I'm having a tidy up and can't decide whether to chuck some stuff or stick it in the eaves in case it ever comes in.
I feel like chucking would be good for the soul.
I appear to have kept every wall wart/PSU i've ever owned? Shall I chuck them all.
And a bunch of routers & ADSL modems?
And how many spare kettle leads should you afford yourself at any given time? :)
It doesn't matter. As soon as you've chucked something out, Sod's Law will operate and you'll find you need it immediately. Until that time you won't need it; it's an unbeatable universal law.
Keep it for 7 years, throw it out, and then you'll want it the next day.
My problem is I keep things, forget I have them, and then replace them only to find the saved item later. In my old age I've started making notes on my phone of where I've stored things mind you swmbo will always know where they are
Same. I needed to boot an old machine some time ago but it wanted to see a keyboard, PS2, I went out and bought one but i've since stumbled on one.
Conversely i bought a thermal label printer sold without a PSU convinced I would have something suitable, i've dozens! Nope!
They're getting junked, it's becoming ridiculous.
Save one of anything you can't buy again. Ditch duplicates or what you can buy if needed.
I got fooled on that one.
Label printer said it needed "7V".
I connected a 7V supply, and there wasn't enough oomph to run the motor to advance the label.
Turns out it needs a 7V *unregulated* DC supply, which runs about 9.8V before you click the print button ("unloaded"), then drops to 7V while the label comes out (due to the current draw). That's a transformer based brick and rather large for the power rating (7V @ 1.2 amps).
I figured I could cheap out and use what I had. The label gadget had other ideas.
Paul
Save that cylinder phonograph, magic lantern...
I wonder if it's possible to standardise on a few voltages:
5V USB (for gadgets that take 3/4 alkaline cells, on the basis that 5V is within their natural operating range.) 9V 12V 15V (not sure much uses that?) 20V for laptops etcAnything that expects to run off an unregulated supply should have one of these in their range. Anything with a SMPSU should be fine too.
Those happen to be the voltages of USB-PD and Qualcomm QC, although right now those PSUs are a bit too pricey to have around by the dozen. Perhaps over time we'll end up with a collection of old chargers...
The trickier thing is gadgets that expect a certain transformer impedance to limit the current. That's often crude battery charging widgets. It's difficult to know whether your widget will be relying on that 'feature', and whether a 5A supply might cause it trouble...
Theo
I threw out all the small wall warts that (by their weight) contained transformers rather than being SM. I saved a few of the leads with plugs attached.
I haven't used an ADSL modem in year. routers make good wifi points if a little large. Really, stuff like VHS, cassette, ipods - who needs em?
Even a quality FM tuner is hard to sell these days.,
The wallwarts and PSUs are likely to have real transformers in them if of a certain age, transformers that are a disappearing commodity.
Hang onto them
There's nothing the matter with MP3 players if all you want is the music without the faff of a phone. I still use the teeny Zen Mosaic I bought in '09. I think the battery still plays for 30 hours on a full charge.
Personally any of the older wall warts could be worth keeping or flogging at a boot sale as they may be heavy and sometimes get warm, but they do not create a radio jammer and as long as the buyer can fit the correct adaptor for its plug and knows a bit about the requirements of the device its needed for it can be far better than the supplied el cheapo chines ones already supplied. Brian
Do people still use kettles with old fashioned leads? Most of them are ju types with the usual bases that are universal. Brian
And store anything electronic in a stable temperature place since they will undoubtedly not work when you want them otherwise.
Modems, no point really, routers, it depends on the system you might need it for. Brian
"Kettle lead" has become a rather generic name . It doesn't require the use of a kettle to be a kettle lead .
Sorry Brian didn't top-post before
From:-
Although (someone will point this out so it might as well be me), technically nearly all of them aren't actually kettle keads!
Indeed, not got the notch (to mark them as hot)
Avpx
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