I had to laugh when I came across this bit of Korean made gear:

Check out the handle.  It has got the word “handle” embossed into it!  I don’t know why they felt that they had to do that.  It is even more odd when you consider that the rest of the gear is covered in Korean language rather than English.

Now I can’t read Korean but a circuit is a circuit in any language.  After pulling it apart I could see that it was just an autotransformer with a number of switched taps coming off it.  There was also a voltage meter, front panel plug (Asian style), current overload switch, and back panel  output terminals.  It is obviously used in an application where the mains voltage needs to be varied for some reason.  The company website is at http://hanilsys.co.kr but without trying a Google translation I could not read it.

The electrical inspectors would have a field day with it.  Firstly, autotransformers are a bit dodgy because if the common connection of the winding goes open circuit the full voltage is applied to the output regardless of its control setting.  I don’t really know how the regulations pertaining to autotransformers would read for a bit of gear like this.  Secondly, the metal case was not earthed, which is a complete no-no here in New Zealand.   Also, the screw terminals on the back carrying the controlled mains voltage are not completely enclosed, and that will not pass muster.

Needless to say the thing is now in the scrap pile waiting to be recycled.