DiscoChicken
Lawrenceville, GA
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Joined: 11/19/2010
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I have a few electronic toys that have DC wall wart power adapters. I was wondering if I could somehow hook these up to the DC system of the Truck Camper.
An example adapter:
Input: 100-240V ~50-60Hz 600mA
Output: 7.5V-... 2140mA
I've searched Google for DC power plug, but all I see is cigarette lighter sockets or more wall warts. I figure I would need a fuse or someway to get the voltage to match the requirements of the electronic toy. In other words in can't be connected straight to the battery; Right? I am currently using an inverter for these things, but it seems to me running it straight to DC would be more efficient. Any help would be appreciated.
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KD4UPL
Swoope, VA
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There are devices to do what you want. Radio Shack used to carry them but I haven't shopped there in years.
A fuse won't reduce the voltage, you need a voltage regulator for that. Try looking for a "universal DC adapter". It will be a device that plugs into a lighter jack, has a switch to select the proper voltage, and various plugs to put on the end of the wire to fit different appliances.
Eliminating the inverter would indeed increase the efficiency.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi,
What you are looking for is called a DC to DC converter.
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
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Kalabin
Alaska
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What the others have said is correct.
In the telco industry we use -48V DC battery plants to power our equipment / lines. However most cell sites use a +24V system. To get around this we use DC - DC Converters that take the source voltage and step it up or down to the voltage required. When we wire these up we wire it off of a circuit breaker that is connected to the +24V DC buss. The breaker is limiting total current to the circuit. Our systems typtically go like this.
+24V Circuit Breaker (5-100amp) > DC-DC Converter > -48V Fuse Panel (not to exceed DC-DC Converter max amperage > wire -48V device from GMT Fuse position.
For your situation your looking to get 7.5V DC with a max current of 2.14Amps. The only down side to this setup is if you had multiple DC Devices that required different voltages that you would want to connect directly this way.
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smkettner
Southern California
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I power my tv, dvd, laptop and charge small items with a Go Power 300w sine wave inverter.
I mounted the inverter behind the fuse-breaker panel. 12v connects to the main battery feed to the panel. 120v is wired into the entertainment area circuit with an automatic transfer switch. The wiring is very straight forward if you have done any home wiring before. The Go Power 300w has a provision for a remote power switch so with the touch of a button I have instant power.
GP 300w SW $172
Xantrex 15 amp switch $49
So all in maybe $250-$300 for self install.
Or you might get by fine with a $25 ~100w MSW inverter.
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Lynnsr
Colorado
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Disco, you do not want to go thru a AC converter.
Try This Link
you can tie this direct to the RV 12 volt system thru a fuse preferably.
Lynnsr
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Chuck and Di
Ontario, Canada
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DiscoChicken wrote:I have a few electronic toys that have DC wall wart power adapters. I was wondering if I could somehow hook these up to the DC system of the Truck Camper.
An example adapter:
Input: 100-240V ~50-60Hz 600mA
Output: 7.5V-... 2140mA
I've searched Google for DC power plug, but all I see is cigarette lighter sockets or more wall warts. I figure I would need a fuse or someway to get the voltage to match the requirements of the electronic toy. In other words in can't be connected straight to the battery; Right? I am currently using an inverter for these things, but it seems to me running it straight to DC would be more efficient. Any help would be appreciated.
Running directly from the battery requires some knowledge of what you are doing, or you will be shopping for new toys. The example you gave of needing 7.5V would cause the magic smoke to leak out if you connect it to the 12 V battery directly - even through a fuse.
Honestly, the best thing to do is keep using the inverter. These things are pretty efficient these days. The amount of energy you would save by building DC-DC converters is pretty trivial, and not worth the effort or risk. Don't forget the continuous changes in toys too - new cell phone, etc. will likely require still more DC-DC adapters.
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DWeikert
York, PA
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Joined: 02/07/2006
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Lynnsr wrote:Disco, you do not want to go thru a AC converter.
Try This Link
you can tie this direct to the RV 12 volt system thru a fuse preferably.
Lynnsr
X2
This is exactly what DiscoChicken needs. Odds are there is a 12V socket this can be plugged into that is already fused.
Thanks for the link!
Dan
2008 Chevy D/A 2500HD ECSB
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KD4UPL
Swoope, VA
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Well what do you know. Radio Shack still has these things. I looked it up for you.
Here's what you need:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3875414
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camperpaul
Wherever I park my travel trailer
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KD4UPL wrote:Well what do you know. Radio Shack still has these things. I looked it up for you.
Here's what you need:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3875414
Clicky
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