Standardizing Connectors for HT

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Looks like a good idea to move away from Speakon because while it does the job just fine you cant preclude the possibillity of the wrong thing getting connected especially in an audio setting .
The Cliffcon type Ive never seen in the wild , its comparative rarity compared to Speakon increases the safety factor by a large margin .

Its a bit of a puzzle why more designers of tube gear havent used touch proof connections or why the safety approval houses dont demand it .

It happened me once where I had one hand on the chassis of a tube amp and brushed a node connected to a partially charged HT cap with the other hand ,
I wasnt blown across the room and it didnt cause my hair to stand on end , but my heart did stop for a moment and then my body went into shock .


Probe single handed, using a croc clip to make the negative to chassis ( or what ever other point you need to take the reading ),
NEVER get stuck in with both hands in a tube chassis until you have verified the HT caps have discharged .

If theres no bleed path to ground across your filter capacitors they can easily hold a charge for months .
 
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Looks like a good idea to move away from Speakon because while it does the job just fine you cant preclude the possibillity of the wrong thing getting connected especially in an audio setting .
The Cliffcon type Ive never seen in the wild , its comparative rarity compared to Speakon increases the safety factor by a large margin .

It is available from Farnell, although their search categorisation really poor - how to you manage to place a pair of mating connectors in completely different categories.

Part numbers are:
Chassis socket : Cliif part FCR2074, Frnell part 2285043
Free Plug: Cliff part FCR2072, Farnell part 2285042

Could not find them at RS or CPC. Mouser do not have them but it looks like Digikey does.

Cheers

Ian
 
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