Help - router prob

well not so much a router problem as a router plug problem. I always
remove my router plug from the wall socket every night before I go to bed,

Rabbit...

I've never thought about plugging another extension into the first, might do
in future though.

Rabbit...

Oh there must be something you can fill it with :-)

pmj...

That may not be the best idea?
A normal, typical domestic Plug & Socket isn't designed to be
continually unplugged.

Ali...

Surely, that's exactly what it is designed for?

And we are encouraged to unplug any electrical equipment that is not in
use, as a precaution against fire.

Of course, the mains adapter of a router is not a normal, typical domestic
plug.

It will shorten the life of either (or both of) the Socket &/or Plug,
if you keep UnPlugging it & Plugging it back in...

Aries...

So I now realise

well when I pulled it out last night it came away leaving the top pin
still in the socket !! and the place where the pin should have been felt

pmj...

Exactly!
Many Plugs (as fitted on the Mains Adaptors for Consumer Equipment,
such Routers etc,) are made very cheaply & won't withstand continual
UnPlugging & Plugging in.

pmj...

Yep, but she did say "looked sort of melted", didn't she?

Aries...

I'm going to Pete - ordering one one line this weekend :)

BoyPete...

Good :)

We don't know for definite, wheether it *was* actually melted.

pmj...

Yep.
If it *had* melted, that would definitely be cause for concern.

pmj...

Yep, not enough to melt the Pins!
& since the Pin is *Plastic*, it doesn't carry any Current,
so it couldn't have overheated through an overload there.

pmj...

Yep, definitely.

It's not (unfortunately) the sort of thing that can be repaired,
so yes, it would have to be Replaced.

BoyPete...

At last!! Through all this thread, that is the first comment to agree with
me.
There can be no price on safety, thanks pmj :)

pmj...

and looked sort of melted? Now how on earth could that happen.

pmj...

The Plug has built into it a Transformer, to change the Mains (230)
Voltage down to the 9 V (or 12 V) tah tthe Router actually uses.
That also means that the Cable to the Router is safer, if something
(such as a pet or baby/child chews through it (or puts the end in
their mouth)

Aries...

I realise that

But the Transformer will get warm in operation.
The Top Pin of many of those sort of things *isn't* actually an
Earth Pin (like on a normal Plug), cos the whole thing is Double
Insulated & thus doesn't require an Earth Connction, but the Pin is
still there, cos many (though not all) Sockets require that Pin to
be Inserted, so as to Open the Shutter of the Socket.
(the better Sockets use a different arrangement, which doesn't need
a Pin (or scissors or other object insertedinto the Earth Socket,
to Open the Shutter), so tah tPin is often, basically just there for
"Cosmetic" purposes, or for if the Socket does need the 3rd Pin.

Aries...

that's is something I learned today - I didn't actually realise the top
pin wasn't an earth pin !

My router is a 3com and I've had it for a couple of years now and it has
been jbexing well during that time and I do not want to replace it unless

pmj...

You don't have to replace the *Router*!
All you need is another Mains Power Adaptor for it.

Aries...

I worded that badly - I meant replace the power cable

I have to. So will I be able to buy a new cable and plus for it at a
computer shop does anyone know, what I mean is, will any similar looking

pmj...

Possibly, but you will prolly find that there is no *Generic* Mains
Adpator that will suit all Routers (they all have different Voltage
& Power (Current) Requirements & ratings & different Low Votage Plugs
on the end of the Cable & different Polarity on that (Low Voltage) Plug,
so you're prolly better off getting one straight from the Manufacturer
(or their Distributor)

cable and plug etc do the job for me ?

pmj...

See above.
Why not just get in touch with 3Com (have a look on their WebSite
for Conact Details) & tell them that the Pin on the Mains Adapter
has come off?

Aries...

I have looked but not a very helpful site - I couldn't find any mention of
being able to buy a power cable by itself. But no need to really as my
local pc shop will get one for me or one that will have the same spec.

They will be able to send you a replacement - they might charge you
for it or might expect you to return it, before giving a *Free*
Replacement, but they may well just send one out (Free of Charge)
anyway, cos it doesn't cost them all that much (it costs more to
process a return of something like taht than the thing costs in the
first place)

Aries...

That would be nice but somehow I doubt it lol

As it happens, just today, someone I know (who has 3 WiFi Routers,
bought over the last 2 or 3 Years) had a similar prob...
The Mains Adpator for one of them stopped working - nothing fell off
& it still gets warm, but there's no Power coming out of it, into the
Router, so no Power is getting to the Router.

It's too late now to Ring the Manufacturer up (all I get is the Call
is Diverted to a Foreign (European) Number & there's a Recorded Message
on there), but tomorrow I will Ring them & ask for a replacement to be
Sent.

I'll let you know how we get on! - & whether or not the Manufacturer
Charges for it (this one is actually nearly 2 Years old )

Aries...

Mine is 3 years old.

Alternatively, yo ucould try taking i/sending it back to the Shop where
yo ubought it?

Aries...

I bought it through Maplins on line, not a walk in shop.

In future I will take the cable out of the router and not from the socket

pmj...

So...

That means that the bit that breaks will then be the Low Voltage Plug
on the end of the Cable (or the Cable where it enters/bends near that
little Plug)...

Or (more likely) the actual Low Voltage Socket on the Router!!!

Which *will* (almost certainly) the require replacing the Router,
cos repairing that Socket will be difficult &/or expensive.

I really don't think it's a good idea to keep on UnPlugging & Plugging
in those sort of things!

They weren't/aren't designed to be continually Plugged & UnPlugged.

If you want to do that sort of thing, then you need Industrial/
Commercial Equipment, & not Domestic stuff. (& even then a lot of
those sort of things still use (relatively) flimsy types of Connectors.

Yes, leaving them Plugged in does mean that (eventually) the
Transformer in the Mains Adaptor will (might) Burn out, but they
are designed to be left Plugged in (& switched on) for long periods
of time (Months/Years)

Replacing the Mains Adaptor is a (relatively) inexpensive thing & you
have to expect to do that occasionally, with that sort of equipment.

Aries...

Read and understood, thanks for taking time and trouble answering and
explaining my query Paul :) l-)

in the wall :)

(That's where it can be useful to buy things like taht from a *Shop*
(as opposed to using the Internet) cos the Shop is often perfectly
willing to just exchange the faulty Mains Adaptor (or whatever) for
another one.

Tickettyboo...

oh dear, if it were me I would be getting the socket checked by an
electrician before I started worrying about net access. I do know that
generic power cables/plugs aer available for other makes of routers, if
you are going to get one take what's left of the old one with you so you
/the shop can compare connections and power ratings

Aries...

Thanks Boo, I learned a lot today - I took the power cable into a very
reliable local pc shop who told me the top pin was just a pin to keep the
slots open for the bottom two - now you may know that but I didn't :( So
he advised me to either use the cable just it was and plug it back into
the socket with the top pin stuck in it, OR, to remove the pin from the
socket and glue it back on with some special welding glue he recommended
for the job.

Rabbit...

That sounds dangerous advice but I wouldn't muck about with electrical
sockets or plugs, if it's cracked or broken it gets replaced.

Aries...

No it isn't dangerous as the top pin that snapped off was only a dunmy
earth pin - plastic not metal. It just snapped off when I pulled the plug
out of the wall socket and it stayed in the socket - therefore keeping the
flaps open for the bottom pins, cos that is what its job is apparently lol

He also took a very long time trying to get me a completely new power
cable. Which he did and it matched all the essential volt and amp numbers
and he would order it for me if I found the repair job didn't jbex. It
would cost me almost �17 tho so I declined and said I would try his fixted
advice first. Such a nice man who didn't try to sell me something I
didn't really need. Good service :D

I'm using dial up to post this

pmj...

Oh dear!
:-(

pmj...

But the Plug (on those sort of things) is part of the Mains Adaptor!!!

The Mains Adapator has the Pins mounted *directly* on the Casing -
they don't have a separate (Mains) Cable & Plug.

pmj...

Does yours have a *Mains* Cable (as opposed to a Low Voltage Cable)
going into it then?
With the Mains Adaptor in the *Router*, rather than in the Plug on
the end of the Cable?

From what Aries Posted, it sounds like hers is one that has a Low
Voltage Cable, with the Mains Adapter on the end, with the Pins
directly attached to it, rather than a Mains cable, with a separate
Plug.

Aries...

spot on Paul :)

Ali...

Please ignore my recent post to this thread, Paul has already covered the

Aries...

too late lol

points mad in it.

Aries...

Thanks for replying Mike but if you read what I posted to Boo you can see
what I eventually did. Also, my 3Com does not have an on-off button
switch on the back and the reason why I disconnect the plug from the wall
socket is to protect the router in case of lightning strikes.