help! Unknown prong type!

[Lightninghbk]

I have this cord and I can not for the life of me figure out what kind of adaptor this needs! It is off a snowman from pamida back in the day. It looks like a combination of an “a” and a “c” type cord. It will not let me upload a picture, but it has a straight edge like a “b” type, and then close next to it is has a small “c” type prong.It plugs directly into the snowman, and we just need the female ac adaptor that fits this. Let me know if you can help! Thank you.

 

[davenn]

I have this cord and I can not for the life of me figure out what kind of adaptor this needs! It is off a snowman from pamida back in the day. It looks like a combination of an “a” and a “c” type cord. It will not let me upload a picture, but it has a straight edge like a “b” type, and then close next to it is has a small “c” type prong.It plugs directly into the snowman, and we just need the female ac adaptor that fits this. Let me know if you can help! Thank you.

we don't know either .... a photo would have been VERY helpful
then we all would know what you are talking about

for uploading images .... compress to less than 100kb and resize to a max of 800x600

 

[Lightninghbk]

we don't know either .... a photo would have been VERY helpful
then we all would know what you are talking about

for uploading images .... compress to less than 100kb and resize to a max of 800x600

I have attached an image, let’s see what you all have got!

 

[(*steve*)]

2 pin din?

 

[davenn]

I have attached an image, let’s see what you all have got!

yeah as @(*steve*) said .... a 2 pin DIN

these are/were commonly used for speaker plug/sockets n older stereo gear
They are also good for DC power supplies as it's impossible to reverse connection polarity

 

[Lightninghbk]

yeah as @(*steve*) said .... a 2 pin DIN

these are/were commonly used for speaker plug/sockets n older stereo gear
They are also good for DC power supplies as it's impossible to reverse connection polarity

Thank you! Is there a female connector that can plug into the wall? Somewhere along the way we must have lost it and I’m trying to find one to make the snowman light up again. You guys are rockstars!

 

[duke37]

It looks to me to be bigger than two pin din, so check the size.
What voltage does your wall supply?
I assume that you want the snowman to run from a wallwart which provides the correct voltage at sufficient current. Get the polarity correct.

It is not clear to me what the plug is connected to. A plug with exposed terminals will be used to receive power so the terminals are not live when the plug is out.

Get the voltage wrong and the snowman will melt.

 

[kellys_eye]

Sourcing a 2-pin DIN socket may not be easy. On many occasions such as this it is cheaper and easier to change both the plug AND socket for something more readily available.

As to the AC adapter, it is obviously a DC output (hence the polarised plug) and 12V is a common voltage but this is pure guess work. Are there any markings on the Snowperson (keeping with these ridiculously PC-times ) that might indicate the voltage/current requirements?

 

[Lightninghbk]

Sourcing a 2-pin DIN socket may not be easy. On many occasions such as this it is cheaper and easier to change both the plug AND socket for something more readily available.

As to the AC adapter, it is obviously a DC output (hence the polarised plug) and 12V is a common voltage but this is pure guess work. Are there any markings on the Snowperson (keeping with these ridiculously PC-times ) that might indicate the voltage/current requirements?

Alright, snow people, I have taken it apart and here is what the big bad snow persons guts looks like. It looks to be 12v. You “people” are great!

 

[davenn]

Alright, snow people, I have taken it apart and here is what the big bad snow persons guts looks like. It looks to be 12v. You “people” are great!

so you need a 12VDC plugpack ( wallwart) withj somewhere around 1 - 2 Amps .... depending on the wattage of that globe <---- what is written on it ?

 

[Lightninghbk]

Same thing, 12v 6w.

 

[davenn]

Same thing, 12v 6w.

OK you do need a 12VDC 2A plugpack ( 1.5A minimum) so there is a little bit of headroom
you never want to run a power supply to its max rating. the lamp and motor need 1A total, so a 1.5A supply
gives some headroom, a 2A supply will run even cooler

I seems to recall that my long strings of Xmas lights have plugpacks with that style plug and socket

 

[Ylli]

12 volts DC is not going to be right for that 12 VAC synchronous motor. Even though the original plug is polarized, the 'guts' (consisting of a synchronous motor and what looks like a xenon reflector lamp) need 12 VAC.

Those xenon lamps can draw a bit of current too, so probably 12 VAC 3-5 amps.

 

[Lightninghbk]

I have this cord and I can not for the life of me figure out what kind of adaptor this needs! It is off a snowman from pamida back in the day. It looks like a combination of an “a” and a “c” type cord. It will not let me upload a picture, but it has a straight edge like a “b” type, and then close next to it is has a small “c” type prong.It plugs directly into the snowman, and we just need the female ac adaptor that fits this. Let me know if you can help! Thank you.

Thank you all so much! You guys rock!

 

[davenn]

12 volts DC is not going to be right for that 12 VAC synchronous motor.

crap .... dunno why I thought it was a DC motor


so amend my comments above to AC plugpack at around 1.5 to 2 A

Those xenon lamps can draw a bit of current too, so probably 12 VAC 3-5 amps.

wellllll .... it's only 12V @ 6W so I really doubt it is much more than 0.5 to 1A

 

[kellys_eye]

12V @6W refers to the motor only......

That lamp looks to be a typical 12V halogen and they are rated at 35W to 50W (in my experience) so an additional 3 to 5 A would be essential for the power unit.

12V AC at 5-6A seems appropriate.

 

[davenn]

12V @6W refers to the motor only......

No, he said the lamp was 6W as well

Same thing, 12v 6w.

so I stand by my previous comments

 

[kellys_eye]

so I stand by my previous comments

yup - missed that so your recommendations are correct.

 

[Bluejets]

Sourcing a 2-pin DIN socket may not be easy.

Ebay have both line and panel sockets.

 

[hevans1944]

On many occasions such as this it is cheaper and easier to change both the plug AND socket for something more readily available.

This seems to be the crux of the problem, now that the AC versus DC power requirements have been sorted in favor of 12 VAC @ 2A or so current. A simple 2-wire barrel connector is common and readily available in AC "wall wart" transformers. The link is for a 12 VAC @ 3A wall wart transformer from Amazon. Just purchase a mating socket and replace that so-called 2-pin male "DIN" connector on the snow person thingy.

BTW, those halogen lamps with the dichroic reflectors (they pass infrared and reflect visible wavelengths) can get quite hot. Note the ceramic fixtures that were selected for this application. Still, six watts should be safe enuf.