[Harp-L] RE: Power strip (jim.alciere@gmail.com)

["geoff atkins" <geoffatkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim recommended always using power strip, absolutely! Unfortunately the type
showing earth faults isn't known here.

Over here in Africa, like in Europe, we're dealing with 220-250 volts, 50
cycles.
We had a venue where the stage electrics were installed by a 
do-it-yourself enthusiast bar owner. 
I blew three brand new 150W monitors (my very understanding music shop
replaced, rather than repaired them) suspecting at first the 
quality of the amp unit.
Then the vocalist/ lead guitarist got some extremely unpleasant facial
shocks. 
So one day I took along a tester plug, which has a set of red leds
indicating no earth, earth-neutral short, neutral-live crossover etc. and
showed the bar owner how bad his installation was.

There was an immediate improvement: he bought wind shields for all the mics.

A short while ago (no pun intended) he died, and the stage wiring has been
repaired. The tester plug stays in my gig bag.

Geoff Atkins