On May 24, 7:27 pm, wrote:
Gary, there seems to be a common misconception on the significance of
voltage and current ratings on power sources (power supplies and
batteries) and power consuming devices (light bulbs, fans, and
transceivers). A properly regulated 12 Volt 18 Amp power supply (I
am reasonably confident the Optiplex meets that description) will
supply 12 volts at up to 18 amps. Hooking up a 12V 1 Amp load would
result in 1 amp at 12 volts being drawn from the power supply. The
additional 17 Amps are simply not produced by the power supply (unless
you hook up an additional load).

A mobile transceiver will be designed to work on a rather wide range
of voltage. The nominal voltage of a fully charged 12V lead-acid
battery is actually 12.6 volts. It's charging voltage is (the voltage
across the terminals of a car battery with the engine running) is 13.8
volts. Partially discharged the voltage can drop below 12 Volts. A
manufacturer would not want to design a transceiver that will stop
working when the battery is half discharged. (Now a desktop computer
with an external power supply would be another matter.) I would
expect the transceiver to work over a range of 11 volts to 15 volts.

Do use all 12V terminals and all ground terminals in your adapter.

PlainBill

PlainBill,

Thank you for your insightful explanation of the usage of volts and
amps in particular to my real-world application.

I will be sure to use all three pairs of 12V and ground terminals with
my adapter.

A big thank you to everyone who responded to this thread. This usenet
group provide the exact assistance I was hoping for.

Respectfully,


Gary