How to upgrade a nondetachable power cord?

Cutting the hole for an IEC is tricky and tedious - Albert or others may have better methods than I, but below is what I've done. If your back panel is extremely heavy, the nibbler may not work and you'll need a "plan b".

- You need a cutter - I bought a nibbler from Radioshack. After removing the old cord, decide how to place the IEC and draw an outline of the hole. You'll need to make a template for this unless your IEC comes with one.
- If the IEC hole is positioned over the existing hole, begin nibbling from inside the hole, and work out to your line - but not past it. You'll need to drill a hole if it's not there.
- Finish off the hole edges with a file. A dremel moto-tool may work better than a hand file, but I do it by hand because the last thing you need is metal shavings on your circuit. It's very tedious, and you'll want to try for fit as you go. The IEC has about 1-2mm trim tab which doesn't leave much room for error.
- Once your IEC fits, and tightly is good - place it and drill the fastening holes (unless it's a snap in model), fasten it, and wire it up.
- When you're done - make sure you get ALL of the metal cuttings out of the unit that may have gotten away. I use an air compressor to air it out.

I tried adding the female IEC to an existing cord - the kind that leave you a pigtail hanging out the back. I removed it and wouldn't do it again, at least not on a good piece of equipment. I think it looks cheap, and if you're leaving the old cord there for the final run to the PS, I'm not sure what you accomplish.

If you're going to do anything, install an IEC with good hookup wire to the PS, or replace the entire cord with a better one.

Finally, you can probably find a shop to do the work for you, but it will be expensive because of the labor involved. OTOH, compared to the cost of a good power cable, this charge will probably be nominal

sounds great Alan. Which CJ amp did you do this on? I recently acquired 2 MF2100's with light duty captive power cords.