4 ms·

What other use is there for male-to-male cables?

by zibby8 4y ago

irrational 4y ago
Beating people who make them?
petschge 4y ago
The classic "I started with the wrong end when I put up the Christmas lights"?
- eropple 4y ago
  Then re-string them, and remove all temptation.
  - petschge 4y ago
    That is of course the proper way to do it. But it is an application for a suicide cable that doesn't involve a generator.
- nameless912 4y ago
  Then fix it. It's much better to take the L and fix your lights than burn your f*ing house down.
TOGoS 4y ago
NEMA power inlets are weirdly expensive and therefore hard to come by. So if you want to have a wall-powered device with a detachable cord, using an outlet as an inlet and a male-to-male cord is a simple solution. (And yes, I'm aware of other solutions, like using IEC inlets, but it just feels a little wrong to use one of those on e.g. a power strip with NEMA outlets.)
- eternityforest 4y ago
  That's what IEC inlets are for
- josephcsible 4y ago
  It's a simple solution alright, just like using a lighter to look inside of a gas tank because you don't have a flashlight handy is.
  - TOGoS 4y ago
    Except that flashlights are easy to find in any gas station, and NEMA inlets are not. Yeah, it's dangerous because some kid might take that double-male cord and plug it in somewhere problematic, but given the lack of obvious alternatives, I can understand why someone would do this. If we want to discourage it, we should make the correct solution more obvious and widely available.
    - josephcsible 4y ago
      How are they not widely available? Home Depot and Lowe's both sell them.
      - TOGoS 4y ago
        Looking at my local Home Depot's website, they do have a few different options for NEMA inlets in stock, but the options are pretty limited, and they're all larger connectors, not your standard 3-prong connector onto which you could shove the female end of an extension cord (which is what I really wanted for my power-strip-with-detachable-cord projects; I can't really speak to why others might want a male-to-male cable).
- kuschku 4y ago
  Expensive? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DCXKNXQ/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DCXKNXQ/ That's 60ct a piece. Rated for 250V 10A. You can just buy any cheap cord like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MGB0IK/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MGB0IK/ to connect to it. There's no excuse for suicide cables.
  - drewzero1 4y ago
    That's an IEC inlet... I think OP is referring to something specifically intended as a generator inlet, like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-Inlet-Box-PB30/202213702 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-I... Not impossible to get, but certainly a bit more expensive.
- leeter 4y ago
  They are? https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-Available-515CR-Outlet-Grounding/dp/B00002NASF https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-Available-515CR-Outlet-Ground...
  - TOGoS 4y ago
    Sure, but that's more of an inline-style connector. I want something panel-mounted. With enough epoxy something like what you linked to could be adapted, but my time has value also. What I want is something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265239624399 https://www.ebay.com/itm/265239624399 but note the 15$ price tag, and compare to that of IEC inlets, which are an order of magnitude less expensive.
rocket_surgeron 4y ago
I made one from spare parts I had laying around in 2012 after a derecho knocked out power to my house for eight days. I used it to connect a generator to the circuit that my refrigerator, my daughter's CPAP, a fan, and some lights were connected to. They were selling generators off a back of a truck as fast as they could be brought into the state. I managed to snag a generator but extension cords and power strips were sold out in a 500 mile radius. I flipped the main breaker and turned off everything else except the outdoor circuit and the one in the kitchen the refrigerator was on. That way I could run the generator outside, on my deck, connected to the outdoor circuit and power the kitchen circuit. The kitchen circuit has two outlets so my only long extension cord went from the second outlet to my daughter's bedroom to power her CPAP and phones, two table lamps, and a reciprocating fan were powered off the other plug of that outlet. "But you'll backfeed the grid" No, I won't. "But you'll wire it wrong" No, I won't. "But you'll shock yourself" No, I won't. If you think that's dangerous wait until you see the Tesla coil I built 20 years ago, or the 1kW amateur radio amplifier I built when I was 17 based off of plans I found in a magazine from the 60s.
- xani_ 4y ago
  That's the whole issue. Used correctly sure, you only throw away RCD protection but most people needing it won't have a clue.

What other use is there for male-to-male cables?

by zibby8 4y ago

What other use is there for male-to-male cables?

irrational 4y ago

Beating people who make them?

petschge 4y ago

The classic "I started with the wrong end when I put up the Christmas lights"?

eropple 4y ago
Then re-string them, and remove all temptation.
- petschge 4y ago
  That is of course the proper way to do it. But it is an application for a suicide cable that doesn't involve a generator.
nameless912 4y ago
Then fix it. It's much better to take the L and fix your lights than burn your f*ing house down.

TOGoS 4y ago

NEMA power inlets are weirdly expensive and therefore hard to come by. So if you want to have a wall-powered device with a detachable cord, using an outlet as an inlet and a male-to-male cord is a simple solution. (And yes, I'm aware of other solutions, like using IEC inlets, but it just feels a little wrong to use one of those on e.g. a power strip with NEMA outlets.)

eternityforest 4y ago
That's what IEC inlets are for
josephcsible 4y ago
It's a simple solution alright, just like using a lighter to look inside of a gas tank because you don't have a flashlight handy is.
- TOGoS 4y ago
  Except that flashlights are easy to find in any gas station, and NEMA inlets are not. Yeah, it's dangerous because some kid might take that double-male cord and plug it in somewhere problematic, but given the lack of obvious alternatives, I can understand why someone would do this. If we want to discourage it, we should make the correct solution more obvious and widely available.
  - josephcsible 4y ago
    How are they not widely available? Home Depot and Lowe's both sell them.
    - TOGoS 4y ago
      Looking at my local Home Depot's website, they do have a few different options for NEMA inlets in stock, but the options are pretty limited, and they're all larger connectors, not your standard 3-prong connector onto which you could shove the female end of an extension cord (which is what I really wanted for my power-strip-with-detachable-cord projects; I can't really speak to why others might want a male-to-male cable).
kuschku 4y ago
Expensive? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DCXKNXQ/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DCXKNXQ/ That's 60ct a piece. Rated for 250V 10A. You can just buy any cheap cord like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MGB0IK/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MGB0IK/ to connect to it. There's no excuse for suicide cables.
- drewzero1 4y ago
  That's an IEC inlet... I think OP is referring to something specifically intended as a generator inlet, like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-Inlet-Box-PB30/202213702 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-I... Not impossible to get, but certainly a bit more expensive.
leeter 4y ago
They are? https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-Available-515CR-Outlet-Grounding/dp/B00002NASF https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-Available-515CR-Outlet-Ground...
- TOGoS 4y ago
  Sure, but that's more of an inline-style connector. I want something panel-mounted. With enough epoxy something like what you linked to could be adapted, but my time has value also. What I want is something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265239624399 https://www.ebay.com/itm/265239624399 but note the 15$ price tag, and compare to that of IEC inlets, which are an order of magnitude less expensive.

rocket_surgeron 4y ago

I made one from spare parts I had laying around in 2012 after a derecho knocked out power to my house for eight days. I used it to connect a generator to the circuit that my refrigerator, my daughter's CPAP, a fan, and some lights were connected to. They were selling generators off a back of a truck as fast as they could be brought into the state. I managed to snag a generator but extension cords and power strips were sold out in a 500 mile radius. I flipped the main breaker and turned off everything else except the outdoor circuit and the one in the kitchen the refrigerator was on. That way I could run the generator outside, on my deck, connected to the outdoor circuit and power the kitchen circuit. The kitchen circuit has two outlets so my only long extension cord went from the second outlet to my daughter's bedroom to power her CPAP and phones, two table lamps, and a reciprocating fan were powered off the other plug of that outlet. "But you'll backfeed the grid" No, I won't. "But you'll wire it wrong" No, I won't. "But you'll shock yourself" No, I won't. If you think that's dangerous wait until you see the Tesla coil I built 20 years ago, or the 1kW amateur radio amplifier I built when I was 17 based off of plans I found in a magazine from the 60s.

xani_ 4y ago
That's the whole issue. Used correctly sure, you only throw away RCD protection but most people needing it won't have a clue.