The baby unit has a wall wart, with no battery option.

The parent unit has the option of using either batteries or a power
adaptor. However, I don't have a second power adaptor. But if I run
the parent unit on batteries (3 x AA), these get consumed very
quickly, so I'm thinking of buying a second adaptor (£9 plus
delivery).

However, I do have a spare D-Link power adaptor with the same voltage
output rating (7.5v) and plug polarity (centre pin +) so I tried it.

It doesn't work.

So I took the Tomy power adaptor off the *baby* unit briefly and tried
it on the parent unit. It works (inasmuch as the LED illuminates).

So why doesn't a non-Tomy power adaptor work? It's not broken. It's
off my D-Link ethernet switch and it works fine on that.

The ONLY difference is that the Tomy adaptor is rated at 200ma,
whereas the D-Link one is rated at 1000ma. Output voltage is the same
in both cases.

Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

MM

"MM" wrote in message
...



So why doesn't a non-Tomy power adaptor work? It's not broken. It's
off my D-Link ethernet switch and it works fine on that.

The ONLY difference is that the Tomy adaptor is rated at 200ma,
whereas the D-Link one is rated at 1000ma. Output voltage is the same
in both cases.

Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

Are you sure the pins are the same diameter and are actually making contact?
Use rechargeable batts.

On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:01:46 +0100, MM wrote:
The baby unit has a wall wart, with no battery option.

The parent unit has the option of using either batteries or a power
adaptor. However, I don't have a second power adaptor. But if I run
the parent unit on batteries (3 x AA), these get consumed very
quickly, so I'm thinking of buying a second adaptor (£9 plus
delivery).


Two sets of rechargeable AAs and a charger could be a wise investment.

In article ,
MM wrote:
The baby unit has a wall wart, with no battery option.

The parent unit has the option of using either batteries or a power
adaptor. However, I don't have a second power adaptor. But if I run
the parent unit on batteries (3 x AA), these get consumed very
quickly, so I'm thinking of buying a second adaptor (£9 plus
delivery).

However, I do have a spare D-Link power adaptor with the same voltage
output rating (7.5v) and plug polarity (centre pin +) so I tried it.

It doesn't work.

So I took the Tomy power adaptor off the *baby* unit briefly and tried
it on the parent unit. It works (inasmuch as the LED illuminates).

So why doesn't a non-Tomy power adaptor work? It's not broken. It's
off my D-Link ethernet switch and it works fine on that.

The ONLY difference is that the Tomy adaptor is rated at 200ma,
whereas the D-Link one is rated at 1000ma. Output voltage is the same
in both cases.

Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

MM

Are you sure the other one is DC?

--
*Frankly, scallop, I don't give a clam

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Jul 6, 9:01*am, MM wrote:
The baby unit has a wall wart, with no battery option.

The parent unit has the option of using either batteries or a power
adaptor. However, I don't have a second power adaptor. But if I run
the parent unit on batteries (3 x AA), these get consumed very
quickly, so I'm thinking of buying a second adaptor (£9 plus
delivery).

However, I do have a spare D-Link power adaptor with the same voltage
output rating (7.5v) and plug polarity (centre pin +) so I tried it.

It doesn't work.

So I took the Tomy power adaptor off the *baby* unit briefly and tried
it on the parent unit. It works (inasmuch as the LED illuminates).

So why doesn't a non-Tomy power adaptor work? It's not broken. It's
off my D-Link ethernet switch and it works fine on that.

The ONLY difference is that the Tomy adaptor is rated at 200ma,
whereas the D-Link one is rated at 1000ma. Output voltage is the same
in both cases.

Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

MM

The 2 adaptors must be different specs after all. Rarely needed to buy
one, just ask for the specs you need on freecycle, some people have
piles of them.


NT

On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:01:46 +0100, MM wrote:


Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

Assuming both are DC it is almost certainly because the centre pins
are of different diameters.

On Tue, 6 Jul 2010 09:14:42 +0100, "dennis@home"
wrote:



"MM" wrote in message
.. .



So why doesn't a non-Tomy power adaptor work? It's not broken. It's
off my D-Link ethernet switch and it works fine on that.

The ONLY difference is that the Tomy adaptor is rated at 200ma,
whereas the D-Link one is rated at 1000ma. Output voltage is the same
in both cases.

Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

Are you sure the pins are the same diameter and are actually making contact?

The plug is as per the picture on this page:
http://www.tomy.co.uk/products/spare...vance-adaptor/

However, I was trying a D-Link adaptor, since I don't have a second
Tomy adaptor.

The plug, when pushing it over the pin in the body of the parent unit,
feels exactly the same as when pushing on the plug on the baby unit. I
inspected both plugs and they appear identical. Both adaptors have the
centre pin marked as positive.

Use rechargeable batts.

That's what I have been doing, but they run down mighty quickly!

MM

On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:58:10 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
MM wrote:
The baby unit has a wall wart, with no battery option.

The parent unit has the option of using either batteries or a power
adaptor. However, I don't have a second power adaptor. But if I run
the parent unit on batteries (3 x AA), these get consumed very
quickly, so I'm thinking of buying a second adaptor (£9 plus
delivery).

However, I do have a spare D-Link power adaptor with the same voltage
output rating (7.5v) and plug polarity (centre pin +) so I tried it.

It doesn't work.

So I took the Tomy power adaptor off the *baby* unit briefly and tried
it on the parent unit. It works (inasmuch as the LED illuminates).

So why doesn't a non-Tomy power adaptor work? It's not broken. It's
off my D-Link ethernet switch and it works fine on that.

The ONLY difference is that the Tomy adaptor is rated at 200ma,
whereas the D-Link one is rated at 1000ma. Output voltage is the same
in both cases.

Does the parent unit somehow 'know' that the D-Link is the wrong
adaptor?

MM

Are you sure the other one is DC?

Ah! It doesn't actually say! I've just had a look and it says:

D-Link
ITE Power Supply
Input 220-240v 50 Hz 120 mA
Output 7.5v 1000 mA 7.5VA

MM

In article ,
MM wrote:
Are you sure the other one is DC?

Ah! It doesn't actually say! I've just had a look and it says:

D-Link
ITE Power Supply
Input 220-240v 50 Hz 120 mA
Output 7.5v 1000 mA 7.5VA

Ah. The VA gives a clue - it's AC. DC uses mA. Quite a few computer
peripherals use AC wall warts and rectify/regulate internally. A better
way of doing things.

--
*Rehab is for quitters

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 2010-07-06 16:26:35 +0100, MM said:


Use rechargeable batts.

That's what I have been doing, but they run down mighty quickly!


How quickly? We generally get 2-3 evenings (so I would guess around 10
hours) from a mid-life set of rechargable AAs. Have you enabled the
sound activation mode (assuming your unit has one)?. As well as
presumably meaning that battery life on the receiving unit is improved
(although it must be constantly "listening" it isn't always constantly
playing) it also means you don't get the constant slight background
hiss from other units.

On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:52:05 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
MM wrote:
Are you sure the other one is DC?

Ah! It doesn't actually say! I've just had a look and it says:

D-Link
ITE Power Supply
Input 220-240v 50 Hz 120 mA
Output 7.5v 1000 mA 7.5VA

Ah. The VA gives a clue - it's AC. DC uses mA. Quite a few computer
peripherals use AC wall warts and rectify/regulate internally. A better
way of doing things.

So it's not going to work, then?

MM

On Tue, 6 Jul 2010 16:59:20 +0100, Piers Finlayson
wrote:

On 2010-07-06 16:26:35 +0100, MM said:


Use rechargeable batts.

That's what I have been doing, but they run down mighty quickly!


How quickly? We generally get 2-3 evenings (so I would guess around 10
hours) from a mid-life set of rechargable AAs. Have you enabled the
sound activation mode (assuming your unit has one)?. As well as
presumably meaning that battery life on the receiving unit is improved
(although it must be constantly "listening" it isn't always constantly
playing) it also means you don't get the constant slight background
hiss from other units.

I don't use mine to monitor babies! I use it, for example, to listen
for the City Link van if I'm in the back garden. It might be switched
on for hours.

I find generally that rechargable AAs don't last nearly as long as
brand-new non-rechargable ones of a good brand.

Maybe I'll get three - four hours, then the red LED starts alternating
with the green and a short while later it beeps, then finally switches
itself off.

Of course, I ~could~ buy a second adaptor direct from Tomy, but they
are 9 quid!!

MM

On 2010-07-06 18:14:28 +0100, MM said:


I don't use mine to monitor babies! I use it, for example, to listen
for the City Link van if I'm in the back garden. It might be switched
on for hours.

I find generally that rechargable AAs don't last nearly as long as
brand-new non-rechargable ones of a good brand.

Agree with that.


Maybe I'll get three - four hours, then the red LED starts alternating
with the green and a short while later it beeps, then finally switches
itself off.

That doesn't seem like long given we get about 10 hours. I guess it
may due to differences between monitors, or the range you are using it
over.


Of course, I ~could~ buy a second adaptor direct from Tomy, but they
are 9 quid!!

I eventually needed to buy a new wall wart for the base station of
mine. I got it from RS, with free delivery (having an account via
work) and paid about £4 IIRC. The back did come off pretty quickly but
nothing a bit of duct tape couldn't fix. (Decided against the angle
grinder in this instance.)


MM

On Tue, 6 Jul 2010 19:07:45 +0100, Piers Finlayson
wrote:

That doesn't seem like long given we get about 10 hours. I guess it
may due to differences between monitors, or the range you are using it
over.

Admittedly much further than typically for monitoring a baby (I should
assume, not having any). I mount the listener on the window sill at
the front of the house (open window), and the monitor unit is then
near me in the back garden or in the garage where I might be doing
woodwork.

MM

In article ,
MM wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:52:05 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
MM wrote:
Are you sure the other one is DC?

Ah! It doesn't actually say! I've just had a look and it says:

D-Link
ITE Power Supply
Input 220-240v 50 Hz 120 mA
Output 7.5v 1000 mA 7.5VA

Ah. The VA gives a clue - it's AC. DC uses mA. Quite a few computer
peripherals use AC wall warts and rectify/regulate internally. A better
way of doing things.

So it's not going to work, then?

No. A DC type can be used in place of an AC one, but not the other way
round.

--
*If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Jul 6, 6:11*pm, MM wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:52:05 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"

wrote:
In article ,
* MM wrote:
Are you sure the other one is DC?

Ah! It doesn't actually say! I've just had a look and it says:

D-Link
ITE Power Supply
Input 220-240v 50 Hz 120 mA
Output 7.5v 1000 mA 7.5VA

Ah. The VA gives a clue - it's AC. DC uses mA. Quite a few computer
peripherals use AC wall warts and rectify/regulate internally. A better
way of doing things.

So it's not going to work, then?

MM

you mighthave killed the monitor, but hopefully not. Get yourself a
multimeter - and dont get batteries for anything that can run on
mains.


NT

On Tue, 6 Jul 2010 21:57:14 -0700 (PDT), NT
wrote:

On Jul 6, 6:11*pm, MM wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:52:05 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"

wrote:
In article ,
* MM wrote:
Are you sure the other one is DC?

Ah! It doesn't actually say! I've just had a look and it says:

D-Link
ITE Power Supply
Input 220-240v 50 Hz 120 mA
Output 7.5v 1000 mA 7.5VA

Ah. The VA gives a clue - it's AC. DC uses mA. Quite a few computer
peripherals use AC wall warts and rectify/regulate internally. A better
way of doing things.

So it's not going to work, then?

MM

you mighthave killed the monitor, but hopefully not. Get yourself a
multimeter - and dont get batteries for anything that can run on
mains.

I thought that. But I stuck recharged batteries back in and it still
works okay. I think I shall just buy a Tony official spare part, since
it's only 9 quid after all said and done. (And Maplin ain't cheap!)

MM

On Jul 7, 10:50*am, MM wrote:

works okay. I think I shall just buy a Tony official spare part, since
it's only 9 quid after all said and done. (And Maplin ain't cheap!)

MM

ouch. But just a small ouch.