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Power plug repair question.

I have a device that has a broken power jack. When I contacted the manufacturer for replacement parts they wouldn't sell me the connector directly. They also wanted to charge me $700 to fix it. I don't think so!!!

Now, I have a jack and plug combination in my junk drawer that will fit into the space used by the original, but I don't know what my parts are rated in terms of maximum voltage. Can anyone tell me how much insulator I should have separating the positive and negative leads of my connector in order to safely handle the 19.5 volts, 7.7 amps that is output from my power transformer? Is there anything else I should consider when trying to find a cheaper replacement?

Thanks, Dave

p.s. We also just found a plug and jack that appear to be RCA video cable connections. They would fit as well, but would they handle power?

Reply to
super_dave_42
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In this case, the voltage rating is neither here nor there. 19.5 volts is nothing, and a piece of plastic tape would be enough insulation to be proof against that sort of voltage. The rating of primary concern is the current handling capability. If the power supply is capable of providing 7.7 amps, then you've got to assume that whatever the equipment is ( you don't specify ) is going to be looking for at least 5 amps at a guess. This is a fairly significant current for a small connector, and it's contacts will need to be heavy and of good quality. Although RCA jacks are capable of carrying a fairly high current, at least the good ones are, the pin configuration with the exposed centre one, is not very good for hot connecting.

All in all, unless you are able to find out the rating of the connector pair that you have to hand, I think that you will have to search the catalogues for a suitable ringer for the original. An insufficiently rated connector may well run hot, and damage not only itself, but also the printed circuit board, to say nothing of the intermittent operation it may give due to voltage drop across it.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Just an afterthought. How about cutting the plug off the PSU's output cable, then hard wiring the cable straight to the unit's PCB. Then, locate a suitably rated line connector, and break it into the cable. Many high current-demand ham radios are done this way.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

"super_dave_42" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@j72g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Here you go:

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Reply to
Jim Land

What sort of device draws that much? Laptop computer?

Reply to
Homer J Simpson

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