View Single Post
  #21   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
Dave Plowman (News) Dave Plowman (News) is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 43,017
Default Old analog meters

In article ,
Mark D. Zacharias wrote:
Not a question of them working - but one of safety.



I don't really see them being any safer. Regular bananas have been
safely used for decades plus. I don't doubt that somewhere along the
line somebody probably sued somebody and this is why we now have those
ridiculous inverted bananas, but I won't accept them for normal
applications.


I'd guess there are specs about touching a live pin with an object of a
particular size. There are in the UK where mains plugs have the top part
of the pins insulated to prevent this And of course the pin of a banana
plug can be 'live' if not fully inserted and possibly touched. The usual
answer to this is a shrouded banana plug - and this arrangement doesn't
stop a plain one being used if you must. But means the device as supplied
with its own test leads conforms to safety regs.

Many inexperienced users will check mains circuits with a cheap DVM so it
makes sense to prevent easily avoidable accidents.

--
*If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.