6 Feb
2018
6 Feb
'18
3:05 a.m.
On 5 February 2018 at 20:06, Chuck Guzis via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
I have a similar gripe with barrel connectors,
which don't seem to enforce any standard at all regarding polarity or AC
vs. DC.
.. which led me to accidentally power a USB hub with 12V instead of 5V
- the power supplies looked the same, had the same plug, and I
couldn't read the tiny writing on the warts. That blew the nicest
notebook PC I've ever found - I bought it in Japan at a special price,
the normal price is out of my league.
Since then I have bought a Dymo and, armed with a magnifying glass,
went through all the chargers and warts I own and labelled them. Which
I should have done *before* the accident of course. But what if there
was some kind of standard for barrel connectors instead.. sigh.
6 Feb
6 Feb
10:28 a.m.
On 02/06/2018 12:05 AM, Tor Arntsen via cctalk wrote:
.. which led me to accidentally power a USB hub with
12V instead of
5V - the power supplies looked the same, had the same plug, and I
couldn't read the tiny writing on the warts. That blew the nicest
notebook PC I've ever found - I bought it in Japan at a special
price, the normal price is out of my league.
I've done worse--used an AC-supply wall wart on a piece of equipment.
Poor thing didn't stand a chance.
You'd have thought that after all these years, some sort of keying
system would have been developed, but I guess not.
--Chuck
11:10 a.m.
New subject: Foolproof power supply interfaces
I've done worse--used an AC-supply wall wart on a piece of equipment.
Poor thing didn't stand a chance.
You'd have thought that after all these years, some sort of keying
system would have been developed, but I guess not.
I'm not sure it would help. What do we get when we try to make things
foolproof?
A friend asked me to fix his mains powered radio which he said used to work
but had stopped working. I thought the mains lead looked rather flimsey but
I said I would take a look at it anyway. I opened it up and found that the
power went directly onto the PCB where there were some damaged tracks. There
was no sign of a transformer or other evidence of a power supply section.
I asked my friend if anybody else had done anything to the radio before
he asked me to look at it. He said there used to be a big black heavy lump
of a moulded plug on the end of the mains lead but he got someone to cut it
off and change it for a normal sized plug because it wouldn't fit into the
socket he wanted to use it with which was too close to his worktop. He
didn't recall hearing a bang when he first plugged in the new arrangement.
Regards,
Peter Coghlan.
12:38 p.m.
New subject: Foolproof power supply interfaces
On 02/06/2018 08:10 AM, Peter Coghlan via cctalk wrote:
I asked my friend if anybody else had done anything to
the radio before
he asked me to look at it. He said there used to be a big black heavy lump
of a moulded plug on the end of the mains lead but he got someone to cut it
off and change it for a normal sized plug because it wouldn't fit into the
socket he wanted to use it with which was too close to his worktop. He
didn't recall hearing a bang when he first plugged in the new arrangement.
Probably was a quiet "fizz" and a puff of smoke...
Well you can't fix stupid.
But I do have a couple of wall-wart powered devices with either no
indication of polarity (why the hell did someone get the bright idea of
making inner conductor negative?) or voltage/current required.
It's a good thing that I've labeled them as such. Very often, the
"wart" bears some manufacturer ID (if any) that isn't related to the
brand of equipment that it's powering.
I've got my "big box o' warts" that range from 3VDC to 24VAC. I'm
not
sure of what many of them were intended to power at this point.
--Chuck
6:02 p.m.
New subject: Foolproof power supply interfaces
On Tue, 6 Feb 2018, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
But I do have a couple of wall-wart powered devices
with either no
indication of polarity (why the hell did someone get the bright idea of
making inner conductor negative?) or voltage/current required.
It's a good thing that I've labeled them as such. Very often, the
"wart" bears some manufacturer ID (if any) that isn't related to the
brand of equipment that it's powering.
That's what a Brother P-Touch is good for.
Every wall wart should be labelled with the device that it is intended
for, to reunite when separated.
Also, every one should be labelled with voltage, amperage, AC/DC,
polarity, and even plug dimensions (5.5 x 2.5 looks a lot like 5.5 x 2.1!)
"Connectable" P-touch can be sent an icon for polarity, if anybody doesn't
understand "tip"/"ring"
There was a New Yorker cartoon, where the man with massive shelving units
full of wall warts tells his son that someday they will all be his.
I've got my "big box o' warts"
that range from 3VDC to 24VAC. I'm not
sure of what many of them were intended
to power at this point. 
6:46 p.m.
New subject: Foolproof power supply interfaces
Here is my idea. Not perfect but something that can be done to help.
It might be a good idea to put color codes like on a resistor on the connector plug.
You know, green for 5 gold for + center pin and silver for - center pin.
No gold or silver band would be for AC.
Brown Red Gold would be 12VDC + on center pin.
Dwight
________________________________
From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of Fred Cisin via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 6, 2018 3:02:47 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Foolproof power supply interfaces
On Tue, 6 Feb 2018, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
But I do have a couple of wall-wart powered devices
with either no
indication of polarity (why the hell did someone get the bright idea of
making inner conductor negative?) or voltage/current required.
It's a good thing that I've labeled them as such. Very often, the
"wart" bears some manufacturer ID (if any) that isn't related to the
brand of equipment that it's powering.
That's what a Brother P-Touch is good for.
Every wall wart should be labelled with the device that it is intended
for, to reunite when separated.
Also, every one should be labelled with voltage, amperage, AC/DC,
polarity, and even plug dimensions (5.5 x 2.5 looks a lot like 5.5 x 2.1!)
"Connectable" P-touch can be sent an icon for polarity, if anybody doesn't
understand "tip"/"ring"
There was a New Yorker cartoon, where the man with massive shelving units
full of wall warts tells his son that someday they will all be his.
I've got my "big box o' warts"
that range from 3VDC to 24VAC. I'm not
sure of what many of them were intended
to power at this point.
1:43 p.m.
It might be a good idea to put color codes like on a resistor on the connector plug. You
know, green for 5 gold for + center pin and silver for - center pin.
No gold or silver band would be AC.
Brown Red Gold would be 12VDC + on center pin.
Dwight
________________________________
From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of Chuck Guzis via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:28:38 AM
To: Tor Arntsen via cctalk
Subject: Re: [RESOLVED] Re: EPROM baking
On 02/06/2018 12:05 AM, Tor Arntsen via cctalk wrote:
.. which led me to accidentally power a USB hub with
12V instead of
5V - the power supplies looked the same, had the same plug, and I
couldn't read the tiny writing on the warts. That blew the nicest
notebook PC I've ever found - I bought it in Japan at a special
price, the normal price is out of my league.
I've done worse--used an AC-supply wall wart on a piece of equipment.
Poor thing didn't stand a chance.
You'd have thought that after all these years, some sort of keying
system would have been developed, but I guess not.
--Chuck
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