Mains Cable direction - is there a rule of thumb

"Over time an interconnect cable that was inserted wrong way round would in fact correct itself"

I hear from a dealer once that cable was not directional until used, ie it was passing signal/current that directionalised it, and also that it would correct itself, perhaps others know?

Can you tell the way it is drawn by the way it is wound onto the drum (as with NACA5)?

Bosh: "I hear from a dealer once that cable was not directional until used"

Someone I trust in these matters says his findings do not support this thesis.

I have a well-made six-way power strip which has an indicator to tell you which way to plug it for the correct phase directionality (here in Germany we only have two pins, so you could get it wrong). Now, the manufacturer of these strips accidentally wired one batch the wrong way some years back, and since I recently had some difficulties with harsh treble, my mate suggested that I may just have one of those and that it could indeed be the source of the problem. To my great surprise, it was! I've had the strip for three years ...

The harsh treble appeared after some other improvements that may have drawn attention to this problem.

Thomas

Thomas
I think that you had the the cable with the live and neutral reversed as you have reversible two pin plug and sockets..

My qusetion is should the cable be pulled from the reel and the end connected to the mains source (power switched off) and then the other end connected to the socket where the equipment will be plugged or should it be the other way round
Derek

[This message was edited by Derek Wright on MONDAY 21 October 2002 at 17:44.]

I think you're right with regard to the power strip. But I think I also remember my mate saying that the directionality of cables doesn't seem to change. When he gave me cable for my dedicated spur he told me which direction to have it installed - I believe he had to test it in order to find out, and which way they pull the insulator over the wire may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Gernot sometimes posts here ... I'll point him to this thread and maybe he will impart his wisdom.

Thomas

hi derek,

if you can´t test the long cable, test a shorter one. take two 1-2 metre cables and fit plugs on them. one in one direction, the other in the other direction. pay close attention tho the live, neutral and ground wires.
now take these selfmade powercords and connect them to your source. after changing them, you will know the direction of the cable.
in most cases the label or words printed on the cable could reveal the direction. the starting letter stands for the beginning and the ending letter for the load.
i know just one manufacturer where it´s vice versa.
but to be absolute sure, go for a quick test.

in my experience the direction of a reversed cable, no matter if power line, rf antenna, interconnect or FUSE, do not change over time.
e.g. an accidently the wrong way, used speaker cable was turned and sounded afterwards right.
this cable was in use for 5 years.


hope this helps.

g.

Hi Gernot and all,
I agree the best way to test a mains cable is to do with a short length of it. It's quite easy to find the best direction, afterwards you can confidently consider all cables of that type from the same manufacturer have the same right direction.

On a side issue, I've found that different brands of mains cables tend to sound very different indeed. I'd be very interested to know your experiences on this matter: which brand of cables are the best soundwise?
Here in Italy I've found the Pirelli 3x6 mm (3 indipendent cables, no common insulation) to sound quite good. All experiences and advices gratefully appreciated!

All the best
Paolo

Sorry, double post....