DIY powercords

[Johk]

Hi guys, though I would share this with you. For the holidays I decided to make myself some powercords...

I am planning on doing 2 powercords with C7 endings (one polarized and one not) to replace the ones on my DVR and external HD for the same DVR... I am also planning to replace the IEC terminated powercords on my receiver and PS3 with starquad cords (rethinking it, the ps3 does not need the starquad but anyway). In the future I plan on making another starquad for the sub but I did not order the parts yet (I actually wanted to make the other ones and see how it goes).

I used the DIY instructions from Take Five Audio to make my cords (it's a canadian parts distributor and since I'm canadian, it was easier for me to order from them and not having to worry about duties... Also I'm not affiliated with them).

Anyway, I'm not going to post the DIY guide (since I did it almost exactly as them) so here are the links:

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for these instructions and the consequence of following them on your health and belongings... Also check the TFA disclaimer.

C7 Powercord

Starquad Powercord

So far I made my two C7 powercords but I can't make the starquad powercords since the Belden 83754 cable was b/o (until early january).

The C7 powercords were a bit hard to do... Modifying the adapter, drilling holes in the terminals, soldering... However installing the Marinco 8215T connectors was fairly easy once I figured out that I had to remove a clamp on the inside in order to fit in the cord in the larger openings... In the end for an easier installion you might prefer using an IEC plug and then using the adapter for what it was designed to do (but for me since the principal goal was to reduce wire length and clutter using an adapter was not my first choice (and it's less fun )

Here are some pics of the cords.

The IEC-C7 adapter with the part above the terminals removed (that part part is hard to remove specially if you use a knife like I did), ground removed and holes drilled in...


Next the conductor was soldered on and Teflon tape was applied on the solders (not shown in the DIY guide on TFA). Since it is not explained on the DIY guide I'm going to guess that the Teflon acts as isolation since it has excellent dielectric properties.


The end result...


Here are the 2 new cords installed (on a special note, these connectors don't fit next to each other on the APC H10)... These cords were made mostly to have custom cord lenght and won't have an impact on the PQ/AQ coming from the PVR :P)


Well now I can wait to make the other cords (the missing part, the wire itself, is supposed to be in, in January)... The starquad cord should be better than the flimsy cord that came with my receiver.

On another note I don't think I'll be replacing the cord for my TV, since the cord seems to be of a good gauge (could be misleading since I can't see the actual wire), the cord has a special clamp on the IEC side and that I can easily hide the cord excess behind the display without it looking like a mess...

I'll post pics of the starquad cords when the wire comes in... Also don't hesitate to send questions/comments