Re: wall wart grief

[Peter Prisekin aka Dusty Chalk <dusty@patriot.net>]

David Myers <dmgraph@earthlink.net> said:

> A bit (!) off-topic, but I'm so sick of dealing with 10 wall warts and 
>power
> strips.  My warts provide 9 VDC, 9 VAC, 12 VDC, and 12 VAC.  I see larger
> supplies (big warts, really) at Mouser in 9 and 12 VDC.  Any EE's here 
>know
> if I can just use these DC sources for all my stuff?  Seems to me that 
>the
> internal circuitry of the units are obviously going to convert to DC, 
>so...?

Yes.  Most devices say exactly what they need:  12VDC and then a funny 
little 
symbol that looks like an alien's attempt at the universal symbol for sex 
with 
a plus on one side and a minus on the other -- it's telling you that you 
want 
to supply a DC 12V differential, and you want to match "+" to "+", and "-" 
to 
"-", and the symbol is telling you whether you want the "tip" (inside) or 
"sleeve" (outside) to supply which.  12VAC is alternating current, so you 
don't want to muck with that (never mix DC and AC).  You also want to 
watch 
your wattages and amperages -- you don't want to ask too much of the 
transformer, otherwise you're going to sacrifice fidelity and possibility 
the 
lifespan of your equipment.  So don't just bare-wire split those supplies, 
make sure you know what you're doing.  There are devices out there that 
supply 
multiple DC voltages, but they're usually all the same, so if you have the 
above mix, I think you're screwed.

Another solution is, Musician's Friend sells them (and I'm sure others), 
but 
there's basically a thing like a wart adapter -- it's just a short 
extension 
cord.  If you go to their web page and do a search on "wart", I believe 
it's 
the last item ("Dr. Ferd's Wall Wart Remover").

I also like using, there's a really nice strip they sell at Micro Center 
(and 
other computer stores, I'm sure), that's three outlets on top, three each 
on 
both sides, and they're all widely spaced, so it can take 9 warts no 
problemo.  
And I'm a synthesist, so I know exactly what you're talking about.  That's 
my 
solution.
-- 
Face down in the lap of luxury, and nowhere to GO but DOWN...
:-Peter aka :-Dusty :-Chalk