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Electronics Forum / Basics / September 2006Change from Battery to AC Power
Hi, I'm trying to setup my baby's rocker, which currently uses 4 "D" batteries. I'd like to have this work an AC power unit. I was thinking about purchasing a 6V power adapter and connecting to the rocker, does this make sense or does anyone have any suggestions? > Hi, > > I'm trying to setup my baby's rocker, which currently uses 4 "D" > batteries. I'd like to have this work an AC power unit. I was > thinking about purchasing a 6V power adapter and connecting to the > rocker, does this make sense or does anyone have any suggestions? Hi, Joey. Makes perfect sense, I did it myself many years ago. You can find a surplus DC adapter for less than the cost of 4 "D" alkaline batteries. First, get a 6 volt *DC* adapter, not AC. Use a meter to find out which wire is +, and connect that to the + battery clip. I didn't try it, but I'd guess it won't work very well with the rocker motor running backwards. The ratchet mechanism needs the motor to be running the right direction. Second, make sure your adapter is rated for at least 1 amp. Third, be *very* careful about the wires. Use Ty-Raps or whatever you need to make absolutely sure the wire stays away from baby -- strangulation, not electrocution is the problem. Don't drop the ball here. Also remember that any mods void any warranty or manufacturer support, not that it's such a big deal. These are usually pretty reliable. Baby usually outgrows them before they break. Congratulations, and have fun. Cheers Chris > > Hi, > > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > Cheers > Chris ... make certain about the polarity - otherwise baby will wake up instead of going off to sleep ;-) Alright, I had to excercise a bit of my grade 12 physics, but I finally got it. As I mentioned the unit took 4 "D" batteries to operate. What I did was use a 6V 2A wall wort and connected the polls to the correct ends. I completed the circuit in the remaining 3 battery slots and viola - it works! One problem,however, it used to play music and turn a mobile as well and those do not seem to move at all any more. Could it be that one of the battery slots was for the mobile and music and not connected in series to the remaining batteries? This has become an interesting challenge! Any thoughts? > Alright, I had to excercise a bit of my grade 12 physics, but I finally > got it. As I mentioned the unit took 4 "D" batteries to operate. What [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > the battery slots was for the mobile and music and not connected in > series to the remaining batteries? More likely they tapped a different voltage off the batteries for that. I.E., only two batteries drive the mobile/music. That makes it much more complex to deal with. > Alright, I had to excercise a bit of my grade 12 physics, but I finally > got it. As I mentioned the unit took 4 "D" batteries to operate. What [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > This has become an interesting challenge! Any thoughts? Very possible that there's a tap at 3V or 4.5V. In which case you'll either have to lose the functionality or put in a separate regulator. Not too hard. I hope you used a meter to check which wire was +. It might also be possible you may have inadvertently hooked up the power supply backwards. If so, that might have smoked something (particularly an IC that might be doing the tunes). More likely, though, that one of the wires clipped to either the + or - ends has come loose (they're typically either clipped or wedged into the battery clip). Gotta take it apart and check first. Good luck Chris joey.raheb@gmail.com wrote in news:1159063435.067604.20350 @i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: > Hi, > > I'm trying to setup my baby's rocker, which currently uses 4 "D" > batteries. I'd like to have this work an AC power unit. I was > thinking about purchasing a 6V power adapter and connecting to the > rocker, does this make sense or does anyone have any suggestions? Some devices have a place to plug in an AC adapter already. Look carefully for a hole with a pin in the middle. Puckdropper  SignatureWise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it. To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm > Hi, > > I'm trying to setup my baby's rocker, which currently uses 4 "D" > batteries. I'd like to have this work an AC power unit. I was > thinking about purchasing a 6V power adapter and connecting to the > rocker, does this make sense or does anyone have any suggestions? You probably have a spare plug pack, wall wart, or whatever you want to call it, lying around. It could be 6v, 9v or 12v. Whatever it is drop the voltage with diodes (n400x) in series, allow 1.5 v per diode. They will fit very nicely in a plastic connector strip. Make sure the current is flowing in the right direction using a multimeter. R |
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