Hooking up low voltage DC power adapter.
#1
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Hooking up low voltage DC power adapter.
I hope someone can help me out and hope I put this in the right forum.
I have a NordicTrack exercise bike that uses 4 D alkaline batteries to power the display, fan, & to change resistance.
The batteries only last a month or less.
I want to buy and hook up DC power adapter to plug into the wall outlet so I don't have to use batteries.
I was going to solder 2 wires on where the battery terminal wires are at then have that hook up to a female plug adapter that is mounted on the bike somewhere. Then I could use the DC power adapter and plug it into the female connector.
Few questions:
I thought most DC devices are lenient on the voltage input.
Should I go with a 6v power adapter or a little higher?
If so what voltage?
What max amps on the adapter I would need? 1A, 2A? ETC.
Should I put a inline fuse somewhere?
Sound about right?
Thanks in advance.
I have a NordicTrack exercise bike that uses 4 D alkaline batteries to power the display, fan, & to change resistance.
The batteries only last a month or less.
I want to buy and hook up DC power adapter to plug into the wall outlet so I don't have to use batteries.
I was going to solder 2 wires on where the battery terminal wires are at then have that hook up to a female plug adapter that is mounted on the bike somewhere. Then I could use the DC power adapter and plug it into the female connector.
Few questions:
I thought most DC devices are lenient on the voltage input.
Should I go with a 6v power adapter or a little higher?
If so what voltage?
What max amps on the adapter I would need? 1A, 2A? ETC.
Should I put a inline fuse somewhere?
Sound about right?
Thanks in advance.
#2
You should use a 6vdc 1A or less transformer. Something like in the following link. If you wanted to use a fuse you could put a 1A fuse right at the battery holder.
Amazon_6vdc_1A_power supply
Amazon_6vdc_1A_power supply
#3
Member
I would test it first before soldering - batteries supply clean dc power - the transformer may (will) have some ripple in it that may affect the circuit. If they had intended for this to be used with a transformer they would have supplied a connector and the filtering would be built in.
#4
Many exercise equipment companies use batteries in their upper control boards.
Never could figure that one out.... either a cost thing or a UL thing.
The supply I linked to is a switching supply and will work on a battery circuit.
Never could figure that one out.... either a cost thing or a UL thing.
The supply I linked to is a switching supply and will work on a battery circuit.
#5
What I have done before is make wood batteries. At the two battery contacts that provide power to the device I use a brass pan head screw with the wire underneath. This way you can easily switch back to batteries if you ever need to (or if the supply you chose doesn't work).
#7
Originally Posted by RAY2047
What I have done before is make wood batteries.
D cells are 1.3" in diameter. What I did as a starving student using a boom box for dorm tunes was cut a 1.25" closet rod the length of 4 batteries (9-3/8"), strip the adapter wires & trap them under unpainted thumbtacks. Redneck for sure--but worked great.