Posted by so on May 26, 2005, at 12:57:30
In reply to Boring electronics question, posted by KaraS on May 26, 2005, at 2:50:11
> Anyone know anything about plug in power supply AC adapters? My cat chewed up one that's attached to the TV antenna. I have another one here to substitute for it but I think it's more powerful. The original one has input of 120V 60Hz and 8W while the other one I have is 120V 60Hz and 23W. Would the latter one work ok (and just be overkill) or would it be dangerous to use it for some reason? I didn't compare the DC output on either of them. Is that a concern as well?
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First, be sure it is DC output and not AC out. As LH said, output is definately the major concern. To elablorate, one needs correct voltage, correct amperage and correct polarity. Most DC adapters have a tip/ring polarity configuration. Either the tip or the ring is positive, as indicated by a symbol that looks something like +-©-- . (Actually, more like an "o" inside a "C".) If you look carefully, the "+" sign will point to either the inner or the outer ring in the symbol. This needs to match the symbol on your device or polarity can be reversed, which could destroy circuits.Then you need the correct voltage and amperage (or wattage, which is wattage divided by voltage). More amperage than you need would not be a problem, because the device will only pull what it needs through the transformer. Too little amperage could cause a problem, but it seems you're covered on that one, anyway, because input amperege will indicate throughput capacity.
poster:so
thread:503045
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050525/msgs/503190.html