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How exact does voltage need to be?
knave:
I've decided to gather some parts to hack my Jakks unit. I picked up a wall wart that is 6v (regulated) it shows 6.19v on the multimeter.
Is the extra .19v going to hurt anything? Am I being paranoied by even asking?
Probably. :-[ But since I'm a noob I thought I'd ask.
DaOld Man:
Probably not, but since I dont know what a Jakks unit is, I cant say for sure.
The voltage will most likely drop to an even 6 volts, when it is loaded.
fjl:
For just about any equipment that uses a "wall wart' it shouldn't matter cause its known that those things are never accurate. I doub't it will matter. Unless you are using it for a highly sensitive electrical device.
What are you planning to power with it? Also take into consideration that the voltage reading you are getting is without a load. In other words its not connected to anything. Once connected it could easily jump down to about 6.0 Volts.
knave:
--- Quote from: DaOld Man on October 08, 2007, 06:27:24 pm ---Probably not, but since I dont know what a Jakks unit is, I cant say for sure.
The voltage will most likely drop to an even 6 volts, when it is loaded.
--- End quote ---
Jakks tv games plug and play arcade gold...for those who don't know it's a little handheld joystick that has 8 classic arcade games ported to run on a tv.
It uses 4 AA batteries (thus 6v)
I'm sticking it in a box with real arcade controls. (gotta get a better Pacman high score...)
I love it.
Anyway I've heard that they have a really low draw and don't want to fry it over time.
DaOld Man:
I would say the 6 volt adapter will work just fine.
As long as it is regulated.
And you said it is 6.19 with no load attached, I would say it is very well regulated. I have seen non-regulated adapters (I call em "wall warts") run as high as 50% over rated voltage, with no load.
If you are really worried about it, just add a 6 volt zener diode and resistor to clip anything over 6 volts.
Here is a link to calculate the zener and resistor you will need:
http://www.opamplabs.com/zenerreg.htm
I guessed the load to be about 20 ma (.020). It's probably a lot less.
with 6.19 volts in, 6 volts out, load of .020, the calculator says you will need
a 19 ohm 1/8 watt resistor with a 6 volt 1/8 watt zener.
should be able to get these at Radio Shack.
But I really dont think .19 volts is going to hurt anything. I cant tell you what to do, but if it were mine, I would try it with just the wall wart.
Good luck, and let us know what you come up with.