Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

In a question on reflectors I posted yesterday, "Tetrode" showed this image (link below):

What caught my eye was the coiled power cord with the down-angle IEC connector. Perfect for mounting with the VML battery and not having to worry about yanking the plug out when the lightstand is extended.

Google has not helped find a source, anyone have suggestions?


viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3171#p13682

If memory serves, he used a coiled extension cord with the female end removed and an IEC connector installed. It also appears shring wrap was used where the connector and cord meet.

Not quite. The cord seen in the photo was made from a coiled 18AWG 3-wire sample that I obtained from a manufacturer. I attached a conventional 3-prong plug to one end and a down-angled IEC connector on the other end that I sourced from Digikey.

The inside of the connector:



and fully assembled:



As you can see, the strain relief is part of the connector assembly.

I made two coiled cords using wire samples from two different sources. The first one (seen on the left in the following photo) was wholly unacceptable as the coils were loosely formed and could not retain their shape:



The coiled wire seen on the right was and is excellent.

The object of the exercise was to fabricate a coiled cable for use with the Einstein + VML that would not touch the ground in use yet provide the ability to raise the light to a 9' height. An early test photo demonstrates this though it shows the first wire sample:



This image is one I provided to a manufacturer to illustrate what I was after:



Ultimately, it was the cost of fabricating these cords that killed the project. For DIY'ers, coiled extension cords that appear to be suitable for re-terminating with a down-angled connector are available (e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Ace-Coiled-Extens ... 13&sr=8-12) but I have no personal experience with these.

Dave F.

Do you have a p/n or link for the digikey item? I can't seem to find any digikey pages with images of the thing to be sure I have the right item.

Thanks!

It's Digikey part number 708-1344-ND

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSea ... &x=22&y=12

Dave F.

Tetrode, thanks so much for the "why didn't I think of that" idea. Thanks for the p/n as well. I have been trying different cord ideas and none are as straightforward and as good as yours. I'll be modifying my cords the same way now.


Edit: I think I may use a style like this except have it coiled around the light stand itself. In theory it would be even better... but may make it slightly more difficult to raise and lower stand.