Wrong PSU - Please help?

[[email protected]]

I want to learn a little about PSUs transfomers can anyone point me to
some links which could prove useful. The reason I ask is that I have
purchased a ADSL router on eBay recently and I think that the PSU may
be not be suitable/not the original one. It is a Netopia 3341,if
anyone is familiar with it. I have seen and fitted a number of these
routers and they usually are supplied with laptop type power brick PSU
- this one is not. This is not what concerns me. The router has an
input of 12VDC, 1.0A (labelled on the underside of the device) and the
PSU is labelled as:full label is Input 230V ~50Hz 140mA, Output
10V-1.2A.

Is this correct and safe to use or could I damage the router. Do you
think that this was indeed the PSU which was supplied by the
manufacturer. I would have expected output to be 10V. Please advise
and explain so that I may learn something and put my fears to rest.

Any help and advice greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Delakota555

 

[Homer J Simpson]

I want to learn a little about PSUs transfomers can anyone point me to
some links which could prove useful. The reason I ask is that I have
purchased a ADSL router on eBay recently and I think that the PSU may
be not be suitable/not the original one. It is a Netopia 3341,if
anyone is familiar with it. I have seen and fitted a number of these
routers and they usually are supplied with laptop type power brick PSU
- this one is not. This is not what concerns me. The router has an
input of 12VDC, 1.0A (labelled on the underside of the device) and the
PSU is labelled as:full label is Input 230V ~50Hz 140mA, Output
10V-1.2A.

What country? What is your local voltage?

 

[Eeyore]

I want to learn a little about PSUs transfomers can anyone point me to
some links which could prove useful. The reason I ask is that I have
purchased a ADSL router on eBay recently and I think that the PSU may
be not be suitable/not the original one. It is a Netopia 3341,if
anyone is familiar with it. I have seen and fitted a number of these
routers and they usually are supplied with laptop type power brick PSU
- this one is not. This is not what concerns me. The router has an
input of 12VDC, 1.0A (labelled on the underside of the device) and the
PSU is labelled as:full label is Input 230V ~50Hz 140mA, Output
10V-1.2A.

Is this correct and safe to use or could I damage the router. Do you
think that this was indeed the PSU which was supplied by the
manufacturer. I would have expected output to be 10V. Please advise
and explain so that I may learn something and put my fears to rest.

Any help and advice greatly appreciated.

In all probability (99.99% or so) your router doesn't actually require 12V. It's
likely that the manufacturer specified 12V because it was convenient to obtain
power bricks of that voltage.

I can't see any way you can harm it by using the 10V brick to be honest. It's
likely to run cooler in fact which is no bad thing.

Graham

 

[[email protected]]

In all probability (99.99% or so) your router doesn't actually require 12V. It's
likely that the manufacturer specified 12V because it was convenient to obtain
power bricks of that voltage.

I can't see any way you can harm it by using the 10V brick to be honest. It's
likely to run cooler in fact which is no bad thing.

Graham

Thanks for the advice Graham

Actually, I had noticed it ran cool - both the PSU and router - it is
working i just want to make sure this is okay.

 

[[email protected]]

What country? What is your local voltage?

UK = 240V

 

[Homer J Simpson]

UK = 240V

It's probably close enough and will work in that case.

 

[Pete D]

Thanks for the advice Graham

Actually, I had noticed it ran cool - both the PSU and router - it is
working i just want to make sure this is okay.

As said earlie it will probably be fine, there is likely to be a voltage
regulator inside the router which will convert the 12V or 10V DC to what
it actually needs, most logic runs on 5V or less.
Re the 1A on the router that will ba the maximum it will require so
having a 1.2A supply which actually means that is the maximum it will
supply, will have no effect. The reason it will run cooler is because it
is having to lose less volts at the required current hence it dissipates
less power. The only wat it may fall over is if parts of the circuit
need a higher voltage than 5V, such as say 9V, if this is the case the
voltage regulator may drop more than the needed 1V in which case it wont
work.
So if it is working then the only effect will be that it takes less
power and therefore runs cooler.

Hope this helps you out.

pete d

 

[Lionel]

Thanks for the advice Graham

Actually, I had noticed it ran cool - both the PSU and router - it is
working i just want to make sure this is okay.

If it's working reliably, but cooler, it may well be a deliberate
improvement by the manufacturer. I've seen many similar devices
that've had reliablility problems from running too hot.