[Redwoood]

Hi there!

I have this old PCDP but not its DC adapter.
I do have one of those multi-voltage-el-cheapo wall warts, though.
Its just that none of the plugs fit. No problem (I thought), went to the next RS and got me a fitting plug. Back home, ripped one
of the useless plugs off and soldered the new one onto the cable.
Set the thing to 4.5 volts, and off we go...

Well, not quite. The display of the player turns on and I can select a track, but then when it's about to spin the CD it shuts off.
(Battery operation is still working though)

Well, the display and controls work, so I guess I didn't scew up the soldering. Also voltage seems to be ok, so where's the problem? (I don't own a multimeter)

Is it possible that the wall wart can't provide enough current?

It's rated at 12Vx300mA max.

I don't really understand much of these things so I'm desperately seeking advice from those wiser than me

Thanks

Bye

Redwoood

 

[Possum]

One painful possibility is that the player detects if the adaptor's working at the correction voltage and current (i.e. the same specs as the one that comes with the player). My friend had a Sharp 821 minidisc player from Europe and couldn't get any adaptor of the correct voltage to work and ended up having to buy the specific Sharp adaptor for his model. I only thought of this because when he used a different adaptor, he also had his display on for a brief moment (but it also gave an error message pertaining to the power supply).

 

[thomas]

300mA should be more than enough for most CDPs, but if your's is REALLY old, it could draw more than that....

other than that, i don't see any other problems with your adaptor

(voltage + polarity seem fine, the LCD wouldn't light up properly if it was wrong...)

 

[Redwoood]

Yeah, I thought so too.

However, this is a very old player

Wait, I can do the math myself. It eats 2 AAs (lets say 1000 mah each)

2000 / 300 = 6 1/2 hours of operation.

No way, this guy drains them after 3 hours or so.

Puh, I thought 300mA should be enough to power about everything.

Ok, thanks for the hint

Bye

Redwoood

 

[Possum]

If it only takes 2 AA's (as many many PCDP's do), then set your adaptor to 3V if it has that setting. I noticed that sometimes devices won't work with a voltage that is more than it is meant to use. I have a no-name hub that was given to me because it was missing an adaptor. So I tried a few I had at home and found one that worked. Another adaptor that was rated at a higher voltage caused the hub to not work properly (though the LED indicators came on).

 

[Redwoood]

Well, it says 4.5 V on the power socket. But of course I tried
other voltages, too.

I don't really need this player so I even tried 9v that produced a
'high DC in' message on the display (oh, I love these protective
circuits)

Well, it seems like the player needs 400mA at least.
The original adapter delivers 500mA.


Bye

Redwoood