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| Question for those with Electronics knowledge (adapting 12V power adapter) |
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| JDFan:
OK a bit of background first - ( IF this is the wrong place to post this let me know and I'll ask a mod to move it but seems this sub forum deals with the electronics a bit more than other sub forums) I'll be building a small bartop with one of the NAMCO pac man plug and play units and a Slave monitor from a dual car DVD player and had a question that someone might be able to provide some answer for. Currently I have 2 power adapters - one 6V 250ma that I use to run the Pac man unit ( soldered to the power connectors to bypass the battery compartment ) which runs on 3 AA batteries and a second 12V 1.3A adapter that runs the DVD screen which requires 9-12V .8A supply (according to the specs). Using the 2 adapters everything works fine but it seems a waste to use the second adapter if both could be run using the single 12V 1.3A adapter. So the question is there an easy method to adapt a 12V 1.3A power adapter to supply both 12V 0.8A and 6V 250ma power so that both units could be run from a single power adapter. (from my little knowledge of electronics it seems it should be since the power draw wattage will be substantially less than the requirements but not sure if things would be stable if trying to place resistors or similar in line to drop the output from 12V to 6V while also running the 12V monitor. Any one with any insight would be appreciated ( If it is a tough thing to do then using both adapters will suffice but as usual am wanting to experiment if it can be done fairly easily.) |
| DaOld Man:
You could use a 6 volt regulator mounted in the battery compartment of the Namco unit. This regulator would drop the voltage from the 12 volt adapter to 6 volt. It is a chip that has three leads, throw in a couple of capacitors and solder it in the battery compartment and you are good to go. Here is a link to the chip (might be able to get one at radio shack, if you have one near): http://www.jameco.com/1/3/voltage-regulator-6-volt Note: if the Namco unit only uses 3 batteries, you might be better off to use a 5 volt regulator. 3 batteries = 1.5 volts X 3= 4.5 volts. (Unless the Namco unit takes a special battery that is more than 1.5 volts.) Jameco should have the 5 volt regulators too, if you decide that's what you want to use. |
| JDFan:
--- Quote from: DaOld Man on April 17, 2014, 09:50:47 pm ---You could use a 6 volt regulator mounted in the battery compartment of the Namco unit. This regulator would drop the voltage from the 12 volt adapter to 6 volt. It is a chip that has three leads, throw in a couple of capacitors and solder it in the battery compartment and you are good to go. Here is a link to the chip (might be able to get one at radio shack, if you have one near): http://www.jameco.com/1/3/voltage-regulator-6-volt Note: if the Namco unit only uses 3 batteries, you might be better off to use a 5 volt regulator. 3 batteries = 1.5 volts X 3= 4.5 volts. (Unless the Namco unit takes a special battery that is more than 1.5 volts.) Jameco should have the 5 volt regulators too, if you decide that's what you want to use. --- End quote --- Thanks for the info -- It's 4 batteries (mistyped and hit 3) -- but it will run on as low as 4 - 4.5 volts since they allow for rechargeable batteries at 1.2V rather than 1.5V also. Looks like something like this diagram should work and be fairly easy to put together ! (sure is easier to find info when you know what part name to Google !) EDIT: One follow up question - I have several small Heatsinks from old Video card memory chips, would it be best to put one of them on the Voltage regulator to dissipate the heat or will there not be much heat build up going from 12V to 5V ? |
| JDFan:
How do the Chinese do it ?? Was looking around a bit more and came across the LM2596 DC - DC Buck converter which seems to be another alternative LINKIE - ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-Buck-Converter-Step-Down-Module-LM2596HVS-Power-Supply-Output-3V-35V-/321356691196?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad259f6fc ) Don't know how you can go wrong at $0.99 shipped for the entire circuit and their welding is much more accurate than mine ! (only drawback is the 10+ days it takes to get here ) |
| DaOld Man:
Im not sure how the Chinese make their stuff so cheap (unless it is slave labor with no environmental or worker safety regulations). That would probably work, but as simple as the regulator circuit would be, and for no more than what you need it for, I would go with the regulator, but its entirely up to you. Also, you probably wont need a heat sink but it sure wouldn't hurt to use one if you have one laying around. be sure to put a drop of heatsink grease on the two mating surfaces or you are probably wasting your time. If you do go with the voltage regulator, I would use the 6 volt one, since the Namco wants 6 volts. |
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