Re: [NTLK] Generic AC adapter

From: Laurent Daudelin (laurent.daudelin_at_verizon.net)
Date: Thu Nov 07 2002 - 22:42:23 EST


on 07/11/02 21:06, John Acuff at jacuff1_at_earthlink.net wrote:

> On Thursday, November 7, 2002, at 06:57 PM, im-wired_at_attbi.com wrote:
>
>> Greetings from Oregon!
>>
>> New to the list. Don't own a Newt yet but been a huge Apple fan since
>> my first
>> ][+ in 1978. The LAN in my house has 4 Macs! (no pee cees !!)
>>
>> Been considering a different PDA (time to liquidate my Sony Magic Link
>> PIC-2000
>> w. a ton of software and accessories) and put the proceeds toward a
>> Newton 2100.
>>
>> I'm seeing em' go on e-bay but many are missing AC adapters of all
>> things!
>>
>> One dude's ad caught my eye that was selling an AC adapter only* that
>> warned, "Don't get an adapter from Radio Shack or you'll fry your
>> Newt!".
>>
>> Uhhh... is there something extrordinarily complex about giving the
>> newton DC
>> power? I figure if I get polarity right and the other specs (7.5vdc,
>> 1.2a
>> output) I should be good to go. There's an electronics surplus place in
>> Portland that carrys tons of different types of power supplies and AC
>> to DC
>> adapters.
>>
>> Can someone tell me about the connector type on the Newton 2100 power
>> supply?
>> Is is just the standard 'barrel' type at the end of the cord?
>>
>>
>> * Yipes! Bidding was up to $25.
>>
>>
>> Thanks in advance, everyone!
>> db
>
> I use an old Radio Shack adapter that i had laying in my pile of
> "wall-warts". 7.5 VDC @ 700ma, tip +, sleeve-. I did have to change the
> plug to one that matches the Newt (2100).
> Been using it for a couple weeks now with no problems.
> I saw that eBay ad too. Looks like scare tactics to me. As long as the
> voltage and polarity are correct, and the amperage is not too high, I
> see no problems. Unless there is some special circuitry in the original
> adapter that I don't know of.....

That's no scare tactics at all. The thing to be careful here is that your
Newton is a very sensitive piece of equipment. It was designed to have a
certain amount of power. So, the genuine Newton adapters are regulated,
which means that they won't deliver more than what they're rated for. Many,
many, many cheap adapters that you will find are *NOT* regulated. If you
were to measure the power that they generate, you'd be surprised by how much
more it can deliver in some peaks. I've had a Newton since 1993 and I read
many many many stories of people frying their Newton. So, be careful if you
want to keep your little green friend. The adapter you've been using is most
likely regulated or you wouldn't probably use your Newton right now.
Although you might also been very lucky so far...

-Laurent.

-- 
============================================================================
Laurent Daudelin      AIM/RV: LaurentDaudelin    <http://nemesys.dyndns.org>
Logiciels Nemesys Software               mailto:laurent.daudelin_at_verizon.net

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