Last silly question

[Chuck H]

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).

[Chuck H]

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

[Enzo]

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.

[Tom Phillips]

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

[Enzo]

Maybe on through one path, on through the other path, and off?

[Malcolm Irving]

... 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.

[Mick Bailey]

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.

[pdf64]

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.

[olddawg]

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.

[g1]

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

[bob p]

Yes. Walking backwards qualifies for a modest grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks.

[PeanutNore]

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.

[MstrB]

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

[Malcolm Irving]

... 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.)"

[MstrB]

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.