Adaptable

Most of my hobbies fall into two categories:

1) Mechanical - bicycles, tools, pinball machines, and the VW Bug.

2) Entertainment - movies, music, video games, and the equipment used to play them.

I tend to jump from one hobby to another. That isn't a big deal unless there has been a long gap between  interests. I can forget how to do something or what I had done previously to solve a problem. That's when the blog is helpful. For example, if the Full House pinball machine is acting up, I can see what I did in 2018 to get it to function properly. 

Today's post is a reminder for myself about the importance of amps. 

I was excited when spotted this Retro Duo Portable at the thrift store. The ability to play NES and SNES games on a portable system is pretty cool.

Everything inside looked new. Even the plastic screen protector hadn't been peeled off.

I noticed the power supply adaptor was missing when I got home. Shoot. Like most stuff, without power this thing was useless.

The manual didn't have any specifications for the missing power adapter. Google wasn't very helpful, but I did find an eBay auction with a picture of the correct power supply. Usually the lable on the plugin will tell you what the volt output is and if the center of the tip should be positive or negative. 

Using that information, I set my universal power adapter to 9 volts and switched the polaritry to center positive. The yellow connection tip fit inside the Retro Duo. 

The charging light lit, and I was in business. Or so I thought. After a while the adapter got hot and the charging light started blinking. Not good.

Upon further inspection, I discover that the power adapter needs to be 9 volts, center positive, and supply at least 750mA. My universal adapter is rated at 300mA. I had ignored the amps. Not smart.

I was worried that I had damaged the Retro Duo. To test it, I checked all of the electrical equipment in the house for a suitable adaptor. I found this old digital picture frame in our storage closet. I bought it second hand years ago to use in my classroom. I have no idea how old it is. The the resolution is now embarrassingly low.

The case indicates that it is the right voltage and polarity.

The adaptor confirms that. It also states that it can deliver 1.5 amps. 

I thought this wouldn't work because 1.5 A is twice as big as 750mA, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't wrong. 

Yes, I was wrong.

I'll think of amps as pounds that need to be lifted. If I max out at 300 pounds, then I'm going to struggle trying to lift 750 pounds. I can try for a while, but I'll burn out and quit (that's why my universal charger got hot). Now reverse that. If I can lift 750 pounds, then moving 300 pounds is going to be easy.

This adapter could work. It was pure luck that the yellow connector tip fit well. 

I took a deep breath, connected the adaptor to the Retro Duo, and plugged the adaptor into a socket. The charging light lit. I babysat the player for a while, and the charger stayed cool. I later test drove Disney's Aladdin SNES and had no problems. 

I was relieved to see that my carelessness didn't break the Retro Duo. I threw away the digital frame, but its power adapter will charge on. Hopefully I'll remember to check the volts and the amps the next time I have a problem like this.

(Obviously, I'm not an electrician. So, my disclaimer is that you can use a different amped adaptor at your own risk.)