R.I.H. Effing Adaptors

that part I dont know what youre talking about.

Surely googling for advice on where to stick something would turn up a result, even if not very helpful.

Something like that will run most 12v loads but not all.

NT

I think that needs qualifying a little!

Do you include starting a car engine as a 12v load?

Even for devices which are designed to be run off mains adapters, many take more than 350mA. For example, my ADSL router needs at least 1000mA.

When matching an adapter to a device, you need to take account of:

• Voltage
• Current required
• Polarity
• Plug/socket size
• Whether the device requires AC or DC
• Whether the device requires a stabilised supply [I have a feeling that the central pin on the device's socket is fatter when a stabilised supply is required to prevent an unstabilised supply from being used]

Google's obviously beyond you as well

My understanding is that it simply means direct current, from whatever source, e.g. could come from baterries.

MBQ

If you want to get pedantic, a car starter is not a 12v load.

unfortuantely there are no real standards for these lv jacks.

The difference between dc and rectified ac also matters for a minority of devices.

And finally, so does voltage source or curent source. while most lv adaptors are voltage source, there are exceptions, and in those cases subsittuting a regular voltage source adaptor can damage or break equipment, or even possibly be a safety problem.

NT

You've lost me! Please explain what you mean by "voltage source".

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Thanks to everyone else for such clear and concise explanations. No doubt if I hang around here long enough, someone will comply with my request and or supply a translation.

It's working fine from here, s*it face.

A regular power supply would be an example of a voltage source, something that supplies a known voltage.

A current source supplies a known current into a circuit.

MBQ

He's on AOL....

-- Adrian C

A voltage source attempts to maintain a constant voltage. As the load on it varies, the voltage remains constant, but the current increases or decreases. A battery is a reasonable example of a voltage source. It appears to have a low internal impedance, meaning that as you draw more current, the voltage remains constantish. The lower the internal impedance, the better the voltage will hold up as the current demand increases. Most ( but not all ) power supplies are voltage sources.

A current source is a rather stranger beast, less intuitive. It attempts to drive a constant current through the load. It varies the voltage as required to achieve this. It appears to have a very high internal impedance.

Most adaptors are voltage sources in that they deliver a specified voltage, and as you vary the load current the v stays either the same or at least nominaly nearish to the same. Some adaptors are designed to control current output, eg for charging nicads. These may have a relatively high secondary resistance, or less often active circuitry to control the current more accurately.

If you use a voltage source adaptor in place of a current source one, youre going to fry your batteries and the adaptor, as excess current will flow. The good news is it only applies to battery charging wallwarts, the rest are all the usual voltage source types.

NT

It is a 12 v power supply. The dash-above-3-dots indicates DC.

It will be able to supply pretty much any device that needs 12v and requires anything up to 350mA.

Just how well regulated it is, who can say. ( ie, how close to 12v it remains under different loads ).

well you can consider the squiggle over dots as meaning dc, alhough technically it doesnt. Thats'll be close enough for nearly all goods.

NT

Squiggle? A Hyphen is not a squiggle; it's a straight line.

He's clearly describing the symbol for DC:

Thanks - and also to the others who gave a similar explanation. I understand perfectly what you mean - I just wasn't familiar with the particular terminology.

Thanks for that but what will the thing power? I have a load of these things of varying whatsits. How do I find out which can go in the bin and which I aught to keep for whatever?

Is there no site with a suitable list? Some weird nerd with a taste for lists and an unfortunate and highly repulsive hobby?

Basically, they come in three types. AC, DC and regulated DC outputs. Most electronic devices use DC output types, and you can use a DC one where the original was AC, but not the other way round. So the most versatile is a regulated DC type which could be substituted in the majority of cases for the others. The voltage is fairly self explanatory, but will not be as stated if you measure it off load - even with some regulated types. The mA is simply the maximum current the device can supply - it will be happy with less, but the output voltage may rise too high if the load is much less than its capacity.

rectified ac is not dc. But its near enough for most purposes.

NT