets everywhere were 2 pin round 4mm dia pins 19mm apart (same as today's Europlugs).
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Old 29th Jan 2020, 6:48 pm   #31
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Default Re: What are these sockets?

110 volts was never popular in France, but they did have a fair bit of 127 volt, which is similar.
3 phase, 4 wire with 127 volts between phase and neutral and 220 volts between phases. Generally replaced with 220/380 volts.

In some parts of Europe a few 127/220 volt systems probably still exist.
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