Worth pointing out those switching regulators can get hot so take that into account when deciding where to place it and consider the load (current consumption) of the item you're powering.
Amazing! I remember when I was a child my ankle doing a similar trick for my toys that require batteries. And I was very happy. Now it's the time to learn to do it for my self and others.i am not an electrician but I am very interested in these stuff!
Where was this video 6 years ago? My youngest is 7 now, and I remember looking for this exact "project" on several occasions. Seriously, this is an excellent tutorial.
Awesome video and info. Super clean and easy to follow. I have basic multimeter / electronics knowledge but too often circuits get too complicated. This is easy to follow and looks very doable! Thanks.
mrdean3 If you have no knowledge of electrical equipment then you shouldn't even try. Educate yourself then you can attempt this. I've been an electrical engineer for over a decade now and you can't learn everything from one RU-vid video.
Shut up. It is a DIY video. Are you saying only an electrical engineer can understand this?. I think you want some recognition. So sad you're looking for it here.
I've just started getting into electronics a couple of months ago and bought an adjustable ac to dc adapter like this. I learned the hard way just how unregulated the voltage coming out of these things is. When set to "off" it would still have 0.5v across it, but when set to 9v, the open voltage would be a very unreasonable 18v. I get that the voltage drops when you connect it to a load, but I couldn't for the life of me get it anywhere near 9v. Meanwhile I blew the 250ma fuse in my multimeter because I got twice the voltage I was expecting.
Love these videos. I second the motion on AMP draw on the power supply. Most devices with 4 batteries will not draw much but a motor like the swing could draw up to 1 amp depending on configuration. Use a volt/amp meter and take some measurements or look in the tech section of the owners manual. Google might even provide a direct conversion for the number of batteries and size to max amp availability.
This video is missing some essential information that can lead to some big safety concerns. The LM317 is a linear voltage regulator for DC power. The video should clearly state that the power supply you pick must be a HIGHER VOLTAGE and HIGHER CURRENT RATING than the device you are going to use it on. The LM317 can only lower the voltage of your power supply, not raise it! If you also use a DC power supply with a lower current (A) rating than the device you plan to run, you risk burning it up!
But he absolutely did explain completely how to do this...if you're an experienced electrical engineer or electrician. Otherwise, everyone else...we're all fucked.
Hi there, just a quick question. If the device I want to power up currently uses 6 x LR44 batteries in series (total 6x1.5V=9V), and I happen to have an old adaptor with 9V DC output, can I just wire the adaptor directly to my device without using any other components such as the voltage regulator? Does it matter if the adaptor output is 1A or 2A? And what if I plan on powering up 4 of the same 9V devices wired in parallel?
One device should be fine. A well designed circuit won’t draw more amperage than they need, so it should be fine. What is the current draw of the devices in question? As long as they’re in parallel the voltage should be fine.
So Awesome. I had the idea when we were given a Graco swing, and I found this video. lol. I didn't think the Graco swing would be an example in this video. I plan on doing this soon!
Check with multimeter, some cheap LED, computer fan, etc. Generally though in the US the wire with writing is the positive one. But always good to check.
You don't need to hack an AC adapter. There are plenty of off-the-shelf 6V DC adapters (typically used for cordless phones). Most people would probably have some old ones laying around from old cordless phones. There's also no need to make dummy batteries. Those can be purchased for around $1 a piece.
I just came on here looking to change battery to ac on my sons swing chair and this is the one I watched and coincidentally it’s a video about converting a swing chair as well 🤣
Same here. The ridiculous thing is that Our grace swing has an AC connect on it already... but it runs a separate function for the swing. Don’t know why the engineers opted for multiple power sources?
was thinking of the same thing, but using a variable adapter... thx for the tip. ironically im thinking of powering up a baby swing, pretty similar to yours! ;)
A question for you, if I may? I bought scores of AAA powered fake candles and wanted to make them all AC as they cost a ton in batteries...I want to daisy chain them with a power source so no more batteries. Please let me know how if you have any suggestions. I saw a video for one candle, in which he added a 6volt power supply as it was four AA batteries 1.5/3/4.5/6 but was wondering if you know if I need a converter for 'each' candle, or can I run them all on one ac adaptor? Is it depending on how many candles? I have 15 and they each take three AAA batteries. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. And GREAT VIDEO! ***(I do not mind damaging the candle's back face and would not bother making fake batteries for my needs)
These square and big old power devices are so inconvenient, hard to stick many of them at the same size in a multiple port place, would be nice to know how to mod them to a stringed output with a smaller and more convenient tip.
Do you use long wires to connect each batteries? Additional info, make sure that the total average of battery use is equivalent to the voltage of adaptor to avoid overheating or exploding.
Hello, thanks for the video. Would you be able to do another video like this for something more powerful like an electric winch, which is normally hooked up to a car battery? Ideally it would be good to make one for dummies like me :)
+Darryl Edington One advantage of dummy batteries is that he didn't have to solder or modify the battery compartment, although he did cut a slot in the battery cover for the cable.
But what if you have like a old cellphone or old Bluetooth speaker were they charge the battery up too. Replace that with a power supply would it mess it up if trying to sent power to charge it?
Worth mentioning that you need to understand what power your AC adapter can provide and what the load requires. That's a linear regulator which can get quite how if you don't do the waste heat calculations.
I have to agree with most of the other post, you totally skipped over which terminals to connect your hot and cold wires to and why you need dummy batteries at al?
**Can you do this but with VR Controllers?** I've been having a rough time trying to find any examples of any attempts of using Dummy/Fake Batteries for them. Sure it's simpler just having rechargeable ones, but if your VR Headset is wired anyways, and won't die unlike your controllers, i'd personally want to hook up my controllers up with cables anyways especially for seated gaming.
What if I want to keep the batteries for when the power goes out but I want them to be constantly charged as long as power remains? I have a smartlock that doesn't warn me when the battery level is low. Could I just run a wire from the normal battery charger to one of the batteries in the lock? If I do that would the charger still be able to avoid overcharging the batteries?
First check how much current the mini compressor needs (look at label for a number with "A") and buy or get a 120VAC to 12VDC converter that can handle that or more current (more than 2A, maybe 5A). Cable polarity not to be missed and have converter in a cool place as it will get hot.
Go to a used store like goodwill or value village and buy an adapter with the same voltage. For most electronics matching the milliamps within 1000mah works some are more sensitive. I saved $50 on a "garbage" laptop power supply this way. It's always somewhat risky take time and research several videos. I don't particularly like the idea behind this circuit as a quick fix.
You know this video was pretty good. I'm critical of most RU-vid tutorials but I think this one was pretty good. You didn't show how to connect the everything perfectly except for in the diagram but I figure if someone can't read an electrical diagram maybe it'll teach them to learn how.
There is nothing like putting baby in for a peaceful swing, and then having those wooden dowels, short out and catch fire! Then have baby, slowly roasting, under a swinging fire pit! Nice job....
Can this also be done to an 18v cordless power drill by using the same voltage regulator shown in this video? If not is there something else I can use in replace of it? Thx 👍
The lm317 regulates voltage from a higher input to a lower output you would need a power adapter that can supply more than 18v at least 20 to be sure, also a drill uses a lot of current and the lm317 will heat up a lot, you could use a transformer to step down mains voltage to 24, then use a bridge diode to make it dc and connect the lm317 to that arrangement. amount of heat generated is current*(voltageinput-voltageoutput) in watts
Any video ideas for doing this for an Arlo camera system?? Shopping list for exact parts would be necessary for me the cave man.. Thanks, exactly what I'm trying to do.
PLEASE HELP ME; I have a 12 volt cigarette socket powered vacuum cleaner but it no longer had the adapter, now I want to make it work from the mains, is this difficult? I have plenty of electrical bits spares so I may have what is needed for this project. Any help appreciated :-)
Wouldn't the amperage output of the power adapter be an issue though? E.g. I've got a bouncer that takes 3 x C size batteries, which output 1.5v each, but how to figure out how many amps I should be providing it?
Anyone have any thoughts on converting a battery charging base into an adapter for power wheels? I have a 24v power wheel jeep. I’d like to use drill batteries and adapters are available but not for the 22v Hilti batteries. I was thinking that it might be possible to tear apart a charging base (that is normally plugged into the wall) and have IT become the adapter.
This was super useful! Thanks o this I took a laser pointer and made it to where it was able to be hooked up to the wall so now to light will keep shining
Hi, I want to convert a 3.6v cordless drill (I removed some shitty 600 mAh NiCd batterys) and use the charger that came with the drill.. but the charger it has a 5v output... can I use it anyway or it will eventually wearout the electric motor 'cause the higher volt??
The lm317 is not needed and will cause problems with motors and cook over 1 amp w/o heatsink. Just pick the proper voltage and more than 1000Mah and watch polarity + - .
I need to do this for my cats toy. But how do I know why type or voltage of power supply to pick. Here is my problem. Our cat gets these 3:30 am zoomies and he needs attention. Of course we're sleeping and I'm not about to switch to his schedule. He has this toy called Hot Pursuit which is battery operated by 3, AA batteries. I tried an Amazon battery converter but it said it was good for LEDs and didn't work on the toy. The master plan is I get the toy to have a power supply, and the power supply is controlled by a smart plug so we cant have the toy distract the wild cat at a programmed time like 3:30 am
I tried a laptop PSU as it had a couple of amps, but it cut out if you pressed the trigger normally, I had to squeeze it gently so the drill worked at a very slow speed. However, the 18v drill worked great wired to a worn out 12v motorbike battery, just slower.
Initially you showed us how to run the two wires from the two terminals but then you made these dummy batteries and they are all with red cables. Confused why not just run the two cables instead of hooking each dummy battery to the terminal?
Maybe its just so you can connect it to different appliances easily rather than having to constantly twist and untwisting wires everytime you want to use it for a different machine
hello, need some help. I have an outdoor motion light in my drive way. it's using 4 C battery’s, and would like to get a wall adapter. What voltage adapter should I get? I can get one that change from 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, or 12. Thank you in advance. -Anthony Mendonca
I have a small digital camcorder that uses 3 AAA but they never last more than an hour. I'd like to convert it so that it uses 1 or 2 18650 26MaH rechargeable batteries if possible. If possible which I'm sure it is, what would I need? Some voltage regulators, maybe a capacitor? Ido how ugly/bulky the camera ends up looking as long as it doesn't power using 3 AAA batteries. Can you maybe make a video about this please?
Hi, please could you kindly help me. I've been looking at your videos and you definitely know your electronics. I have some knowledge but would like your advice. I have a cordless mitre saw. The mitre saw currently runs off batteries, which are 24v, with ah ranging from 2.4ah to 3.0ah. The batteries run a motor that requires an output off 630watts. I would like to run the mitre saw off mains supply (230v). I found a LED Driver power supply transformer AC 110v - 240v (input) - DC 24v (25ah at 600w). Would this transformer work, would it be dangerous or safe to use on my mitre saw. The mitre saw is a Dewalt DW017. I would appreciate any help, advice or alternative idea. Kind regards
I would like to see how to convert a battery-powered string/edge trimmer to use AC Power. I hate to buy battery pack. It is way too expenses. EGO device is the best if you can since one EGO can handle different heads. Thanks
Yes, it would be great to dumb this down quite a bit. It would be very handy for the guys that don't know any better than to stand in the rain with a pan on there head... such as myself. Really though a dummy version would be very nice.
Did it give you any problems ? When I was a kid I would try to grow weed in my room in a box with lights and fans that I threw together and my dad seen ac stuff spliced with dc stuff and made me feel like I was lucky that the whole house didn’t burn down.. and he was a fire fighter so I just assume he kinda knows what he’s talking about but I used to build all types of stuff and never even considered the comparability of my stuff I just needed a plug and know the red positive black negative than we’re set. And I don’t think I ever came close to burning anything either...
Yea, but you just need 1 component and boom, AC turns to DC :) Besides, using a power supply is equivalent to using and external transformer with a rectifier. Back in the days when Switchmode power supplies weren't so popular, those brick-like power supplies had big clunky tansformers inside. Or you could even make a power supply without a transformer, google a schematic, it can be done :)
Sprice Machines you took the words right out of my mouth. I was like huh? What about a flux capacitor can I use that instead and do you have the number for Scottie on the star trek enterprise?
how do you know positive negative leads to attach it to? I tried to simply attach the negative to the spring side and the positive to the flat side...no go. I know I'm getting power. I hooked it up to multimeter.
Instead of making fake batteries, just drill two holes in the case, two screws and 3 nuts, just roll the psu cable around the screw and tighten the outer nut or butterfly nut, of course the screws have to be connected to the case terminals, as usual, mark everything up. It's faster to build, faster to attach and not a huge lump of wood hanging on the wire. Done this quite a few times, with tools at hand, takes less than 4 minutes to make.
3 of the dummy batteries do not need + or - markers. The 4th battery has a linear voltage regulator connected to it, and current can only go through it in one direction, which is why it has markers.
What if I use rechargeable batteries, want to leave them in the device and be able to charge them while using them in the device? How do we set that up?
