[redmms250713]

I know I have seen this in here before but i cannot find it with search so sorry if its duplicated.

I did take a strobe that uses three AA batteries and make it able to plug in using a transformer. I know 1 aa battery = 1.5v and .5a,, so I needed a transformer with 4.5v, and 1.5a.



What Im wondering and confirming is a want to take 3 strobe units that each use 3 AA batteries and make them able to plug in using one transformer. So I would still need a 4.5v transformer, but have atleast 4.5a or more as the more amps is ok, it just wont use em. but to much or to low v can damage it!?

 

[J-Man]

The amperage you'll need depends on the load, in this case, your strobes. If you already have a power supply that's rated for 1.5A it's probably sufficient. Try it out and see if it powers all 3, it won't do any harm if it's not enough but I'm guessing it will do the job. Just remember that voltage is the important part of any power supply, it must match the requirements of the device. The amperage rating of any power supply is merely the maximum that it's capable of, if the rating is more than what is required there's no harm, the load will only draw what it needs. If the amperage is not enough, it won't power the load.

 

[dpeterson]

Correct. Too much amp capacity won't hurt anything, and is probably recommended if you don't actually know the amp requirements of their device. Voltage needs to be exactly right, generally speaking. If you're hacking these devices, you need to determine if they use the batteries in series or parallel. If series, then the voltage requirement for a power transformer/brick/wart would be 1.5+1.5+1.5=4.5VDC. However, if they're wired parallel, then it's still just 1.5VDC. In a parallel configuration, the extra batteries are just buying longer runtime/extra current sourcing capacity.

 

[redmms250713]

excellent thats what I thought thanks guys!!!

 

[Buckeyelights]

Correct. Too much amp capacity won't hurt anything, and is probably recommended if you don't actually know the amp requirements of their device. Voltage needs to be exactly right, generally speaking. If you're hacking these devices, you need to determine if they use the batteries in series or parallel. If series, then the voltage requirement for a power transformer/brick/wart would be 1.5+1.5+1.5=4.5VDC. However, if they're wired parallel, then it's still just 1.5VDC. In a parallel configuration, the extra batteries are just buying longer runtime/extra current sourcing capacity.

Thank you too. How can I tell if they're wired in parallel or series?

tks!
Joe

 

[J-Man]

Thank you too. How can I tell if they're wired in parallel or series?

tks!
Joe

Typically most multi-battery packs are series. If you're not sure, just check the voltage with a meter where the wires exit the pack. If you don't have a meter, you can look at how the contacts inside the battery holder are configured. Series wiring connects the positive of one battery to the negative of the next and so on. Parallel wiring simply connects all the positive ends together and all the negative ends together.

 

[Buckeyelights]

Typically most multi-battery packs are series. If you're not sure, just check the voltage with a meter where the wires exit the pack. If you don't have a meter, you can look at how the contacts inside the battery holder are configured. Series wiring connects the positive of one battery to the negative of the next and so on. Parallel wiring simply connects all the positive ends together and all the negative ends together.

Thanks J-Man.
Joe