Don Kelly wrote:
"TJ Hertz" wrote in message
k...
When I said "I've got a Japanese Akai S1000 sampler", I actually
meant "I'm selling a Japanese Akai S1000 sampler for someone else".
As a result, I didn't know much about the unit and its condition.

But I asked the owner what she used to do with regards to power
supply and she gave me the transformer that she had been running it
off for the past 7 years or so. Surprise surprise - it's a 240V to
115V transformer, and she said the Akai always worked fine despite
being labelled 100V. In other words, she'd been using an incorrect
transformer for years, but it worked anyway.

A buyer emailed me today from eBay asking if the screen was still
bright or if it had gone dim with age, so I plugged in the sampler
using aforementioned 115V transformer and promptly got an electric
shock from an area on the sampler's case where a bit of the paint
had been scratched off, leaving bare metal. It is worth bearing in
mind that I was barefoot and standing on a concrete garage floor,
but nevertheless, this shouldn't happen. I plugged it in again and
the same thing happened. However, when turned on, the sampler worked
fine - it just gave me a shock whenever I touched the case (a
sizeable electric shock, not like static). The owner said that she'd
never experienced this before despite using the sampler with the
same transformer on a UK mains supply.

One thing I noticed about the unit was that it used a 2-pin power
lead with apparently no earth. As in, the socket on the machine only
had 2 pins, so there was no option to use an earthed cable (even
though the transformer had earthed sockets). What's the deal with
this? Can anything be done? Obviously I can't sell a unit on eBay in
Very Good Condition if it shocks you when you plug it in, even if it
works fine otherwise.

Is my only option to sell it as-seen with a buyer warning?

Thanks,

--
tj hertz

It appears that the original usage was 240V to ground and the
transformer is an autotransformer. Using this transformer with a
North American 240/120V system could put the case at 120V with
respect to ground.
If this unit is to be used with a transformer, it will require an
isolating (2 winding) 240/120V transformer and then the case can be
grounded.

However, why use the transformer?

Why not connect directly to the 120V outlet. It will be necessary to
determine which lead is the neutral. You will need a voltmeter. If
the case is at 120 or so Volts to ground- reverse the wires to the
plug. Check again-you want a small or negligable voltage between case
and ground. Then set up the plug and leads accordingly (replacing
the cord and plug to a 3 prong (hot, neutral and ground) is the best
way.
If you have any doubts, a competent electrician can sort it out for
you in a short time- or you warn the potential buyer that it appears
that the case is tied to the neutral and you don't know which wire is
neutral and leave the correction to him/her. You don't want to be
responsible for avoidable injuries.

So basically, you're saying find out which way the thing should be connected
in order to let the case be neutral, replace the mains end of the cable with
a 3-pin plug so that it can't be connected the wrong way, and glue/fix the
sampler end of the cable into the sampler so it can't be reversed (or label
which way it should go)? And this would fix the electric shock problem, but
still leave the unit unearthed?

I'll let an electrician deal with it because I have neither a
volt/multimeter nor any spare 3-pin plugs (you don't see many in the UK),
but I'd like to know what's going on anyway.

Thanks

--
tj hertz