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I own a Nord Stage 3, and because I’m based in the UK, my equipment needs PAT testing each year.
We had our testing done yesterday. When my guy got to the Nord, he assumed it was a Class One appliance because it has an IEC connector socket, but he couldn’t find an earth loop on it for love nor money (and we tried for hours!). We then found this post on the Nord forum — https://bit.ly/3S9jiBP — suggesting that the NS2 is a Class Two because it has the concentric squares symbol on the back. The NS3 doesn’t appear to have that symbol, but as it’s near enough the same instrument, I’m wondering whether it is also a Class Two appliance? (We then tested mine as a Class Two and it passed fine.)
Do any UK Nord users on here have any intel on this? Many thanks!
Thanks so much for replying! Yep, the last page of my user manual says the same thing — Class B in USA/Canada. I was hoping there'd be a UK section in mine but I guess we're too small to warrant one of our own.
After a cursory google, it sounds to me like Class A/B is mainly related to radio frequencies, whereas Class 1/2 over here is more about electricity. Still, handy to know.
As our Nords are made from metal, I don't see a way to consider your Stage 3 as a Class II appliance. It will not have a double insulation which is mandatory for Class II.
So, your Stage 3 will need to have a three core cable and needs to pass the grounding (earth continuity) test.
Based on earlier Nord models which did not use a 3prong grounded electrical plug, I'm pretty sure all Nord keyboards are Class 2. The newer keyboards do use a 3-prong IEC cable and ground is connected internally to the case, but I don't believe the switch to the IEC style connection was anything more than pragmatic (IEC cables are available everywhere - the 2prong cables were not). So the basic safety of the device does not rely on the grounded plug.
Class II – Double insulated wiring, The earth clamp is still connected during the insulation test. The appliance may or may not have an earth connection (some appliances have a functional earth), but the safety of the appliance does not depend on the earth connection.
Last edited by cgrafx on 25 Sep 2022, 19:28, edited 1 time in total.
Current Gear: NS3C, NP5-88, NP5-73, Alesis QS7.1 & QS8.2, Hammond B3 with Leslie 122, Yamaha CP70, Yamaha C3 6' Grand, Roland D-05
The earth lead from the power socket doesn't connect to anything. You can see the live and neutral traces in the PCB, but not a third for the earth.
This makes the NS3 a bit tricky to PAT test. It's not marked as a class II device (double square), but it won't pass a class I PAT test because there's no connection to earth on any of the exposed metal.
At the Thomann site there is shot of the back of the NS4: I can see a 'two boxes' mark (similar to the Class II) but with an additional earth symbol crossed by a semicircle. It is next to the FCC symbol. What is that?
symbol.png (85.88 KiB) Viewed 1180 times
The NS2 has the standard two box mark.
Last edited by Mr_-G- on 02 Oct 2023, 20:05, edited 1 time in total.
