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Old 6th Aug 2020, 11:52 pm   #195
Graham G3ZVT
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 18,675
Default Re: Any other plug collectors out there?

I have a small collection of these Electrak "push and turn" plugs.

They now come under the Legrand umbrella and are sold as a specialist item for IT and EPOS related purposes, but I first encountered them in about 1984, when the Bonded Warehouse on the Granada TV site in Manchester was being fitted out, and a decision was made to exclusively use twin gang Elecrak outlets throughout.

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Now this was odd, the Bonded Warehouse was not an operational or technical part of the station, it was Corporate Hospitality and office space, and the most technologically advanced item you would find in those offices was an electric typewriter.

I was told it was the future, and they would eventually replace the BS1363 socket everywhere. I also seem to remember they were rated at 18A but maybe I'm wrong about that.

You didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes (The Baker St set was just outside) to predict the outcome. Every single piece of equipment had to have an adaptor lead with a BS1363 trailing socket made up by the site electricians.
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