1st batteries: I want to just use some store bought AA batteries. I have a 4 LED mini-snes and have 6 AA batteries planed to be in series. Will the store boughten ones work?
2nd car: Im going on a long trip and want it to work with a car adapter. My dad was saying i should get around 12V but could spike up to 18V. Should i be worried about that 18V spike?
batteries and car adapter questions
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Store bought AA batteries will work to power a SNES and a screen. Just make sure you buy a decent brand, most cheap-o batteries are poorly made and sometimes will not even allow a portable to fire up. Duracell and energizer are a few examples. Also, placing batteries in series will add voltages, not amperage. Meaning, you will have enough voltage to turn it on but you will only have a small amount of time to play. Running batteries in parallel will add your amperage. But seeing as how AAs are only 1.5 volts you would have to run them in series/parallel to get a good amount of playing time while still having enough voltage to turn the system on.
APHawkes wrote:You should worry about the possibility of a spike from a car. It happens frequently. You should look into a voltage regulator circuit. You may be able to salvage one from another car-charged device.
How would i look for this or are they easy to make? I wikipediaed "voltage regulator" and found some info on them, just not any workable diagrams. It also said somewhere that some would just convert it into current which seams that it could be bad.
umm.... yeah, don't have a schematic handy for a voltage regulator. Nowadays you can get a discrete component to do it. Sorry, it's not something I work with day-to-day.
As far as converting voltage into current, that's typically OK. The circuit will use as much current as it needs and no more than that. A circuit will use (to some degree) whatever voltage you throw at it, even if it will fry the components. So, a higher voltage is bad, but a higher (available) current is ok.
As far as converting voltage into current, that's typically OK. The circuit will use as much current as it needs and no more than that. A circuit will use (to some degree) whatever voltage you throw at it, even if it will fry the components. So, a higher voltage is bad, but a higher (available) current is ok.