Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably
designed for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket
unless some Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is
used to support the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so
that it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor

This may be helpful to anyone else with an elderly relative who can't
get their new shaver to charge (and to be honest neither could I without
some enormous amount of fiddling to make it work).

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

And for that matter what wally changed the perfectly adaquate design we had
for years, and why?

Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...

Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably designed
for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket unless some
Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is used to support
the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so that
it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor

This may be helpful to anyone else with an elderly relative who can't get
their new shaver to charge (and to be honest neither could I without some
enormous amount of fiddling to make it work).

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Monday 25 November 2013 08:56 Brian Gaff wrote in uk.d-i-y:

And for that matter what wally changed the perfectly adaquate design we
had for years, and why?

Brian


Same wally that doesn't like making mains LED/VFD alarm clocks and insists
on:

1) A bloody great big lump of a wall wart that the bed legs are at risk of
hitting (destroying it or the socket);

2) A weedy little DC plug that falls out of the clock.

I could understand it slightly more if the EU had a wide range of supply
voltages, but were are all on 230V nominal, including China where everything
is made. I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

No neither do I howewever, one up side to this is that a phone I have had
one that kicked out so much rfi it interfered with any portable radio
withing several hundred yards. I found a similarly rated old fashioned
ananlogue psu and all was again peace and radio.
so, I'll add to your call and say this, When these warts have various
comply with stickers on them, could some kind person actually test them as
I'm sur many do not comply with much at all.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On Monday 25 November 2013 08:56 Brian Gaff wrote in uk.d-i-y:

And for that matter what wally changed the perfectly adaquate design we
had for years, and why?

Brian


Same wally that doesn't like making mains LED/VFD alarm clocks and insists
on:

1) A bloody great big lump of a wall wart that the bed legs are at risk of
hitting (destroying it or the socket);

2) A weedy little DC plug that falls out of the clock.

I could understand it slightly more if the EU had a wide range of supply
voltages, but were are all on 230V nominal, including China where
everything
is made. I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:

I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV flex
rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.



I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are microscopic.


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Tim Watts wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV flex
rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.
I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are microscopic.

Microscopic x millions = well worth doing.

In message , Huge
writes
On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:

I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV flex
rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.



I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are microscopic.

Given that "value engineers" try and squeeze the last few pennies out of a
design, I suspect you're wrong.


Also there are things like not having to ensure the
construction/insulation is up to mains standard in the device.

Maybe it's cheaper to buy a million wallwarts that can be used for
multiple devices than build the circuitry in

--
Chris French

In article ,
Martin Brown writes:

Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably
designed for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket
unless some Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is
used to support the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so
that it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor

This may be helpful to anyone else with an elderly relative who can't
get their new shaver to charge (and to be honest neither could I without
some enormous amount of fiddling to make it work).

Beware that this is almost certainly a permanent conversion
adaptor - it's designed to never let the 2-pin plug out again,
thus converting it into a BS1363 plug, as required for such
items when sold in the UK.

You can't buy them easily in shops, because the retailer is
required to have already fitted it onto the 2-pin euro plug
before you buy the appliance that needs it, so there's no
retail market for them. The exception might be something you
buy outside the UK and need to convert.

It's not a UK shaver adaptor, which is a different 2-pin plug.

BTW, CPC sell them for much less than this.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Monday, November 25, 2013 9:30:27 AM UTC, Huge wrote:
On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:



I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere

except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.



Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV flex

rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.





--

Today is Prickle-Prickle, the 37th day of The Aftermath in the YOLD 3179

Human being; a spacesuit for a fish

And why do the cables come out of the top rather than the bottom, making it much harder to use an adaptor for several of the things?

Jonathan

On Mon, 25 Nov 2013 02:44:38 -0800, Jonathan wrote:

And why do the cables come out of the top rather than the bottom, making
it much harder to use an adaptor for several of the things?

looks over at double socket
Router - bottom
DECT phone - top

TBF to the manufacturers, there's not many countries where it'd make a
difference.

On 25/11/2013 09:14, Tim Watts wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 08:56 Brian Gaff wrote in uk.d-i-y:

And for that matter what wally changed the perfectly adaquate design we
had for years, and why?

Brian


Same wally that doesn't like making mains LED/VFD alarm clocks and insists
on:

1) A bloody great big lump of a wall wart that the bed legs are at risk of
hitting (destroying it or the socket);

2) A weedy little DC plug that falls out of the clock.

It is done on safety grounds since the mains voltage can be restricted
to a tightly controlled double insulated zone. Much cheaper overall -
and it will be cheaper still when most of them are standardised.

I have lost count of the number of adaptors with different random plugs
on that I have accumulated over the years.

I could understand it slightly more if the EU had a wide range of supply
voltages, but were are all on 230V nominal, including China where everything
is made. I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

America and Japan are not and these days it is a global market
(except in the USA where they use really crap 100v 60Hz only junk)

Those terrible old mains electric razors they used to advertise around
Xmas are an example of US "engineering" they depend on a mechanical
resonance at 60Hz to work properly and are complete crap in the UK.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 25/11/2013 09:56, Tim Watts wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:

I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV flex
rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.

I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are microscopic.

It is the safety approval costs. If the main bulk of the unit only
contains low voltages there is no need for expensive safety testing.

The PSU needs to be certified once for many many products.


--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 25/11/2013 10:39, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Martin Brown writes:

Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably
designed for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket
unless some Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is
used to support the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so
that it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor

Amazon sell this that is functionally the same and costs £1.99 delivered.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...09A4V0P G1SD5


--
Peter Crosland

On Monday 25 November 2013 10:32 chris French wrote in uk.d-i-y:

In message , Huge
writes
On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:

I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and
laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV
flex rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.



I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are
microscopic.

Given that "value engineers" try and squeeze the last few pennies out of a
design, I suspect you're wrong.


Also there are things like not having to ensure the
construction/insulation is up to mains standard in the device.

Maybe it's cheaper to buy a million wallwarts that can be used for
multiple devices than build the circuitry in


We used to manage perfectly well. I know old appliances had a little
transformer which was failry idiot proof. But surely they could just as well
insert a mains SMPSU module? In fact, why not have a sealed module with a
moulded flex - basically an internal wallwart? Heat will not be a problem
for the majority of these appliances thta take a couple of watts.


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

In article , Tim Watts
wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:

I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere except
for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV
flex rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.



I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are
microscopic.


but add them up over the number sold. The real reason is that only the
Wallwart needs to be CE approved.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

On Monday 25 November 2013 11:28 charles wrote in uk.d-i-y:

In article , Tim Watts
wrote:
On Monday 25 November 2013 09:30 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:

I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere except
for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV
flex rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.



I really cannot see that is a deciding factor - those costs are
microscopic.


but add them up over the number sold. The real reason is that only the
Wallwart needs to be CE approved.


The "approval" is self certified - isn't anything complicated and expensive
like FCC compliance (which is much more difficult and externally tested).

If it means the item costs 50p more, there'd be a market for it (people like
me and everyone else who hates unnecessary wallwarts).


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

On 25/11/2013 11:02, Peter Crosland wrote:
On 25/11/2013 10:39, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Martin Brown writes:

Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably
designed for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket
unless some Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is
used to support the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so
that it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor


Amazon sell this that is functionally the same and costs £1.99 delivered.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...09A4V0P G1SD5

Thanks very much for that. I wonder why I didn't spot it before.

It may not work for my application since I think the PSU part may be
just to wide to allow it to fit (and would be pointing downwards so
might be inclined to fall out under the effects of gravity).

Worth a try though for £2


--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 25/11/2013 08:46, Martin Brown wrote:

Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably
designed for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket
unless some Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is
used to support the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so
that it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor


This may be helpful to anyone else with an elderly relative who can't
get their new shaver to charge (and to be honest neither could I without
some enormous amount of fiddling to make it work).



That is not a shaver adapter, its a converter for a none earthed two pin
european plug to uk.

If what you have is a european two pin power supply then they do not fit
UK shaver sockets as the pins are the wrong size.

However two pin shaver plugs fit well.

In article ,
Peter Crosland writes:
On 25/11/2013 10:39, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Martin Brown writes:

Why do the stupid UK two pin razor adaptors have such a naff design so
that the latest and greatest wall wart shaver chargers invariably
designed for continental style plugs lever themselves out of the socket
unless some Heath Robinson collection of packing and rubber bands is
used to support the weight of the body?

Does anyone make a decent UK two pin adaptor that is properly recessed
like a continental plug (and also for the right diameter of pins) so
that it can support the cantilevered weight of the solid state charger?

Actually they do, but you never see them other than online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Char...wo-pin+adaptor

Amazon sell this that is functionally the same and costs £1.99 delivered.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...09A4V0P G1SD5

Same comments apply as I wrote before - it's not a shaver plug adaptor.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 25 Nov 2013 11:20:44 GMT, Huge wrote:

On 2013-11-25, Jonathan wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2013 9:30:27 AM UTC, Huge wrote:
On 2013-11-25, Tim Watts wrote:



I really do not see the reason bloody wallwarts are everywhere
except for very space contrained devices like mobile phones and laptops.

Because it's cheaper. If you use a wallwart, you only need provide LV flex
rather than a mains flex, and you don't need a separate plug.



And why do the cables come out of the top rather than the bottom,
making it much harder to use an adaptor for several of the things?

Gawd knows. Incompetence?

Yes.

I came to the conclusion it's because the Chinese think our sockets
are orientated earth-pin down.

Here is my evidence, look around and you might find some of your own.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/g3zvt/10045624683/


--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%