Question about connectors

George, I did just what you are suggesting to power my AIUs and solid state relay boards; 8 devices connected to two terminal blocks.

@G3750 posted:

I have an Arduino board (512 RGB LEDs) that requires a 5 VDC @ 2 amps.  The connectors for the power cable for this board are 2 forked spades.

I can find wall-wart power supplies that have barrel connectors.  Can I simply cut the barrel off, strip the wires, determine 5+ volts with a meter, and then connect them up with a terminal block?  Or do I need something special?

Yep -- electricity is electricity, so as long as the wall wart has the right voltage and amp rating (i.e., power capacity) and has a reasonably well regulated output, it's really just a matter of connecting it properly, as Mark (and you) suggested.

While cutting off the connector will work, I would suggest purchasing a few of the barrel-to-terminal adapters that are available from multiple sources including Amazon.  You can then connect the terminals to together with a short piece of wire.  That way you can swap supplies for trouble shooting or warranty returns by just unplugging it.

Here is an example of the 12VDC version:

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Connector-Female-Adapter-Camera

I am not a big fan of walwart power supplies, with many of the less expensive ones, there can be issues with interference and actual voltage output.  With a bit more work, a few more parts, you can go with one of these:  https://www.amazon.com/Univers...former/dp/B07PPPF1R5  a real power supply.  This is what that effort give you as spec'd in the description, "Smart device surge protection for Short-circuit Protection, Overload, Over Voltage,Over Temperature Protection."  A walwart does not.

I'm with Jeff, I don't cut connectors off unless there's no other convenient way to use them.

@CALNNC posted:

I am not a big fan of walwart power supplies, with many of the less expensive ones, there can be issues with interference and actual voltage output.  With a bit more work, a few more parts, you can go with one of these:  https://www.amazon.com/Univers...former/dp/B07PPPF1R5  a real power supply.  This is what that effort give you as spec'd in the description, "Smart device surge protection for Short-circuit Protection, Overload, Over Voltage,Over Temperature Protection."  A walwart does not.

Actually, I have one of those (and 2 12VDC ones) elsewhere on the layout.  I was trying to avoid dedicating an entire power supply to this one purpose.  But you make a great point.

Thank you.

George

There's actually a very good argument for the individual wallwart supplies over one big power supply for multiple units.  Each wallwart is 100% electrically isolated from any other supply.  There are lots of cases where you do not want a common power supply ground and/or power connection between multiple devices.