Categories: Blogs & Little Things

Little Things: HOSA PWD-401 and PWD-402 power adapters

So many of us find that as our audio electronics collection grows (disc players, turntables, preamps, power amplifiers, gadgets, etc.) that our power wiring resembles the “rats’ nest” as shown here

Although there is no good way to completely eliminate power cabling issues, the HOSA company produces some very helpful adapters. HOSA is a quality brand that caters primarily to industrial, professional, and rack-mount needs. The adapters featured here, the HOSA PWD-401 and 402 (one and two feet long, respectively) have a female IEC connector on one side (that fits almost every piece of electronics sold in the USA), and a three-prong, 110-volt, 15-ampere grounded female plug on the opposite side. The two are connected to a male plug on a one or two foot pigtail. Since a picture is worth a thousand words:

Use of these jumpers make it easy to string together the power connectors of equipment in a stand. For ventilated stand use, I recommend the two-foot models (PWD-402). The one-foot jumpers are a bit too short unless your equipment is in a 19″ rack mount chassis.

The jumpers are made of 12-ga. oxygen-free copper with heavy insulation. Despite their convenience and utility, there is one caveat – the amperage of the entire equipment rack must not exceed the 15-ampere rating of the jumpers. Since most household circuits are but 15 amperes anyway, this is not an issue for 99.99% of the buying public, but a few of us may have 20-ampere rated equipment which requires a special rectangular IEC plug. 20-ampere equipment will not work with these jumpers.

That said, you’ll likely trip your home’s electrical breakers before you’ll damage these jumpers. To show you how they work, here are two of my components with the HOSA PWD-402’s installed:

These may not be the cure-all for power wiring tangles, but they do clean up the rats’ nest significantly. Two thumbs up!

Glenn Young

I learned to play the guitar in high school, hoping to persuade Berma Sanchez to date me, but alas, no such luck! In the late 1970s, a neighbor who was the station engineer for the local PBS network took me under his wing and taught me the electronics of audio reproduction. Throughout college, I used that knowledge to modify Dynaco vacuum tube equipment for friends. After graduation from LSU, I took a job in the chemical manufacturing industry, learning about industrial hygiene and the mechanics of hearing. In the 1990s I learned to write, initially as the newsletter editor for my local Safety Engineering chapter. In the early 2000s, I had my first book published (I’m now working on my third). A few years ago, the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity website issued a call for authors. I responded and was excited to be selected. Over the years, I’ve published a number of equipment reviews and am honored, in 2019, to be given the title of “Senior Editor.” But none of the above offers the “why” of my interest in home audio. My musical tastes are highly diverse, and my love of music (acquired probably in the church choir of Grace Baptist Church) has been passed on to my daughter, who got her B.S. degree in music and her M.S. in violin performance and music education before being switching gears and then going on to graduate from Harvard Law. Although the majority of my extended group of friends and family prefer hobbies such as hunting, fishing, football games, etc., I’ve found that I still greatly enjoy time with my audio system and discovering new music. At some time in the fairly near future, my hearing will decline and I’ll no longer be able to listen analytically. But so long as my audiograms show acute hearing, I’ll keep doing what I enjoy best - listening to wonderful music and sharing my thoughts and impressions with like-minded friends.

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