amp power supply chord

Orange Amps Technical Q&A's

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steamboat
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amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Wed Apr 08, 2015 6:48 pm

OK so weird question. Sorry if this gets confusing. So im in the U.S. so I'm dealing with 120v. So from my grounded house outlet there's obviously 3 holes( 2 slots and a hole to be more accurate) and one has the 120v coming from it. When you look at the outlet its the right most hole (slot) that has 120 which is normal....so now turn yourself around like you would be looking at the back of the amp. That 120v is now on your left side so when u plug the chord in the amp the 120v always is on the left leg of the back of the amp chord input. There's obviously 3 legs and its the left one always getting the 120v. Here's my question. I recently realized after ohming out all my power chords (I know weird thing to do but I was curious if I had one with too much resistance in a wire) that my ad50 power chord is wired backwards, out of 11 amplifiers this is the only one this way... So it let's the 120v through to the right leg of the back of the amp instead of the left. Does it matter which leg on the back of the amp gets the 120v? I know the middle ground shouldn't get it but I'm talking the left or right side legs? Or is the ad50 supposed to have the power wired backwards? I'm assuming the 120v can go to either leg because I would think if it couldn't that my amp would not be working, I would have blowing something probably instantly right? So I just want to make sure everything is OK. Otherwise I shouldn't be using this cable that came with my ad50. Unless the ad50 is wired differently for a reason. Then i need to make sure this backwards cable is ONLY used for the ad50 and no other amps. I'm also assuming this is probably OK because before grounded outlets came about you could plug a 2 leg power chord in an outlet either way, it was never directional. Anyways sorry if I confused anyone. And any info would be great. Thanks.
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Jondog
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Jondog » Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:12 pm

no difference providing the Power transformer is wired correctly, which it is.
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:19 pm

OK I figured as much I just wanted to check...thanks
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bclaire
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by bclaire » Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:47 pm

Well, to be honest, I wouldn't use a power cord that wasn't wired properly... I'm not convinced that the hot and neutral should be reversed.

Les Paul Lover
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Les Paul Lover » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:27 pm

I'm not sure..... But It's AC current isn't it? With the polarity alternating 50 or 60 times a second?
I don't really understand it is must say.
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Orange Gear: RV50 MKI, R30, AD15, PPC212
And.... Genz Benz Black Pearl 30
Past Orange: AD30TC Combo, TT, AD5


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steamboat
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:18 pm

bclaire wrote:Well, to be honest, I wouldn't use a power cord that wasn't wired properly... I'm not convinced that the hot and neutral should be reversed.
Ok well thats not cool. I bought this amp brand new from a music store 2 months ago. Altho It's a 2010 they still had two available. The cable i'm talking about that's reversed came with the ad50 sealed in the original box. So i'm concerned for two reasons. Is the cable just bad then and Should I use one from my other amps? OR is the Ad50 different some how and it is supposed to be wired reversed? Which then I should never use this cable with my other amps! Also I'm afriad that it is the cable and it's not good to run it with the neutral and live reversed because after the first time using the ad50 the pre-amp tubes tested bad. If you could maybe help me out and try to ask the man himself Ade Emsley? It's just not cool that I have a $2800 hand wired amp that i'm afraid to use and definitly won't power it up again till I know forsure what's safe. I would really really apreciate if he could tell me what to do here.

Thanks and hey billy if you do get in touch with Ade can you ask him two other questions for me. Is the ad30R suppose to have a slight bit less gain on tap vs the ad30 and ad15. Cause mine seems to. It sounds good but noticable less gain on tap. I've swapped speakers/tubes/cables all with the same resault.
And 2nd. Can he build me An Ad15 single channel custom shop HEAD? not combo, well both if he wants to!?!This would include the same knob and tube layout as the original but be hand wired all the best goods on the inside, mercury mags, Eq lift like the AD50 for the best lead tones known to man, and a legit Plexi front panel, with pics only! Thanks :lol:
Last edited by steamboat on Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:46 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Jondog
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Jondog » Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:49 am

how did you discover this exactly, and did you double check. Is the socket on the AD50 upside down compared to the other amps.
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:01 am

I figured it out because i'm kinda nuts. I recently decided to ohm out all my speakers because i had a cab that sounded off to me. it was wired for 16 ohms and when i checked the ohms it was 20.4. so one of the speakers started to crap out and had more resistance than it should have had. So i also started ohming my guitar cables and power cables out to make sure no wires had high resistance haha. This is when i found 1 out of my 11 power cables to be wired reversed. which is the one for the AD50.

I double checked and tripple checked! Also the socket on the back of the AD50 is the same position as all the other heads I have.

Plus if you look close to the end of the power cable that goes into the amp. One side has a "N" and one side has a "L" which is Neutral and Live. If i plug the cable into the wall and not the amp and test the end. I get 120v coming out the slot marked "N" and I get no voltage from the slot Marked "L" which this one should have the 120V on it.
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Andy H.
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Andy H. » Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:53 pm

Can you maybe re-wire that cable? If not (because of sealed plugs say) then I'd chuck it, cutting the ends off to make sure it can't do any harm elsewhere.


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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:21 pm

I could care less about saving the cable I won't rewire it. I would throw it away but my main concern is the ad50 itself, is it supposed to be reversed? Cause I don't wanna plug a normal wired cable into it and have something go wrong either. So now I'm stuck with an AD50 that I'm afraid to use. Can anyone else with an ad50 maybe check the power cable with a meter for me and let me know if the voltage is coming from the slot marked "L" or "N" ?
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Les Paul Lover
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Les Paul Lover » Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:12 pm

steamboat wrote:I could care less about saving the cable I won't rewire it. I would throw it away but my main concern is the ad50 itself, is it supposed to be reversed? Cause I don't wanna plug a normal wired cable into it and have something go wrong either. So now I'm stuck with an AD50 that I'm afraid to use. Can anyone else with an ad50 maybe check the power cable with a meter for me and let me know if the voltage is coming from the slot marked "L" or "N" ?

I really don't think the issue is that AD50 have different kettle leads. These leads are standardised for a reason, to be able to source replacements easily and to avoid electrical mayhem.

FWIW, i've had an electrician rewire and plug after noticing that it was wired the wrong way around. He said it wasn't a massive issue, and we had used that plug safely for a year or so. (he only noticed it was wired the wrong way around as I was inquiring about his testing gear and he proceeded to demonstrate how it works on the 1st plug he was standing next to)
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Orange Gear: RV50 MKI, R30, AD15, PPC212
And.... Genz Benz Black Pearl 30
Past Orange: AD30TC Combo, TT, AD5


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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Randy Bass » Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:45 pm

Is the power cable in question (kettle lead) made by Qinopu? That's the brand on most/all of mine that came with my Oranges. I noticed when buying one of them that the cable was different because the shop had mixed it up with one from another amp on the sales floor. I went over and found the Qinopu and swapped them out since that's what the other Oranges came with, not that it would have really mattered in theory.
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:13 am

Les Paul Lover wrote:I really don't think the issue is that AD50 have different kettle leads. These leads are standardised for a reason, to be able to source replacements easily and to avoid electrical mayhem.
Yeah I agree that make alot of sense. So if this cable is messed up and reversed I wonder if something more fatal should have happened by now? like fuses blowing or worse. that's the only thing keeping me wondering if the ad50 is different. if not then i guess it can go either way but i'll feel better using a new cable that's wired normal.

Randy Bass wrote:Is the power cable in question (kettle lead) made by Qinopu? That's the brand on most/all of mine that came with my Oranges. I noticed when buying one of them that the cable was different because the shop had mixed it up with one from another amp on the sales floor. I went over and found the Qinopu and swapped them out since that's what the other Oranges came with, not that it would have really mattered in theory.
So after you said this i went and checked all my cables. Every single cable I have is a different brand! BUT the ad50 is the only one made by Qinopu! :lol:
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by Jondog » Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:52 am

I'd just get a new cord to be sure (quality control must suck where that one was made!). You don't have to be afraid to use the amp. As long as the transformer is seeing the correct voltage. Just the current would be going in the opposite direction in the winding, voltage would be the same, and transformed the same. from there it's into the rectifier and turned into DC. Think of a pickup wired in reverse when you do out of phase wiring.
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Re: amp power supply chord

Post by steamboat » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:05 pm

Jondog wrote:I'd just get a new cord to be sure (quality control must suck where that one was made!). You don't have to be afraid to use the amp. As long as the transformer is seeing the correct voltage. Just the current would be going in the opposite direction in the winding, voltage would be the same, and transformed the same. from there it's into the rectifier and turned into DC. Think of a pickup wired in reverse when you do out of phase wiring.
Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I'll just get rid of that chord and use a different one. Thanks guys. If something does go wrong using a different chord you'll surely see another post but I think it'll be fine. 8)
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