temoin de fonctionnement

English translation: mains OR power OR 'on' indicator

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	temoin de fonctionnement
English translation:	mains OR power OR 'on' indicator
Entered by:	Tony M

21:14 Aug 19, 2010

The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2010-08-23 15:54:11 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)

French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Mechanics / Mech Engineering / remote tools

French term or phrase: temoin de fonctionnement

"Caractéristiques
- 1 prise télécommandée 230VAC-50Hz
- Puissance maxi : 1000W
- 1 télécommande 16 canaux
- Portée en champ libre : 120 m
- Témoin de fonctionnement
- Fusible interne de sécurité
- La télécommande fonctionne avec 1 pile 12V de type 23A (fournie)
- Fréquence radio : 433,92MHz
- La prise et la télécommande sont à usage uniquement en intérieur"

not sure what the witness aspect could be in this context??

katem81 KudoZ activity Questions: 140 (10 open) (1 without valid answers) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 0
Local time: 22:58

mains OR power on indicator

Explanation:
As Ann says, 'indicator' is the word needed for 'temoin' here (also often found as 'voyant') — however, calling it a 'light' is rather layman's language, and if you look for the equivalent in EN texts, you'll usually find that the 'indicator' is qualified in some other way: 'mains indicator', 'power on indicator', etc. — in most cases, if it is intended to indicate that the unit is working, then it will indeed simply indicate that the power is on. I feel pretty sure this would be the case here, in this relatively basic context.

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Note added at 20 mins (2010-08-19 21:34:12 GMT)
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Of course, in your context of remote-controlled sockets, that's why you need an indicator — and it will indeed be a 'mains on' indicator!

The problem with this type of socket is that you have no way of knowing if the power is on or off (unless you can tell from soemthing that is plugged in to it!) — and someone might come along and remotely turn it on just as you were sticking your fingers in the socket... So it's quite important to be able to tell when the mains voltage is present or not.

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Note added at 55 mins (2010-08-19 22:10:04 GMT)
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I guess perhaps for the US something like 'power indicator' might be OK? The 'on' is rather redundant, since it is unusual (not to say technically tiresome) to produce a special indicator just to show when the power is 'off'.

Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 23:58

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +3

mains OR power on indicator

Tony M

3 +3

indicator light

Travelin Ann

activity LED

Jennifer Levey

operation indication

meirs

3 -1

operational tell-tale

Callum Walker

Discussion entries: 6

Travelin Ann

22:57 Aug 19, 2010

As certain remote controls "blink" when a button is pressed.//
How about "status indicator"?

rkillings

United States

22:54 Aug 19, 2010

Ah, but it wouldn't take much to have the LED pulse on and off when it's receiving a radio command, to tell you the thing is working.

Tony M

France

@ RK

22:16 Aug 19, 2010

Normally, I'd agree with you, but these remote-controlled sockets are such simple devices, I really doubt it would be anything so sophisticated; as I said below, it's just important to know if the power is on or off, i.e. if the socket is live or not (before you go to plug something in).

rkillings

United States

22:10 Aug 19, 2010

It's an indicator all right, but do we know that it's merely an indicator of powered-up status? The French term would not be inconsistent with a fault indicator that would tell you whether everything is on and working (including, say, the radio circuitry).

Tony M

France

@ Callum

21:53 Aug 19, 2010

I found 472 Ghits for "LED tell-tale", compared to over a million for "LED indicator" — but interestingly enough, as you say, it seems to be used a lot in automotive contexts.

I am familiar with the term 'tell-tale' particularly for indicating something that you couldn't otherwise know — the classic one being the 'fuse blown' indicators used on some equipment; if there wasn't a tell-tale indicator, then it wouldn't be easy to know... I've also encountered the term used to refer to something that may betray a past condition: for example, that a piece of delicate equipment has been subjected to excessive shock or temperature; even though that condition may have now been eliminated, the tell-tale 'spills the beans': "I've been dropped!"

Travelin Ann

@katem81

21:42 Aug 19, 2010

Target audience? Which English-speaking country(ies)?
Tony M's suggestion of mains indicator is completely accurate, but would not be widely understood in the US, for example.
Normally, with a 230V AC designation, I would not offer a US EN option, since we use 110/120 for most things. But, some major electrical items do run on 220/230 in the US.

Answers

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

operational tell-tale

Explanation:
This would be a light which tells you whether the device is working or not (or working properly or not).

Translation taken from Termium Plus.

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Note added at 2 mins (2010-08-19 21:16:56 GMT)
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Definition: "Informe le conducteur qu'un dispositif a été mis en action et qu'il fonctionne correctement." (this is obviously in the context of a car/vehicle - but applies to most electronics).

Callum Walker
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:58
Native speaker of: English

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

indicator light

Explanation:
something that gives you feedback that it is working

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Note added at 6 mins (2010-08-19 21:20:26 GMT)
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http://raywinstead.com/nintendods.shtml

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Note added at 19 mins (2010-08-19 21:33:23 GMT)
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"In-use indicator" - the example happens to be a light, but the name describes the function in a more generic fashion.
http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20060723/in-use-indicator/

Travelin Ann
Local time: 17:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24

24 mins confidence:

operation indication

Explanation:
I chose indication purpose (not indicator) - to express what benefit the user gets rather than what device the kit has. Temoin is actually "feedback" IMHO (like DE Rueckmeldung)

meirs
Israel
Local time: 00:58
Native speaker of:

Hebrew,

Romanian
PRO pts in category: 20

16 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

mains OR power on indicator

Tony M
France
Local time: 23:58
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 630

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

mhanbury: what about ON/OFF indicator?

16 mins

-> Thanks! Yes, you're right, though being a pedant, I'd say that it can only indicate when it is 'on', and not indicate when it is 'off' ;-)

agree

Travelin Ann: I like this, with the proviso mentioned in my discussion entry. US tends to speak of "water mains" but not for electrical power.// Love it when we can communicate in spite of our common language ;)//My new telly has a red standby indicator, w/green for on

32 mins

-> Thanks, Ann! In my Euro-centric way, I'd sort of assumed it had to be this side of the Pond — and indeed yes, doesn't do to mix water and electricity, now does it?! ;-) / Yup, mine too!

neutral

Jennifer Levey: I don't read this as a 'power' indicator - rather as a 'working' indicator.

2 hrs

-> Sure — but in the context of a simple remote-controlled socket, 'working' simply means that 'the power is on'...

agree

chris collister: I like the idea simply of "ON indicator".

13 hrs

-> Thanks, Chris! Yes, probably all that is needed here, eh?

3 hrs confidence:

activity LED

Explanation:
My guess is as good as anyone's here :)

It's similar to that flashing wot-not on your PC that flashes to tell you the hard disc is working, not the static wot-not that tells you the thing is switched on.

Of course, the 'témoin' might not be a LED - but if it ain't then I'll eat my hat!

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Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 17:58
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 126

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