Can i use this to power anything on my layout

Probably use it for a few LED lights but it won't give you that much power. Since it is DC it can't be used to power a switch motor as most(not all) switch motors are AC and the switch motor may take more power then that little wall wart puts out.

Lee Fritz

I've wondered for a while now: what is a 'Class 2' description mean??  I have 4 or 5 of these things and am afraid to use them since I don't know if they are regulated or not

thanks - walt

Gerald,    

You could use it  for lighting and any Led's but remember use a resister on  the positive side.

Good luck, john   

walt rapp posted:

I've wondered for a while now: what is a 'Class 2' description mean??  I have 4 or 5 of these things and am afraid to use them since I don't know if they are regulated or not

thanks - walt

http://forums.qrz.com/index.ph...es-that-mean.429836/

*Class 2 compliance requires a maximum power output availability of less than 100 watts for the component.

*The NEC is the source of the Class 2 circuit definition as well as for the Class 2 Power Supply definition.
Class 2 defines the portion of the wiring system between the load side of a Class 2 Power Supply (beginning from the outside of a cabinet or machine) and the connected equipment. Due to its power, current and voltage limitations, a class 2 circuit considers safety from a fire initiation standpoint and provides acceptable protection against electric shock.

"Class 2" (UL power output restriction) is a different standard than "class II" (Double insulation).

Gerald Marafioti posted:

... i measured the voltage  with my meter from the DC side, it measured 10.5 volts...is there any use for this ,or should i just trash it ? 

Since the nameplate says 6V, your measurement tells me it's of the unregulated ilk...it's probably not broken if your question on tossing it was because of this apparent voltage mis-match.

As for usefulness, this is a fairly low-power output of 6V and 0.5 Amps or 3 Watts.  In your other thread you show regulated supplies delivering much more DC power for only a couple bucks.  Also, the modern regulated wall adapters have a smaller AC-plug footprint allowing you to use adjacent sockets on a AC power strip.  Many older adapters like the one in your photo occupy 2 slots on a power strip which can be downright annoying!

As for LEDs, nominal LED power is, say, 3V at 0.02 Amps.  That's 0.06 Watts.  So in principle a 3 Watt supply could power 50 LEDs or so.  But there are "transaction-losses" or wasted heat when mating the voltage and current characteristics from the adapter to the LEDs (e.g., using resistors).  So in practice you get to use a fraction of the available power to do real work.  So when all's said and done you could use this supply to power, say, a few dozen LEDs.

walt rapp posted:

I've wondered for a while now: what is a 'Class 2' description mean??  I have 4 or 5 of these things and am afraid to use them since I don't know if they are regulated or not

thanks - walt

Class 2 could be AC or DC; regulated or unregulated. As Ace said, it's a safety standard.

Thanks everyone for responding,because it doesn't have much power,i am just going to toss it, when i get to a project i have in mind for a string of led's,i will use something more appropriate that has enough power.

walt rapp posted:

... I have 4 or 5 of these things and am afraid to use them since I don't know if they are regulated or not

If you have and know how to use a voltmeter and basic wiring is in your comfort zone then it doesn't really matter if yours are regulated or not.  What's been a sort-of game changer as demonstrated in dozens of OGR threads is the use of $1 (free shipping) DC-to-DC regulator modules on eBay that allow you to take any of your 4 or 5 adapters (regulated or not) and make it into a regulated supply of DC voltage for animated or lighting accessories.

Practically speaking, if you don't want to get into the nuts-and-volts of Watts, Volts, Current, Regulated, Unregulated, etc. then when you come up with a potential application just start a topic here.  Describe what accessory or device you want to power (Lemax building, a Miller sign, motorized windmill, etc.) and show what adapters you have.  You'll get more answers than you'll know what to do with!

Thanks to all that aided in my understanding of Class 2.

Stan: I did start a thread on this a while back asking a similar question.  When I first bought Miller animated signs I use HIS original wall-wort.  I landed up ruining 2 of the 3 signs, which Chris, being Chris, replaced without arguement.  He looked at the boards that I sent back and said it looked like they got spiked, probably because I had a spike in my house electricity.  He advised me to scrap his power supply because it was not regulated and get ones from Radio Shack because they are.  I did that and NEVER ruined any of the 11 signs that I have after that.

I'm just to going to not use any of the ones that I was given.  Not worth it.

HMMMM, I'm going to have to ask Chris: I recently bought the new adapter he released for his signs.  The one that works in conjunction with a track-power level trannie.  I should have asked ahead of time if it is regulated or not.  I hope so!  Or will the trannies catch any spike ahead of the adapter?

Maybe I should have started a new thread after all.

- walt

I assume you mean this one which IS a regulated design.

To the topic of this thread, everybody seems to have a box of unused wall-wart DC-output supplies.  As has been discussed in other threads, you can use a $1 DC-to-DC (DC-input, DC-output) eBay converter module to regulate these to the 4.5V DC you need for Miller signs. 

The 4804 board above can accept Accessory AC-input (in addition to DC).  There are some AC-output wall-wart adapters out there but by and far I'd say 95% of what you'll find in your recycled box will be DC-output wall-warts.  So to stay on topic, you could use one of your DC-output spare wall-warts to power the 4804 board; there are some details to confirm to be sure the wall-wart has enough power to drive the 6 signs that the 4804 can handle so that's where you'd need to tell us some of the specs of what you have.

Thanks Stan. I'm relieved to hear that it's regulated.

I sent an email to Chris about it but haven't heard back.  Unusual for him.

While my questions were somewhat off topic, to me the fact that they were "wall transformer" related and "Class 2" specific I felt OK jumping in.

- walt

Chris got back to me on the 4804 device.  He wrote this:

From the website:

"Accepts an input voltage from 5 to 17 volts, AC or DC and outputs the required 4.5 volts for our signs"

That's regulated!  Plus, while I do not have one myself, the board components look like a regulated design.  OTOH, he would know best...but I find his answer puzzling.  

In any event, if I misled you I apologize.

Thanks Stan!!!

You are the 2nd person that said that it outputs a regulated flow.  I'm going to re-ask Chris.

I thought the same thing: if it can accept different input and output a constant 4.5V, doesn't that mean it clamps down to a consistent output.

I'll see what Chris says.

thanks again - walt