An extension cord with chargers constantly gets in the way on the table or under your feet, collects a lot of dust, and it looks unaesthetic. Dealing with this problem is very simple: take a nice box, make a few holes in it and hide all the wires and cables there.
There are also ready-made solutions, such as Plug Hub from Quirky. This is a box made of hard plastic with a rubberized bottom. There are three holes on the top for cables, and inside there are three fasteners, on which you can wrap extra long cords. Plug Hub can be placed on the floor or mounted on the wall.
Amazon.com 2. Fix the wires under the tabletop
To fix the wires and extension cord under the table, you will need binders and screws (they must be at least a quarter less than the thickness of the tabletop in length, otherwise they will go through and the table will be damaged). First of all, fix the extension under the table top, preferably in the middle of the table or closer to the wall. Then fix the binders in the right places with screws. Connect everything you need to the extension cord and assemble the wires with clamps. Visually, the table has become much cleaner and neater.
There is a simpler option if you do not need to hide a large number of wires. This will require a construction stapler. To prevent the long wire from the lamp from dangling under your feet, carefully fasten it with paper clips at the table leg. A small extension can also be fixed with paper clips. For thicker wires, it is better to use special clamps (for example, these).
Do you like stapler staples? Regular zip ties will do. Secure the cable to the table leg with cable ties. The wires that run along the floor can be covered with plastic or a plank to match the color of the floor. The extension can be fastened under the tabletop using a wide Velcro: fix it with screws on the back of the tabletop, and then attach the extension. To keep the wires from dangling under the table, run them through cable ducts - these can be purchased at any hardware store. You can fix the channels themselves with electrical tape or a regular plaster.
3. Organize cable storage
Getting rid of the confusion in the wires will help their proper organization. To get started, collect cords from phones, a player, a game console, and tablets around the house. Then take the boxes (preferably prettier), place cardboard separators inside them, sign the place for each cable (so as not to get confused later) and lay everything out neatly. To avoid tangling the wires themselves, use ordinary ties.
If you don't feel like messing around with boxes, buy a basket and stock up on toilet paper rolls.
If the wires do not bother you, you can simply attach a label to each to make it easier to distinguish between them. For example, like this:
4. Keep all the necessary wires close at hand
Not all cables we can hide in a box: we need some of them almost constantly. The solution is simple: mount them on the edge of your desktop so that you can reach out and connect the device to the right wire if necessary. Sugru will help us with this - plasticine-rubber and one of the most indispensable things in the household. Don't believe? Then look.
Roll the Sugru into small balls and place on a table support. Then, with a clerical knife, remove some plasticine (carefully, try not to deform the balls much). Life hack: to prevent plasticine from sticking to the blade, pre-rinse it with soapy water. Then adjust the shape a little with a sushi stick or a toothpick to get neat hollows (they should be slightly wider than your wires). Everything is ready, you can fix the cables.
There is an option for those who know how to work with wood. A small block with holes will help organize all the wires on the desktop.
The simplest solution is to pass the wires through the binders attached to the table top.
hexjam.com 5. Don't hide wires
Seriously, if you get creative, cables can be an interesting piece of decor.
Hello to all do-it-yourselfers!
In everyday life, we all often have to use various extension cords. Moreover, if for street conditions or a summer cottage, extension cords with a long cable, several tens of meters long, are mainly used, then for premises (sheds, garages, workshops or at home), such extension cords with a block for three, four sockets and wire length from 3 to 5-7 meters.
In my experience, I have found that when using such extension cords, it is best to hang them on the wall. In this case, neither the extension cord itself, nor its wire, as well as the wires of electric tools connected to it, will interfere, as if you simply put the extension cord on the floor.
However, the problem is that not all manufacturers make canopy holes on the back wall of their extension blocks, thanks to which they can be hung on the wall.
Here, for example, on this extension, there are such canopies.
And this one doesn't have them.
Of course, you can make canopies on the back wall of the block yourself by drilling holes in it. However, this is often dangerous because it can lead to electric shock and sometimes not very convenient.
I found a simple way out of this situation by making such wooden canopies from small planks on many of my extension cords.
And to make such a canopy is quite simple.
For this, from the materials you will need:
- two small screws;
- as well as a small plank, 10-12 mm thick, one and a half to two times longer than the length of the extension block and slightly wider than it.
Of the tools you will need:
- electric jigsaw with a saw;
- an electric drill with a feather drill for wood, with a diameter of 20-25 mm, and a drill for metal with a diameter of 4 mm;
- as well as a screwdriver.
The procedure for making a canopy
First, from one end of the blank plank, in the center, you need to drill such a through hole, with a drill bit for wood.
Then, stepping back a short distance from the edge of the circle drilled earlier, drill another hole with a diameter of 4 mm.
Exactly the same hole must be drilled from the other end of the plank.
In this case, the main thing is that the distance from the edge of the circle to the upper hole.
And from the end of the plank to the bottom hole were the same.
After that, using a jigsaw, you need to cut the grooves to the top and bottom holes.
And then you can round the ends of the plank, although this is not necessary.
The canopy board itself can be lightly sanded and painted or varnished, although this is also not necessary. Well, after that, it remains only to fix the extension block on our canopy.
To do this, you need to disassemble the block into two parts by unscrewing the screws and removing the cover with sockets and terminals.
And at the ends of the rear wall of the block, you need to drill two holes with a diameter of 4 mm, and screw it with small screws to the canopy.
After that, the block can be assembled.
And now our extension with a canopy is ready!
Using a canopy for an extension in work
After that, it can be easily hung on the wall by screwing two screws into it. Moreover, you can hang the extension cord either vertically.
Or horizontally, which seems more convenient to me, especially for an extension cord with a switch.
By the way, this extension cord constantly hangs on my porch wall, near the main outlet.
I must say that this is very convenient, since the main, rather powerful socket is used to connect a large load, for example, electric welding. And in the event that you need to connect several power tools, I just use this extension cord by connecting it to this outlet.
If this extension is needed elsewhere, it can be removed very quickly and then hung back.
So using extension cords with similar canopies is very convenient!
Well, that's all for me! Bye everyone and good luck in the new year!
Some eight or ten years ago, the surge protector, in the eyes of most of our fellow citizens, was an exclusively computer attribute. In those days, when purchasing such a device, the buyer studied its technical characteristics for a long time and carefully in order to choose the really best one offered by sellers. At the same time, not much attention was paid to the appearance of the product, partly due to the fact that in those days most network filters looked almost the same. But, times are changing. And today, network filters are not at all an exclusively computer attribute, but have become an ordinary and familiar household device. The modern buyer is no longer as attentive and picky about purely technical characteristics as it used to be. In addition, surge protectors in everyday life are mostly considered as extension cords with a bunch of output connectors and a switch, rather than as a serious device for filtering the supply voltage. Accordingly, the main attention of the buyer is riveted to such parameters of the purchased product as ease of use, appearance, and functional equipment. It is from this point of view, in this material, six network filters will be considered. I hope that this will help some people to expand their horizons and see that not all filters are the same and are only "a piece of wire, at the end of which hangs a box with connectors."
According to the manufacturer, Pilot-S is an economical solution for protecting office electronics. In fact, the only thing that this filter will do well is to protect the user's network from possible short circuits in the power circuits of the equipment connected to it.
The considered filter is primitive both outside and inside. The network cable, the length of which is 1.78m, ends with a simple, no-frills housing (size 373x47x46 mm). In turn, the housing carries a backlit power switch, a fuse reset button, and six connectors for connecting consumers. Five of them are quite modern, that is, with grounding. The sixth connector is ungrounded and made to be compatible with older plugs. All connectors are located almost close to each other, which may cause some problems for the user. I mean the case when the equipment is powered by an external power supply, the dimensions of which, most often, exceed the dimensions of a conventional mains plug.
Accordingly, when connecting such a power supply, the user will not be able to use the connector adjacent to it. In addition to this, the Pilot-S connectors do not have the so-called "child protection". By the way, the child will also be able to disassemble the housing of the filter in question without any problems. To do this, he does not even need a Phillips screwdriver, because the case covers are tightened with ordinary furniture screws, the heads of which almost protrude beyond the boundaries of the case. Only one of them is recessed so that a plasticine seal could be placed on top of it, made in the best traditions of electrical instrumentation of the Soviet era.
I hope that you can still convince your child that there is absolutely nothing inside the filter that deserves even a drop of attention. Actually, this is actually the case, because in addition to the switch and fuses, the filter consists of one single container. We do not compare the characteristics of filters now, but I think it is not difficult to imagine how "serious" such a filter is.
I hope you have already sufficiently appreciated the Pilot-S in question. And, in my opinion, the last thing left to consider is the possibility of attaching this filter anywhere. For this purpose, two ears with holes are provided in its design. Unfortunately, the shape of these holes does not allow hanging the filter housing on an existing screw, for example, in a wall. That is, to fix the Pilot-S on any surface, you must first install it in the place of attachment and only then fix it with a screw, screw, or whatever you will be fixing it with. The design of the hull does not provide for any other options, which cannot but grieve.
This model is no longer as economical as the Pilot-S discussed above. The electrical circuit has become more serious and has grown to the LC filter that has already become traditional in such devices. True, the manufacturer still managed to save money. Instead of six output connectors, as was the case with the Pilot-S filter, in this case we have only five. Four of them are grounded and one is not. But, compared to the younger model, the location of the Pilot-GL connectors is more convenient for the user, since the universal connector (the one that does not have a ground connection) is 11mm apart from the others. Of course, not much, but if not very large external power supplies of the equipment are included in it, then the adjacent outlet will still remain available to the user.
In comparison with the previous model, the Pilot-GL has improved not only the electrical circuit of the filter, but also the indication. So, in addition to the illuminated power switch, the Pilot-GL additionally has a green LED. It glows if everything is in order with the device. If, as a result of an overload or short circuit in the filter, the protection works, the LED will turn off. At the same time, the power switch will continue to glow, indicating the presence of voltage at the Pilot-GL input. I must say that such a function is sometimes very useful.
Here, in general, this is where all the positive differences between the Pilot-GL and its younger brother end. Everything else, unfortunately, migrated from the younger model to the older one without any changes for the better. The network cable remained the same length (1.78m). The output connectors are not "child proof". The body covers of the device are pulled together with exactly the same screws as in the Pilot-S. True, there are two more ears for attaching the filter. But, the holes in them, just like in the Pilot-S, do not allow hanging the filter housing on an already screwed, for example, into a wall, screw or screw. In general, in my opinion, Pilot-GL is definitely better than the simpler model described earlier. But, the final conclusions are still far away, so let's move on to the next filter.
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Click on the picture to enlarge. A Japanese company came up with a great solution to get rid of "charger" cables strewn all over the floor: they created a rubber-coated SocketDeer outlet with deer antlers attached to it! On these horns you can put, for example, a mobile phone and plug its "charger" into the socket. The cable can be wrapped around the horns so that it does not hang down to the floor.
A great solution for travelers, the Belkin Mini Surge Tee allows you to take one USB "charger" with you on the road instead of several. In addition, this device provides you with additional power outlets and surge protection, whether you are in a hotel room or at the airport. Mini Surge is equipped with three conventional sockets and two USB ports through which you can recharge different devices. Mini Surge can be rotated 360 degrees around its axis, which will allow you to conveniently place it in any working environment and not block other outlets. Woofy
The price of this plastic dog is simply unbelievable! However, if you're looking for some fancy way to store your cables, then Woofy might be of interest to you. The cables are hidden in the "stomach" of this almost half-meter dog, and are pulled out of its hind legs.
On October 9, 2008, a video appeared on DL.TV showing an anonymous viewer from Seattle showing off his incredible invention: the wireless office. You can watch the video. All cables are routed inside the PVC boxes that form the outline of the table and lead to a socket in the wall. There are no wires above or below the table. Serious do-it-yourself project.
The 40cm plastic box performs the same function as the Woofy but only costs $29.50. Of course, it is not as original as a $250 plastic dog, but inside this box you can hide a whole extension cord with all the dangling cables.
Can't plug two power supplies side by side? The situation can be corrected with a rotating wall socket. It will take you 10 minutes to set up this position, but then you can plug two bulky "chargers" into the socket, which did not go anywhere else, since you can fix them at an angle, and not directly on top of each other. Sometimes extra centimeters can play a big role.
Such sockets are not yet produced, but the idea is worthy of attention. How many times have you unplugged the plug (to save power, free up space, or temporarily plug in another device) and drop it on the floor where the cords get tangled up and everyone stutters about them? After all, it's not safe. The solution is obvious: you just need to hang unused plugs on the holders of the sockets themselves. Wish these outlets were on sale soon!
Some of the products presented in this review are a little strange, but SocketSense is a really practical thing. How convenient, instead of a regular extension, to use a model that can be extended (from 33 to 41 cm) to fit any configuration of forks. For some users, the most important thing will be how this surge protector looks - completely ordinary, with six slots.
If SocketSense looks like a completely normal upgrade to a standard network filter, designed to allow you to connect more "chargers" of a non-standard size, then PowerSquid looks strange. But this makes a lot of sense. The PowerSquid glows blue in the dark so you can see where the plugs are plugged under the table. Thanks to its flat shape, it can be hidden behind furniture. PowerSquid also secures the phone line. And most importantly: all sockets are placed on separate flexible wires, so they do not interfere with each other.
The author of this idea has not yet found a manufacturer who would undertake to bring this project to life. The bottom line is to run the wires along the baseboard, but instead of attaching them to the wall, you can hide them behind a decorative fence: the cables are not visible, and at the same time they are easily accessible.
Charging base for the whole family. Kangaroom makes sure that you always know where your phone, camera and other devices are located: the Kangaroom splitter is hidden in a special box that is mounted on the wall in a visible place. If your phone is in this charging base, then you will never lose your phone or its charger. |
A home router is an indispensable thing in our time. Its main function is the distribution of an Internet signal, which allows devices to connect to the network without a wire, knowing only its name and password.
When you bought a router, it is important to choose a place where to install it. If only a desktop computer needs to be connected to the Internet, then a router can be installed next to it. And if you want to use the Internet from other rooms, it is better to choose a place somewhere in the center of the apartment, for even distribution of the signal.
The best place you can think of to install a router is a wall. Having chosen a place, first test the signal level in each room, and if it suits you, you can proceed to install the equipment on the wall.
How easy is it to attach the router to the wall?
1. Prepare the tools: sticky tape, a pencil and, of course, our router.
2. Stick a strip of tape on the back of the router.
3. Routers usually have mounting holes on the back cover. Make holes in the tape at their level.
4. Peel off the adhesive tape from the router and stick it on the wall, at the level where you want to fix the router.
5. Screw the screws into the holes in the tape.
6. Remove the strip of tape.
7. Now fix the router to the screws installed in the wall.
