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Old 4th Jan 2023, 12:12 pm   #61
Hartley118
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

Unless the whole length was pulled back and cut off by the decorators……

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Old 4th Jan 2023, 12:51 pm   #62
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

Quote:
I can just imagine Jimmy Mack by Martha and the Vandellas being played through that speaker in 1967
Ah, Jimmy Mack by Martha and the Vandellas. Crikey, Motown… now there another rabbit hole with the engineering, musicianship and song writing of Motown, the other rabbit holes are Atlantic and Stax. If your into Motown checkout Motown Memories show with Steve Weaver on Caroline Flashback.

Terry[/QUOTE]

It could have well been Elvis Presley, The Beatles, or Dianna Ross with "Ain't no mountain high enough" or it could have been Bill Hailey with "Rock around the clock" or "Fire !" by Crazy World of Arthur Brown playing through that speaker via this strange plug 2 pin grey plastic socket back in the day !

Hope we find out what it was for ! one day soon !
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Old 4th Jan 2023, 1:02 pm   #63
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by FrankB View Post
Have you checked it for any voltages? I would test for AC first.
If your home had a "maids room" there may be a similar outlet there for a bell or chime.
It -is- possible it was some type of antenna outlet also.
I would check the attic to see if a wire runs directly from the plug to the attic also, and if so, you may be able to follow it. Just some thoughts.
When the weird socket was still in place I didn't have my multimeter present to be able to check for any voltage or resistance from that socket, the only thing I had was my Minicraft drill with a grinding wheel on it (I was using it to cut some screws down for the new Yale lock I was fitting to the front door), I went upstairs for something and then spotted that socket in the front bedroom by my bag of tools... I then thought that looks like a 12 volt power supply for a Minicraft drill ! , so I got mine, came back and plugged it in ! but the drill was dead ! - no power, nothing !... So it got me wondering what was it was for ? and whether I could use it for convenience down at my workshop in my other place

I recon either it was for either a speaker or an AM/FM aerial

Best Regards, Joseph
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Old 4th Jan 2023, 1:19 pm   #64
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by Roger Ramjet View Post
There is only one way to answer this Enigma ... The carpet has to be rolled back, the floor boards have to come up then the cable has to be traced back to the other end (which may involve lifting floorboards in other rooms).

Rog
Hi Roger

Believe me I wanted get the carpet up and lift the floor boards to see where that wire went to but unfortunately the carpet fitter nailed some sort of hardboard ? down and then carpet gripper all the way round the room making it impossible now to pull the boards and see where the wire went !, I presume that hardboard like stuff board was for the sound proofing ? before the underlay and carpet went down as the floor boards did creak very badly !

The fect that the decorator said that "I removed a low voltage socket from upstairs which had a cut wire" translates into;-

(A) The socket was in his way or looks naff so he cut the wire and ripped it off the skirting board.

(B) He was also curious to see what that socket was for ! so ripped it off the skirting board and then yanked the wire out of the floor !

(C) He's lying ! and pinched it for his Bang & Olufsen speakers ! because he needed another identical socket LOL

If it were a speaker outlet socket to the room below downstairs then I would go with more than likely whatever it was for got removed or updated (like a new Hi Fi or record player) and that wire to the strange socket upstairs was then no longer needed so the wire was cut..., hole filled in and the ceiling was painted = no trace downstairs.

Last edited by Bittyboy; 4th Jan 2023 at 1:27 pm.
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Old 4th Jan 2023, 2:23 pm   #65
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

Yep sorry... my post was a "bit tongue in cheek".

Looking at the mystery sideways, is it possible to contact the previous owner to see if they can shed any light on it ?

Rog
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Old 4th Jan 2023, 4:58 pm   #66
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by Roger Ramjet View Post
Yep sorry... my post was a "bit tongue in cheek".

Looking at the mystery sideways, is it possible to contact the previous owner to see if they can shed any light on it ?

Rog

Don't worry about it mate

I would have tried to contact the last owner who would have lived there during that period (1950's - 2008) but it turned out it was an 82 year old man that had passed away during the late 2000's and his late wife then sold it to me late last summer before moving to New Zealand to be with her daughter and her family.

She was a nice lady but I dodn't think even she would have remembered what that strange socket was for ! lol

Last edited by Bittyboy; 4th Jan 2023 at 5:04 pm.
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Old 4th Jan 2023, 9:34 pm   #67
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

Your best bet BB would be to contact Monsignour Oof Oud of the digital plug and socket museum in the Netherlands. He has around 1000 plugs and sockets listed on his website. Yours must be there. It is worth taking a look. My bet is that it is for a speaker extension. Back in the sixties every town and city had an electronic shop to feed the army of keen radio and hifi hobbyists who would have installed such things.
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Old 4th Jan 2023, 10:03 pm   #68
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by newlite4 View Post
Your best bet BB would be to contact Monsignour Oof Oud of the digital plug and socket museum in the Netherlands. He has around 1000 plugs and sockets listed on his website. Yours must be there. It is worth taking a look. My bet is that it is for a speaker extension. Back in the sixties every town and city had an electronic shop to feed the army of keen radio and hifi hobbyists who would have installed such things.
Neil
Hi Neil,

Thanks for your suggestion

I have tried looking on the Netherlands plug sockct museum below;-

https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl

Sadly I haven't been able to find anything on there, unless I'm not looking in the right places !

I know that site well and think it's great !

It sounds like it was great back in the 60's with all those places that sold audio stuff, I remember Tandy and Maplin back in the 80's and 90's and they were always great for hard to find components and electrical stuff.

I was also looking through all the old Radio shack catalogs I have but can't seem to see anything like that in them...

Here is the link below for all old Radio Shack catalogs in PDF in case it's helpful to anyone...

https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/

Best Regards, Joseph.

Last edited by Bittyboy; 4th Jan 2023 at 10:09 pm.
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Old 5th Jan 2023, 5:58 pm   #69
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

I would vote for mantle piece clock. Bell wire for such a usage was of course some peoples ideas of 'make it work' some years ago. But one other angle for interest, these type of two pin (different size) polarised plugs and sockets are used extensively for 12V on Campers/caravans. AND even as a power supply to and from the Norton Commando motorcycle. Further- the two pins are different sizes-so you can't plug them in wrong! But one socket I have seen allowed contact (not plugged in) but of course that still means you have reversed the supply to the item for a moment or two, without diode protection I can still see 'smoke'!
I have had a look at the Plugsandsockets museum but it seems almost exclusively mains, yet the 'odd' socket hera should be low V DC (hence polarised) But I know of another UK main plug not shown!! But this specific to one large factory, the odd pin arrangement, stopped you nicking the mains plugs!

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Old 5th Jan 2023, 7:33 pm   #70
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by sonnith View Post
I would vote for mantle piece clock. Bell wire for such a usage was of course some peoples ideas of 'make it work' some years ago. But one other angle for interest, these type of two pin (different size) polarised plugs and sockets are used extensively for 12V on Campers/caravans. AND even as a power supply to and from the Norton Commando motorcycle. Further- the two pins are different sizes-so you can't plug them in wrong! But one socket I have seen allowed contact (not plugged in) but of course that still means you have reversed the supply to the item for a moment or two, without diode protection I can still see 'smoke'!
I have had a look at the Plugsandsockets museum but it seems almost exclusively mains, yet the 'odd' socket hera should be low V DC (hence polarised) But I know of another UK main plug not shown!! But this specific to one large factory, the odd pin arrangement, stopped you nicking the mains plugs!
Hello there Sonnith and thanks for your post

You could be jolly well right !, as it seems to have been placed in a perfect position for a mantle piece clock and some of those vintage clocks I've seen for sale on eBay always seem to have bell wire type of wire, The only thing is most of them seem to now have BS1363 mains plugs fitted which off sets the whole thing !... that is unless there were some low voltage mantle piece clocks available back then ?, well yes, that would be right then !

Yes, I've looked hard and low at the plug and socket museum site but they don't seem to have anything that's remotely like the small 2 round pin polarised socket I am trying to find out more about !

I would also agree with some of the others when they said it might be a speaker socket, but I ask myself why only one socket in the room ? and why was it placed on the right hand side of the fire place ??

... Before the work was done in that room I did lift the carpet on the other side of the fire place (the left side) to see whether there was a small hole in the floor board on that side ?... which would have told me that another identical socket might have been also fitted on the left side of the fire place and removed over time... but there was no hole there ! - Nothing.

... so I can only assume that was the only 2 pin socket in that room, I also looked in all the other rooms in the house on all 3 floor levels but there was no other plugs like that anywhere.

I think whatever gadget it was for was definitely only exclusive to the master bedroom in this house... I keep thinking that maybe it was for a small lamp of some sort, like that of an illuminated world map lamp running a low voltage, low wattage bulb ?

I've so far googled everything I can think of, but so far had no joy or even seen another socket the same anywhere !... I check eBay daily under "vintage plug socket" and "old plugs and sockets" but nothing like this ever seems to be in any of the bundles of old electric sockets that people are selling on eBay

At the moment I am looking online through all the old 1960's and 1970's Radio Shack catalogues to see whether anything like that mystery socket was ever being sold back then and what was it used for !

So far I've found nothing yet which is rather odd !... but I'm still on the case ! lol

I also have a strong thought that maybe it was for a door bell extender alarm light for someone who was deaf, so they could know that someone was ringing their door bell whilst they were upstairs in their bed room ?? which could have also been their sitting room too !

Hope someone can shed a light on this one day !

Best Regards, Joseph

Last edited by Bittyboy; 5th Jan 2023 at 7:47 pm.
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Old 5th Jan 2023, 7:42 pm   #71
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

You might be looking in the wrong place. Back in the fifties/sixties and even earlier there were cheap 12v 2-pin plugs and sockets, some with equal sized pins, some polarised with different sized pins, usually referred to as "Parking light sockets" You could be looking at one of these re-purposed for heaven knows what use. (Need I mention that the original application of these things and the lighting regulations which spawned them are OT?)

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Old 5th Jan 2023, 7:56 pm   #72
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
You might be looking in the wrong place. Back in the fifties/sixties and even earlier there were cheap 12v 2-pin plugs and sockets, some with equal sized pins, some polarised with different sized pins, usually referred to as "Parking light sockets" You could be looking at one of these re-purposed for heaven knows what use. (Need I mention that the original application of these things and the lighting regulations which spawned them are OT?)

David
Hey David,

Yes, I've seen a few of those and even the parking lights you're talking about, I think I even posted a photo of one such light on the first page of this thread saying that it could have been used as a bell alarm to alert someone up stairs that someone was at the front door as it is a big house - Victorians thought big ! and built big houses most of the time !

I will google about the parking lights and cheap low voltage sockets from the 50's and 60's and even 70's and see what I can find !

I don't think that socket was from the 1980's as it looks too old but I guess anything could be possible ! so I'll also add the 80's to my search and see what it brings !

Thanks again for your suggestion !

Kindest Regards, Joseph
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Old 5th Jan 2023, 7:57 pm   #73
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
You might be looking in the wrong place. Back in the fifties/sixties and even earlier there were cheap 12v 2-pin plugs and sockets, some with equal sized pins, some polarised with different sized pins, usually referred to as "Parking light sockets" You could be looking at one of these re-purposed for heaven knows what use. (Need I mention that the original application of these things and the lighting regulations which spawned them are OT?)

David
Remember though, that the device in question has a plain old incandescent lamp as a light source. No polarisiation required. That polarisation in the socket also leads me to believe that anything AC wasn't the primary requirement, except that for audio applications it's important to maintain phase if the speakers are within range of each other. Even an antenna feed wouldn't need to be polarised.
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Old 5th Jan 2023, 8:12 pm   #74
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Originally Posted by duncanlowe View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
You might be looking in the wrong place. Back in the fifties/sixties and even earlier there were cheap 12v 2-pin plugs and sockets, some with equal sized pins, some polarised with different sized pins, usually referred to as "Parking light sockets" You could be looking at one of these re-purposed for heaven knows what use. (Need I mention that the original application of these things and the lighting regulations which spawned them are OT?)

David
Remember though, that the device in question has a plain old incandescent lamp as a light source. No polarisiation required. That polarisation in the socket also leads me to believe that anything AC wasn't the primary requirement, except that for audio applications it's important to maintain phase if the speakers are within range of each other. Even an antenna feed wouldn't need to be polarised.
Thanks for pointing that out Duncan - VERY TRUE !

I guess what David meant was some folks used these sort of odd sockets for odd jobs back in the day just to "make something work" and as cheap as poss !

Whoever it was could have purchased that socket down at their local hardware shop at the time along with a corresponding plug, a lamp of some sort, a buzzer, a new door bell switch, cable tacks and 15 metres of bell wire just for that job !... if an old man or woman had hired them to fit a door bell extension because they kept missing people at the front door ! due to the bell being so far away or their hearing failing...

Workmen buy what is readily available for odd jobs they have to do for people who hire them.

The fact that socket was polarised and didn't have any "+" and "-" markings on it tells me and all the other folks on here that more than likely it was intended for an audio or aerial application. ... but we cannot rule out there is a possibility that someone may have used it for a low voltage application like a door bell extension ringer (or alert lamp) upstairs in the house... or even for a mantle piece clock !

Kindest Regards, Joseph.

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Old 5th Jan 2023, 8:44 pm   #75
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

I think the 'parking light' sockets are older than the 50's and later on got polarised when people started using them for polarity conscious devices like portable radios.

David
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Old 6th Jan 2023, 5:14 am   #76
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

Now you mention it, I can visualise a socket much like the one in the OPs sketch under the parcel shelf of my dad's car. I knew there was something familiar about it!
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Old 6th Jan 2023, 11:14 am   #77
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

As already said why would anyone go to the trouble of hiding a transformer under the floor boards? I have never come across a low voltage clock that wasn't battery powered.

Those two pin plugs date from the 1960s as far as I know. They came on all sorts of things including voltage output selection for car battery chargers and some, notably Leak and Armstrong, amps, also internal speaker connections in record players and radios. At that time why not just buy a portable radio rather than wiring in an extension for an existing one meaning the station cannot be changed or the set switched off remotely? If there had been two of them I might have suggested they connected to a remote stereo amp as the household might only have one of those - but why in a bedroom? I have two disused wires running between the downstairs living rooms of this house.

I think that the bell/intercom/internal phone theory has fewer objections to it, if not totally compelling! Probably a one off devised by a "handyman" living there or employed at the time.
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Old 6th Jan 2023, 11:48 am   #78
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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Now you mention it, I can visualise a socket much like the one in the OPs sketch under the parcel shelf of my dad's car. I knew there was something familiar about it!
Hi Graham thanks for your post,

Yes, I can believe that your dad may have something like the strange socket in my sketches that's in in the boot of his car !

I googled this and found that older Land Rovers had a similar type of socket but not so refined that it could be neatly mounted onto a batten or skirting board !

I've attached a photo of the land Rover type socket that I am talking about which also shows a compatible 2 pin plug which may have also plugged directly into this strange grey plastic 2 pin polarised socket that was in the master bedroom of my new house.

I wonder, if it could have been that someone wanted to use a lot of low voltage car accessories in that room ?... so they installed a special low voltage power supply for this purpose ?... as maybe they had a Landy back in the day with a similar profile socket ?, ya never know !

I also thought that maybe someone had a 12v massager that plugged in to that strange socket in the bed room, maybe their arm chair was there, like I drew in one of my previous sketches and the just plugged the massager into that strange socket when doing a massaging session ? !

Best Regards, Joseph.
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Old 6th Jan 2023, 11:51 am   #79
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

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As already said why would anyone go to the trouble of hiding a transformer under the floor boards? I have never come across a low voltage clock that wasn't battery powered.

Those two pin plugs date from the 1960s as far as I know. They came on all sorts of things including voltage output selection for car battery chargers and some, notably Leak and Armstrong, amps, also internal speaker connections in record players and radios. At that time why not just buy a portable radio rather than wiring in an extension for an existing one meaning the station cannot be changed or the set switched off remotely? If there had been two of them I might have suggested they connected to a remote stereo amp as the household might only have one of those - but why in a bedroom? I have two disused wires running between the downstairs living rooms of this house.

I think that the bell/intercom/internal phone theory has fewer objections to it, if not totally compelling! Probably a one off devised by a "handyman" living there or employed at the time.
I think you're quite right Paul
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Old 6th Jan 2023, 12:11 pm   #80
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Default Re: Strange 2 pin plug socket in upstairs master bedroom (Victorian end Terrace house

No more Automotive please or the thread will be closed.

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=177297

Cheers

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