AC Adapter Plague

Hi Jeff, I did find one good use for the 5 volt mini usb phone chargers. The wife bought some LED window candles this past Xmas, they use 3 "C" cells _each_(!) So I used the phone charger to power all three of them in our living room front windows. 30 minutes of work saved me a ton in battery expense. Tom

Those are wall warts that are not attached to specific pieces of equipment. The cardboard boxes on the right are full of sorted and tested wall warts. There are two more boxes of wall warts that I didn't feel like dragging over for the photo. Add another 4 large boxes at home and a small box in the vehicle.

Time for a purge.

I have a drawerful of them. Most are Sony 455s. * (Or is it 445? I never can remember.)

The "obsolete" ones can come in handy. For example, a Sony 9V Discman supply does a great job running my Brother label printer.

PS: Speaking of Brother labels... They're a great (though pricey) way to label stuff, but they have an Achilles heel -- they simply won't stick to polypropylene. (I've complained to Brother about this.) After a few minutes on my trash can, or those nice plastic binders from Staples, they start "unwinding". Magic Mending Tape is needed to hold them down.

The preceding is an example of free association.

• Sony produced an elegant little universal switching version of this supply. I bought a box of 'em on eBay. I use one of them to power a pair of STAX electrostatic earphones. (Really.)

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I try to keep no more than 1 adapter of each voltage and sex even though it kills me to throw extras out. We have an area-wide garage sale each summer and I donate as much as I can to that, otherwise my basement would sink even further into the ground.

Yeah, I noticed. Looks like your topic stabilizer circuit is drifting out of control. The usual culprit is too much positive feedback and agreement, which tends to destabilize any feedback circuit. With enough positive feedback, it could easily become oscillatory, or latch at either extreme position. I suggest you add some negative feedback or criticism, which should prevent any further off topic excursions. Also, be sure to check for cranial overheating which is a good indication of bugs in the system.

Many of the newer ones are small switchers and die after 15 months or so.

Mark Z.

I just crack them open, replace the usual bulging electrolytic, and live happily ever after.

The biggest problem is opening the plastic case. Sometimes, it's easy (using a bench vise). Other times, it's impossible.

Yeah - I know. Still a pain.

mz

On a slight tangent: Does anyone make a power strip with outlets spaced to hold multiple wallwarts?

I feel your pain. I feel more pain when I throw away something that can be repaired. When I visit the local recycler, I'm often shocked at all the easily repairable stuff that gets tossed.

One method I like is to use a mason's chisel. I place it along the glue line and LIGHTLY tap the chisel with a hammer. The glue joint is quite brittle. With luck, you'll hear it crack open. If that fails, a hack saw will always work. However, that's a mess to re-glue, and I have to cover the damage with some decorative trim tape.

More:

This time its a rather common Motorola 2210-02 DSL modem power supply.

Sure:

Belkin makes a line of large, two row, power strips that should work. There are also clones. One of them has a rotating power jack that will work with either orientation wall wart plugs.

I use these:

which are expensive, but also repairable and indestructable. I've had plastic power strips almost catch fire when the MOV gets hot, and therefore prefer metal cases. If you need to fit a strange wall wart, just add one of the numerous right angle or 6 jack adapters.

Cyberguys sells an "extendable" power strip (112 0179) and a PowerSquid (121

You can also get cheap AC extender cables.

If you have not yet discovered Monoprice, do so. It has all kinds of cheap-but-good stuff.

What about Dremel cut-off disks?

(You're supposed to respond "Well, what about them?".)

Always check under any paper or mylar label for a recessed screw holding the clam shell halves together.

Too, placing the wall wart in a freezer for 10-15 minutes will make the solvent-glued seam even more brittle and readily crack-able-open-able. I employ a used 3/4" wood chisel bought at a second-hand store -- found in the ever present used-and-abused tools bins.

Jonesy

I've used those. A few problems. The big one for me is that the disk often turns into a mini fragmentation bomb, spraying disk parts everywhere. Just twist the tool even slightly, and it will break the disk. I wear safety glasses *AND* a face shield when I use a hand grinder or Dremel tool.

Another problem is a tendency to cut too deep, resulting in component damage. The hack saw has the same problem, but I can usually feel when I've broken through. There's also a problem of going to slowly and melting the plastic case instead of cutting it. Lastly, I don't like cleaning up the mess from the Dremel. It creates a fine abrasive dust over a wide area, while the hack saw just creates comparatively larger plastic dust over a smaller area.

One trick I've used is with an ultrasonic scaler.

These are normally used to chip off plaque from teeth, but work equally well cracking the glue line on wall warts. I use a tip shaped like a small spatula. The down side is that the ultrasonics are fully capable of breaking the wire bonds inside some chips and xsistors. I've only had one such failure, but it pays to be careful with this method.

I just watched some really awful YouTube videos on power supply and charger repair. Everything from beat on it with a hammer to using a hot knife. You're on your own if you want to experiment.

On the other foot, there are some wall warts which just will not cooperate. One memorable failure was after pounding on the case repeatedly, and resorting to the hack saw, it still would not come apart. In frustration, I cracked the plastic case, only to find that it had two screws hidden under the label. I just hate it when that happens.

Jeff Liebermann wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

use the fiberglass reinforced discs,or the heavy-duty discs. You can also find small diameter sawblades for the Dremel,very thin kerf.

I LOVE my Dremel. (OLD model 270,no built-in speed control) I have a speed controller made from a lamp dimmer and junction box,with a duplex outlet tha thte Dremel plugs into.It makes the Dremel much more versatile.

maybe one of the new oscillating multifunction tools,HF was selling one for $20,but cutter discs are extra. they cut slow.

checking under labels for screws is the first thing I do,although I hate messing up the labels.

Oh,and instead of a hacksaw,try a X-acto "razor" saw,they have blades with very fine kerfs,fits into a large X-acto handle. Hobby stores should have them,there's 3 different blades,with various teeth/inch.

I'll look into those. Sounds interesting.

Bad idea. I tried those. If I just lightly hit the transformer or shield inside a typical laptop power supply, the blade becomes instantly dull. One mistake and it's time to buy a new saw blade. No thanks.

That's why I usually don't check first.

Hmmm... I haven't tried those. Looks promising.

I did try a narrow coping saw. It worked but the blade was too easily bent into an arc. A hack saw blade won't do that.

Here is a tiny table saw that would give you a fixed depth & straight cut:

Cute. That might work. I have a 3.375" dia blade on my Makita 5090D

which also has adjustable cut depth. Clamp the wall wart in a bench vice, set the cut depth, and try to cut in a straight line. Looks like the mini table saw has the advantage of a rip fence. Still, cutting a straight line may be a problem with odd shaped wall warts.

Incidentally, when I cut with a hack saw, I try NOT to cut all the way through the plastic. The joint usually consists of two overlapping plastic tongues. It's only necessary to cut through the upper tongue in order to break the joint. That also leaves a neat grove with which to fill for reassembling the wall wart.