Adapter Plug Electric

Posted October 28, 2007 By admin

Adapter Plug Electric

Common Sense of Laptop AC Adapter

I have got three replacements for my HP 432309-001 AC Adapter because of abuse usage. As laptop becomes more and more popular, the AC adapter is more and more familiar to us. So how much do you know about this small gadget? Do you have enough information of it? How do you know to use it properly? According to my own experience, I have post these information sharing with you all.

Generally speaking, a power adapter is a medium that takes the output of one power source, like a 120-volt AC wall socket, and converts it to a lower or stable output, for example a 19.5-volt power supply for a notebook computer. Usually it‘s safe and stable while use it. But if you find the electronics devices that you have connected to a power adapter are not working properly or that their batteries are not charging, there's always the possibility that the power adapter is not working well. With the right tool, however, you can check the output of your power adapter and see if that's the reason of the problem.

Every power adapter has the input voltage and amperage requirements printed on the surface, as well as the output voltage and amperage rating. You can see it easily. Then remember these numbers as we will compare the numbers that we got from testing. An example would be this, taken from my 432309-001 AC Adapter: Output – 18.5V….3.5 amps. I'll measure the output of the power adapter with a multimeter — a very easy-operating tool for anyone working with electronics. A multimeter can measure voltage, current, power output and resistance of electrical circuits by touching the electrical circuits or device with a set of probes.

Next step is to set your multimeter at proper range for measuring the output of your power adapter. Take into account the voltage and the amperage you'll be measuring. Consult the manual for specifics on how to set your particular model of multimeter.

Then, check the data plate of your power adapter to find out which portion of the plug is positive and which is negative. For example, on some power adapter plugs, the outer shell of the plug is positive, while on others it's negative. So it depends. Have a look of your AC adapter instructions.

Finally, I got the data and compare that with the rated output of the power adapter. If it varies significantly, replace the power adapter.

I used to try this on my former AC adapter as a fan of electronics. For this new HP 432309-001 AC Adapter, I won't try to dismantle it.

About the Author

Can you plug an electric guitar to the mic jack of your computer and record what you play?

If you have a 3.5mm adapter to plug your guitar into your microphone jack of your computer, can you record your guitar in a program that way? Or will there not be enough power to pick up a signal from the guitar?

Howdy, Seiko--

Yup, you can definitely record that way. However, bear in mind that as Jimmy mentions, plugging straight into your sound card from your guitar will give you little more than a crappy-sounding clean tone to record.

Going through your amp, gaining/distorting your tone, THEN plugging into your sound card can be done, but make sure your amp's OUT jack can be regulated via a volume knob, as most amps, especially all-tube ones, will generate enough output to effectively fry your sound card.

I've gotten the best results from one of either of these two scenarios. (1) Plugging my guitar into my pedal setup (Boss Metal Zone and a whole string of others including an effective noise gate), and from there plugging straight into the sound card and monitoring yourself with some pro-quality headphones, keeping your sound card's volume control window open and adjusting as necessary. (2) If I just need a straight-up distorted tone throughout, I plug into a Sans Amp distortion/amp modeler pedal, which automatically regulates the amount of gain leaving the setup and effectively gives you a flat waveline input, so you don't have to worry about cooking your sound card; you only need to adjust the amount of output going to it, again via your sound card's volume window.

To give you a sample of how this can effectively be used to record, check out my band's material at the URL below. All of the guitar and bass tracks were recorded using primitive Cakewalk software and using the guitar-to-effects-chain-to-soundcard approach. If you're interested in the specifics, drop me a line and I can send you some pics of how I have the hardware set up, which pedals I use, knob settings, etc.

Best of luck!