DC power plug 6mm 2.1mm

Time for some proper DIY !

D i m or Tabbytroll 'll fixit....

I wonder if anyone can help. Looking for a replacement DC barrel plug to fit a BT Homehub 5A power supply. I believe the plug is a "Type B 6mm 2.1mm" according to wikidev which has gone offline at the mo.

Note The BT Homehub 5B has a different sort of plug.

CPC plugs are only 2.1mm x 5.5mm.

I don't know, but by the time I've bought ten of them and paid postage they turn out quite expensive if unsuitable.

Owain

Often it is, you either end up with a plug that is too tight to fit, or too loose to make proper contact ...

There some odd ones about. I never did find one to fit an old Sony portable CD player, it was very small.

I don't like these barrel plugs, the one on my tv even in standby starts to cause hash on the hi if when it gets a bit tarnished. Brian

or that when its twisted it goes intermittent. Brian

I bought one of these:

Another Dave

Ebay.

Very probably, but I haven't managed to find one.

Owain

Search DC power plug. Are you sure it is 6mm? Common is 5.5mm

Homehubs come up every month or 3 on Freecycle here so I'll keep an eye open for one if you can wait that long. (I've picked up Homehubs and a Smarthub that way but they're all installed elsewhere as access points so I can't measure their barrels.)

Thank you. I'm in the unfortunate position (thanks to slightly inattentive ebaying) of having a Homehub 5A with a Homehub 5B power supply.

Owain

Yes ... this page

Actually I've just compared the two. i can't tell the difference in the outer diameter between 4.4 and 6mm, but the inner hole is much thinner on the 5B supply and I think the pin is larger on the 5A. Hence (AFAICS) a 5A supply can be used on a 5B hub, but not the other way around.

The hole on a 5A supply looks larger than 2.1mm.

Owain

I'll take it I shouldn't confine my search to a Homehub Type B with a Type A PSU :)

Noooo ... The Homehub Type B can't be OpenWRT'd

Owain

Measuring the external and internal diameter of my original BT HH5a plug, it's 5.5mm x 3 mm (not sure if the internal part of the barrel is actually a cone shape, as the central pin on the socket is less than

I thought they (internally) were cylindrical but with some sort of sprung element to help make a good contact? That could be a single spring 'finger' or a split inward sprung tube or a 'fork' (inside the tip connector)?

The thought being that if both inner and outer part of the plug / socket assembly were accurately machined / made and had at best a light sliding fit on both parts (outer plug barrel in socket, pin inside plug sleeve), the chances are a little bit of wear would mean a tiny gap between the pin and plug sleeve and hence no contact?

I know the chassis sockets often have a spring loaded contact (/switch) on one side and I guess that could make contact with the plug barrel whilst pushing the sleeve onto the pin, but what about in-line sockets?

Cheers, T i m

Correct use of the word 'loose' :-)

I found a plug that is marked as 5.0x2.1 and it does *not* fit the HH5a, due to the 2.1 being too narrow (the 5.0 is obviously too narrow as well, but that would just lead to a loose fit, rather than not fitting at all).