I have a year old LSV that was returned a few months ago with the new strain relief installed(from 7th floor). Just noticed today that when I move the cord around near the strain relief I get intermittent power as visible by the light on the unit cycling on/off. I am generally very gentle on the unit, the cord sees the usual bending from use.
1) the new strain relief/coupling does not make this cord much more reliable than previous designs
2) this is probably not the best type of cord to use for a non desktop unit that sees this much movement. I wonder if the cord mfg has this application in mind with this cord.
I really dont want to send it back in for this. It costs money and takes a unit out of use for weeks. Warranty void sticker is tempting....
I unscrewed the coupling and took a picture of what's happening to the cord. You can see it's being girdled which eventually damages the conductors inside the sheath and interrupts power flow.
I really don't see how it was thought that adding this device would help relieve strain in the cord, it doesn't change anything about the way the cord bends vs. the original design, just moves it out. This "strain relief" seems to actually be doing more harm to the cord... I am assuming this pinching of the cord doesn't happen on units without the updated strain relief?
An ideal strain relief uses a spring or similar to lessen the flexibility of the cord while still allowing it to *bend*, but preventing it from reaching as extreme of an angle... reducing wear on the cord.
EDIT: Managed to fix the unit for now by working the cord about .25" further into the housing and tightening the coupling back down. Now the damaged section of cord is further in and does not experience movement as the cord bends during use. I'm not getting intermittent power problems anymore.
I found that the pinching is directly caused by the white plastic piece that snugs around the cord @ the coupling. There is alot of pressure put on this small area which follows the circumference of the cord. As the cord gets worked back and forth it acts as a lever and over time the insulation starts to get pinched down and you get the girdling visible in the picture.
Can also verify that the LSV unit housing is grounded at a point right next to the power light from where it goes directly into the cord. This is definitely a good thing which adds to safety as well as the previously mentioned white plastic piece which goes around the cord @ the coupling and acts as an insulator in case of a short in this area. So there is actually one advantage to the new strain relief which is insulation incase of a short due to damaged cord sheathing... although it seems to cause alot of damage itself so does that cancel out any advantage?
![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")
Anyways I'm happy for now, we'll see how long it lasts. I will probably try to find some springs or other materials to try to make a better strain relief to prolong cord life and until then it will surely be babied(always supported with a finger during use).
while I wait
