MP3 player power adapter question help pls!

[Pred]

Ive tried googling this question for the last hour or so and kinda gave up.
All the information on the subject seems to be opinion or just super
vauge... any way

Q: I was just given a mp3 player a couple days ago from a friend however he
lost his power adapter to charge it. So I looked around in a pile of old
adapters I had stashed away from ages ago and found a couple that almost
matched the ratings needed by the mp3 player. The Mp3 player requires a 5v
- 500maH adapter. The two adapters I found that were the closest are rated
at 4.5v - 500maH and 5v - 1.5a. They both fit in the mp3 player and were
used to power other mp3 players...if that means anything at all heh so
would it be wise to use either at all or what one would work better?

any help would be great and try to keep it simple heh

- GB

 

[Ken Weitzel]

Ive tried googling this question for the last hour or so and kinda gave up.
All the information on the subject seems to be opinion or just super
vauge... any way

Q: I was just given a mp3 player a couple days ago from a friend however he
lost his power adapter to charge it. So I looked around in a pile of old
adapters I had stashed away from ages ago and found a couple that almost
matched the ratings needed by the mp3 player. The Mp3 player requires a 5v
- 500maH adapter. The two adapters I found that were the closest are rated
at 4.5v - 500maH and 5v - 1.5a. They both fit in the mp3 player and were
used to power other mp3 players...if that means anything at all heh so
would it be wise to use either at all or what one would work better?

any help would be great and try to keep it simple heh

Hi...

Before encouraging any experimentation, you have to fill in one
more blank

Are you looking for an AC or DC adapter, and what are the adapters
that you've found?

Take care.

Ken

 

[CJT]

Ive tried googling this question for the last hour or so and kinda gave up.
All the information on the subject seems to be opinion or just super
vauge... any way

Q: I was just given a mp3 player a couple days ago from a friend however he
lost his power adapter to charge it. So I looked around in a pile of old
adapters I had stashed away from ages ago and found a couple that almost
matched the ratings needed by the mp3 player. The Mp3 player requires a 5v
- 500maH adapter. The two adapters I found that were the closest are rated
at 4.5v - 500maH and 5v - 1.5a. They both fit in the mp3 player and were
used to power other mp3 players...if that means anything at all heh so
would it be wise to use either at all or what one would work better?

any help would be great and try to keep it simple heh

- GB

I've never heard of an adapter rated in maH -- do you mean mA ?

In addition to the other poster's question about AC vs DC, you
need to be concerned about polarity -- positive or negative on
the center conductor.

BTW, 1.5 A = 1500 mA .

 

[Pred]

I've never heard of an adapter rated in maH -- do you mean mA ?

In addition to the other poster's question about AC vs DC, you
need to be concerned about polarity -- positive or negative on
the center conductor.

BTW, 1.5 A = 1500 mA .

ok sorry bout that, yeah DC connector I didnt know mp3 players used AC
power and I didnt hear of maH before either but for some reason they
have an extra H at the end. Iam pretty sure they mean mA

yeah 1500mA = three times the required on the mp3 player! 0_0 thanks
again for your fast responce

 

[Jim Land]

ok sorry bout that, yeah DC connector I didnt know mp3 players used AC
power

But that's just the point, you see. Some power adapters put out ac, some
dc. Does your mp3 player say it needs dc?

And some dc power adapters have a positive middle conductor, and some
have a negative. Which does your mp3 player need?

It's best to get these answers straight before you turn the power on...

Then I think you'd have the best chance of success with the 5v 1.5a
adapter.

 

[Pred]

But that's just the point, you see. Some power adapters put out ac,
some dc. Does your mp3 player say it needs dc?

And some dc power adapters have a positive middle conductor, and some
have a negative. Which does your mp3 player need?

It's best to get these answers straight before you turn the power
on...

Then I think you'd have the best chance of success with the 5v 1.5a
adapter.

sorry I dont know what information you needed to know, so far thats all Ive
seen people worry about ( voltage and amps ). The mp3 player needs DC and
the adapters are also DC. I have no idea what the middle conductor is
tho... I was kind of leaning towards the 1.5 amp one aswell. Hope that
answers something.

 

[CJT]

sorry I dont know what information you needed to know, so far thats all Ive
seen people worry about ( voltage and amps ). The mp3 player needs DC and
the adapters are also DC. I have no idea what the middle conductor is
tho... I was kind of leaning towards the 1.5 amp one aswell. Hope that
answers something.

Usually there's a little circle with either a + or - in the middle.

If the one on the power adapter matches the one on the MP3 player,
you're golden.

 

[Arfa Daily]

Usually there's a little circle with either a + or - in the middle.

If the one on the power adapter matches the one on the MP3 player,
you're golden.

BUT BEFORE PLUGGING IN ...

Please check the output voltage with a good meter. The supplies you have may
not be regulated, in which case, the voltage that they output under no load
could be anything up to TWICE what the plate on them says. An MP3 player
will draw so little current - probably only a couple hundred mA, despite the
specs calling for a 500mA supply - that it will not load down an
unregulated supply, particularly one rated at 1.5 amps, anything like as
much as would be needed to get it down to its shown 5v.

So, before choosing and using one of your junk box supplies, check that the
polarity matches, as already pointed out by another poster, AND that the
output voltages really are 4.5v and 5v.

Arfa

 

[M Berger]

Which means it's more likely a battery charger than a
power adapter.

 

[T Shadow]

ok sorry bout that, yeah DC connector I didnt know mp3 players used AC
power and I didnt hear of maH before either but for some reason they
have an extra H at the end. Iam pretty sure they mean mA

yeah 1500mA = three times the required on the mp3 player! 0_0 thanks
again for your fast responce

Batteries are rated in amp/hours. The maH would be milliamp/Hours. If it
didn't have batteries in it you could hook it up to a 10amp supply but since
it does you need to limit how much current is supplied to the batteries.
Otherwise you'll have big problems. Theoretically fully discharged 1200ma
batteries would take just over 2hrs to charge at 500maH. My MP3 player uses
2 AA NIHM batteries and has a 12v to 4.5v 600ma supply. I'd try what you
have once you have the correct polarity.