Anyone ever used a power entry module?

[ppatchmods]

I'm building a regulated power supply from GGG and I am going to use a power entry module for the power cord.  The version I am using has an on/off switch and I was wondering if anyone had the knowledge to guide me.  It has ground, L, & N lugs.  I'm guessing that the l & n are both positive, but I'm not sure if it matters which one goes where.  Any help would be great!  Thanks

-John

http://www.cor.com/Series/PEM/C/

Mine is the smaller one

[sjaltenb]

hello. yes i use one of these to bring power into my pete Cornish style board. they are great! usually they a power filter and a fuse as well, mine does at least.

this is used to bring your main AC120v in from the wall. check and see what voltage the power supply you are building wants. i know the ultra clean wants like a 12-24v, which requires a transformer to drop it down from 120.

make SURE you are very careful when wiring this. of course, make sure to ground it to the chassis. Also, this is a great place to make a star ground for other circuit grounds etc. The N and L are neautral and Live, and no, if your going to a transformer, it does not matter which is which since it is AC current.

PLEASE make sure to not only solder the wires to the terminals but also use heavy duty heat shrink tubing to prevent anything from touching on ALL AC connections. Also , be sure to use some wire ties and wire management to be sure that those wires don't have a lot of stress on them. Keeping AC wire lengths to a minimum will help lessen noise.

good luck!

[R.G.]

Be very, very careful here. Since you're already into it, I'll try to tell you all I can, but it is not possible for me to tell you all about safe AC wiring in a forum like this.

First, here's what you're dealing with.
L = "Line"; any wires coming from this terminal should be black according to color code, the black being a reminder of death. No, that's not a joke. If you're in the USA, that wire is nominally 120Vac with respect to the N = "Neutral" wire, which is by code, white. The white/N wire goes back to the ground wire out at the AC power pole.

G = "Ground", actually safety ground. It is connected to a rod driven into the earth at the building.  In theory the G and N lines would be at the same voltage with respect to the actual dirt and rocks of the planet, but since N carries the return current from the power used in the equipment, it is usually a few volts (0-3 maybe) different from safety ground.

Here's how you wire them. First Ground. Ground should be carried by a single wire to the external metal chassis and bolted to the chassis by a bolt/nut used for nothing else. The spot on the chassis should be sandpapered to bare metal, then a toothed "star" washer placed on the bolt, then the ring terminal from the ground lug on the power entry; then a washer, another toothed lock washer, and a nut. The nut should be tightened down to ensure the teeth in the washers bite into metal and cannot shake or vibrate loose.

Next Neutral. Neutral ... theoretically ... is only a few volts AC. Unless an incompetent electrician wired the socket, then it may be full line voltage. So you have to wire it like it's Neutral, but insulate and isolate it like it's Line. Run your Neutral/N white wire to the terminal where it should go on the AC power connections of your ... transformer? Motor? fan?. Make certain that the connections are either well crimped, or twisted together so the twist holds the connection and then solder used to keep air away from the twisting. Solder is not glue. Once the connections are made, insulate them with heat shrink tubing so that you can't make accidental contact. It is very much preferable to make the connections at a terminal or terminal strip rather than wire-to-wire for safety reasons.

Last, Line. Line is potentially deadly always. Same wiring cautions. Check every connection on L, N, G at least twice.

Even if you follow these cautions to the letter, you may still have some unsafe setup, so have someone familiar with safely wiring AC power review your wiring. Remember, it may not be you that gets hurt, it could be someone else using your stuff years from now.

AC power wiring is NOT like low power DC wiring - your comment that both L and N are positive is a giveaway that you're not familiar with AC power wiring. Please get some experienced help and don't become a statistic.