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  • #16
    Originally posted by Malcolm Irving View Post
    That's the convention in the USA, but in UK the convention is the other way - down for on. Doesn't really mater - we are used to Fender amps etc. - just thought I'd mention it.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]47185[/ATTACH]
    Yeah, but they also drive on the left side of the road. And walk backwards (I only heard this last part, not confirmed).
    Last edited by Chuck H; 02-18-2018, 12:51 AM.
    "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

    "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

    "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
    You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Enzo View Post
      I don't know about "copy", but I have never seen an amp where the power switch flips one way and the standby switch flips the other to operate. Whether it is facing up or down, it is always both in the ON position to play.

      In the USA, we generally think UP for on. The wall switch for my ceiling light goes up for on.
      My ocd kicks in when someone changes one of my dual switch lights. You know, where there's a switch at either end of the room and when one is one way it means the other is opposite. If I never use one of the switches I arrange so up is on for the one I use. Then when someone changes my arrangement I have to walk over and flip the other switch so my world is right again
      "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

      "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

      "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
      You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

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      • #18
        I remember when I was tiny, my dad finished the attic, and the stairs were newly wired with a light switch at top and bottom. My sister and I would man the switch at each end and "fight" for control. She'd turn it on and I'd turn it off. Then I tried to anticipate her flip so I flipped at the same time, and she had "no effect". I found it hilarious, she got pissed off. Tee hee.
        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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        • #19
          I have always found it interesting that although there are only two switches involved they call it a "three-way switch" in electrician language.

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          • #20
            Maybe on through one path, on through the other path, and off?
            Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
              ... they also drive on the left side of the road. And walk backwards ...
              Yes. Walking backwards qualifies for a modest grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks.

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              • #22
                Just a point on mains switching; best practice (at least in the UK) is to use a DPDT switch to switch both the live and the neutral. You cannot guarantee that the polarity of a mains socket or IEC cable is not reversed and a double-pole switch guarantees that the live will always be switched whatever way round the incoming mains is wired. Also, it's good practice to shroud all mains-side terminals using either heat-shrink sleeves, terminal covers or proper moulded flexible fuse and switch shrouds. This is to prevent accidental contact with the mains should the amp be worked on under power.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by Tom Phillips View Post
                  I have always found it interesting that although there are only two switches involved they call it a "three-way switch" in electrician language.
                  It's called 2 way switching over here.
                  And toggle switches are unusual in electrical installations, rocker switches are the norm.
                  My band:- http://www.youtube.com/user/RedwingBand

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                  • #24
                    With a vertically mounted chassis (or a wall mounted light switch) I would assume that best practice would be off in the down position. It would seem much more probable to accidentally turn something off... which is better than accidentally turning something on for hours, days, years, and burning the place down. Especially back in the day.

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                    • #25
                      Back in the day we had those push button wall switches.

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                      Originally posted by Enzo
                      I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Malcolm Irving View Post
                        Yes. Walking backwards qualifies for a modest grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks.
                        "Stand back, I'm holding a calculator." - chinrest

                        "I happen to have an original 1955 Stratocaster! The neck and body have been replaced with top quality Warmoth parts, I upgraded the hardware and put in custom, hand wound pickups. It's fabulous. There's nothing like that vintage tone or owning an original." - Chuck H

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Mick Bailey View Post
                          accidental contact with the mains should the amp be worked on under power.
                          The only time I've ever been shocked while working on an amp was exactly this. Amp was off, but the cable was still plugged into the IEC connector and I just about jumped out of my skin. Heat shrinking all the mains connections is a very good idea that I will probably implement soon.

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                          • #28
                            Of course Marshall wires theirs as on when down. But they drive on the wrong side of the road as well.......

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by olddawg View Post
                              ... I would assume that best practice would be off in the down position. It would seem much more probable to accidentally turn something off... which is better than accidentally turning something on ...
                              I agree. I've sometimes wondered why we have 'down for on' light switches. Here's an interesting quote from Wikipedia:

                              "The direction which represents "on" also varies by country. In the US and Canada, it is usual for the "on" position of a toggle switch to be "up", whereas in many other countries such as the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand it is "down". (In multiway switching, the correspondence between a single switch's state and whether lights are on or off depends on the state of the other switch[es] in the circuit.)"

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                              • #30
                                Well, I think I know why Marshall does it their way. Since they copied a tweed bassman for their first amps, the switch is in the same orientation as to the other controls and chassis. When you rotate the chassis 90 degrees it is now down.

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