power adapter dilemma

[busted5mx]

I just received my second hand series 7 today in the mail (woo hoo! This is such a beautiful piece of work, I can't believe they didn't sell billions). It came with a UK adapter, which is not branded as "Psion", and lists DC output as 15V, 1.3A. In the manual, it states that the mains adapter is 15V, 1.5A. I live in the United States, does anyone have an opinion about whether I should use this adapter with a UK to US wall-plug adapter, or since it isn't the right specification anyway should I just hunt for a generic US adapter that has the correct specs? How much does .2A matter? I've used a 600mA adapter with both a 5mx and a Diamond Mako to no aparent ill effect, though that is not the correct mA rating for either machine. The series 7 is a little more dear though, so I want to be more proper.

[spegru]

As long as you can give your Psion 15.5v DC (so it says on my genuine Psion item) - in the correct polarity(!) and 1.5A then it should work.

Your crucial issue is your supply voltage. If you are using a 110v supply you probably won't break anything, but you may not get 15.5v!

However my genuine S7 adaptor is labelled as (15.5v / 1.5A) ouput capacity and 100- 240v input, so if yours is the same then you may well be fine with a uk/us adaptor.

To clear up any uncertainty the best thing would be to measure the output with a multimeter.

Rgds Spegru

PS - all at your own risk of course.....

[wanman]

Hi,

I have both the original Psion mains adapter. As I needed a second power adapter for work I ordered a Psion original. Unfortunately although the box said Psion, the adapter said Sunpower and looked like something you would get from the £1 shop. This confirmed 200-240v input 15.5v DC output 1.3A. I phoned psion about this and they said that this was the adapter they are now supplying (great !!) but they did confirm it would be ok. I check out my original (nice) Psion adapter and as Spegru confirmed, this also confirms 100-240v input 15.5v DC output 1.5A.

So if you can get hold of one of these, you may be able to use it in America. May also be worth while checking out your local online Psion dealer to see if you can get a proper adapter if you can't get hold of a uk-us adapter that will work.

Regards

Si

[Beakynet]

My Origional Psion adaptor is a UK plug and I have used it in the US, however, when I had to get a new Series 7 (first one was stolen) it came with a different adaptor (not a Psion branded one) and does not say it supports 110v. If you can get an origional Psion series 7 adaptor then it will work. I can't vouch for the later one I have.

[fladda]

Very important that any adapter that you wish to use is a switched mode stabilised power supply. Most general adapters are not stabilised.

On my three Netbooks, one arrived with the proper Psion charger. Another almost new Netbook had the Sunpower charger. The other Psion had no charger - so I use a stabilised 15 VDV @1A charger that I bought from a stall at a radio rally. All seem to work OK.

Ralph

[busted5mx]

Thanks for the responses, my adaptor is the "Sunpower" kind, so it is at least reassuring to know that it has Psion's official blessing if they were shipping it with new machines.

[netBookBabe]

Just a bit more reassurance - my power adapter is a Sunpower one, supplied with my netBook which was bought new from Clove in August 2000.

Julie

[geordiekeith]

Slightly off-topic: does anyone know of a source of the European power supply (220-240 V like the UK one) but with two round pins only. I know Psion did supply them, but I can't find one
. Using the UK one with an adaptor is a pain in terms of size!

Cheers,

Keith

[jezza]

I also received a Sunpower adaptor with my Series 7. However this just supports UK 240v power.

I ordered a second power supply via Clove and received a very nice unit made by POD, I recall that supports multiple voltages from 100-240V. I use this supply most of the time and when travelling as it is less bulky than the sunpower unit.

Hope that helps.

Jezza

[nmbaker]

Thank goodness, I can be of help to you one this one. I work at CPC plc, part of the Precision Farnell Group. We carry a range of switching power supplies across a huge spectrum of user requirements, not only for Psion stuff. Not wishing to market the company in any way, but just www.cpc.co.uk you will find the units you require. Having said that to even up things, you could also try www.maplin.co.uk and http://rswww.com How's that for unbiased advertising?