Cheater Plugs  

Where can I get these in CANADA. Radio Shack doesn't carry them iN CANADA.

i picked one up at home depot, was like 60 cents or so.

Jamie, those are available at any hardware store. I'm pretty sure they have been for like 40 years. I have seen them since as far back as I can remember

Do a search at the Tweaks forum for "cheater plug" and you will find a thread or two in the past year which explain why you shouldn't use a cheater plug and why you should properly solve your ground problem by using an isolation transformer like from Jensen, or the Ground Zero from www.graniteaudio.com, or properly grounding the circuits to your home theater system in the first place to eliminate that hum.

I THINK that that made it illegal to asell these in canada since they proably don't meet code. Anyone know where to get one in CANADA?

I understand the a component with a two prong AC plug is designed safely to be grounded to its chassis and is insulated to avoid shock to the consumer using it. Although a component with a three prong AC plug is likely also insulated, bottom line it is designed to be used with that ground connected and to do otherwise is at least a tiny risk that you shouldn't take.

They manage because the safety ground is completely unecessary for proper operation of audio components or any other home appliance. It's for safety only and does not function to relieve any leakage currents or retification. Safety grounds were added at some point in history to devices with vibrating electric motors that had some potential for shorting the hot AC lead to a metal chassis, presenting a shock hazard. I don't understand why they are now being included on a few certain audio components these days. No part of my system came with one, including my Denon 5803 or either of my subwoofers. What's the criteria for including one today? I have been unable to find a good answer that makes good sense.

I've been using cheaters for years and I'm still here. But seriously, if your equipment comes on remotely and you don't have to touch it, go with it. It will save you money and your sanity, trying to isolate the ground loop. If you have to touch it when powering on or off, then it's probably best not to use one.

As for getting cheaters in Canada, you can't. They don't sell them here. But why not just use a standard 3 way plug. It's sort of like a extension cord, without the cord. It has a notch on it so you can't use it as a cheater but just cut it off. You can get them at any hardware store.


Jeff