autotrickler V4 wall wart output?

[Dave M.]

When we talked, it was about a cable to run from the Flashfish to the scale. I answered your fuse questions assuming you were powering only the scale.

Yes, power will get to all three, A&D fx120i, autothrow and autotrickler if you wire it that way. You will need to size the fuse adequately, or better yet, make a four plug cable, one plug for the Flashfish and one for each A&D fx120i, autothrow and autotrickler. You will need to determine the polarity of the jack for each, it may not be the same as the scale. A fuse for each would be advised. Use your meter to get the polarity right.

A fuse (or three) will not decrease the voltage.

The power just goes to the scale, the autothrow and autotrickler plug directly into the back of the A&D using 4 pin connectors.

 

[SteveOak]

So the autothrow and autotrickler get power through the scale?

 

[xr650rRider]

Current flows from negative to positive. Put the fuse on the negative side.

The wall wart is rated for 2A. I would use a 2A fuse.

Steve

Current flows positive (higher potential) to negative (lower potential). Electrons flow negative to positive or opposite of current flow in a battery.

The A&D works perfectly fine with included wall wart, no battery required unless you want to load at the range. Static build-up, wind currents, thermal changes are normal causes of drift.

 

[dcali]

So the autothrow and autotrickler get power through the scale?

That’s correct. There’s a DB9 connector on the back of the scale that provides power to the AutoTrickler electronics that drive the stepper motors.

 

[dcali]

Current flows positive (higher potential) to negative (lower potential). Electrons flow negative to positive or opposite of current flow in a battery.

Fun historical trivia: the reason current flows opposite of electrons is because Ben Franklin got it wrong and we’ve just gone along with it ever since.

 

[xr650rRider]

Fun historical trivia: the reason current flows opposite of electrons is because Ben Franklin got it wrong and we’ve just gone along with it ever since.

Think you have to dive a little deeper and get into the atomic structure. Valence shells and such.

 

[SteveOak]

Fun historical trivia: the reason current flows opposite of electrons is because Ben Franklin got it wrong and we’ve just gone along with it ever since.

That is more correctly stated.

 

[SteveOak]

The A&D works perfectly fine with included wall wart, no battery required unless you want to load at the range. Static build-up, wind currents, thermal changes are normal causes of drift.

Perhaps yours does.

The focus of my article was for those interested in mitigating EMI or possibilities thereof.

 

[SteveOak]

That’s correct. There’s a DB9 connector on the back of the scale that provides power to the AutoTrickler electronics that drive the stepper motors.

Interesting. Has anyone measured the current draw into the scale when powering the other equipment? Does it exceed the 2 A the wall wart is rated to supply?

I would expect the 2 A rating of the wall wart to exceed the expected current requirements of the scale but may not be sufficiently overspecc'd to handle the additional load of other pieces.

 

[dcali]

Interesting. Has anyone measured the current draw into the scale when powering the other equipment? Does it exceed the 2 A the wall wart is rated to supply?

I would expect the 2 A rating of the wall wart to exceed the expected current requirements of the scale but may not be sufficiently overspecc'd to handle the additional load of other pieces.

The 2A power supply provides sufficient current to power the scale and the AutoTrickler electronics. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t work with the wall wart. It’s just routed through the scale because the scale is designed for that sort of thing.

It’s the steppers that take a lot of that current. I can’t recall the exact numbers but it’s not out of line for little motors like that to be rated at about 1/2 A. Since they’re steppers you need that current constantly on top of what we the scale and other electronics need. I don’t know how much the scale requires vs the motors, but I’d guess quite a bit less, so a 2 A power supply ought to be plenty.

 

[xr650rRider]

Interesting. Has anyone measured the current draw into the scale when powering the other equipment? Does it exceed the 2 A the wall wart is rated to supply?

I would expect the 2 A rating of the wall wart to exceed the expected current requirements of the scale but may not be sufficiently overspecc'd to handle the additional load of other pieces.

@adamjmac, ask the creator. Pretty sure he's an electronics/electrical engineer and software developer.

Pretty sure he tested everything before mailing out a bunch of problems.

Those scales are utilized in labs and often have auto-dispensers connected for automatic titration/dosing procedures, so they are designed to power loads.

 

[xr650rRider]

Old thread that might answer a few questions
https://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/turn-your-fx-120i-into-a-prometheus.3897203/post-36905865

 

[SteveOak]

Ahh yes, there was a problem but he supplies a wall wart with a higher current rating.

Great!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Again, watch that polarity. Its opposite of the common wiring.

 

[Dave M.]

Interesting. Has anyone measured the current draw into the scale when powering the other equipment? Does it exceed the 2 A the wall wart is rated to supply?

I would expect the 2 A rating of the wall wart to exceed the expected current requirements of the scale but may not be sufficiently overspecc'd to handle the additional load of other pieces.

I don’t have an ohmmeter that has the line clamp to measure live current Steve.
Dave

 

[MikeRu]

Impressive crowd. Don’t color me a skeptic, but university research labs (molecular biology) use std AC with a surge protector, even for the most sensitive analytical balances, and they work reproducibly for decades (whereas my “voltage” tends to fluctuate).

 

[Hohn]

I hope you guys are putting a fuse, rated for the wire size, at the battery end. Batteries store a huge amount of current and can create a fire hazard if the wire and circuit are not protected.

Most of the little wall transformers/supplies have internal protection.

Batteries don’t actually store any current at all. But they will support large current flows if the resistance is low enough.

 

[tctex]

The purpose of that device is to limit voltage in the event the line power from the utility runs too high (surge) and to provide power when the utility service runs low or drops. When the APC is providing power it will likely be a stepped sine wave which is not good. It is probably not going to provide clean power. It will also likely generate EMI when inverting.

If you want a good UPS unit that provides good AC power, look at some of the TrippLite units. Most of their online units actually supply power from the battery pack full time & the AC just maintains the battery charge. They claim a true sine wave output from these units & I have seen it proven. An electrical engineer friend of mine put a comparative scope on one with one trace on the wall source, one on an unloaded port & one on a loaded port. He freaked out when it showed the output from the UPS (loaded or unloaded) was cleaner than the wall source. They are pricey but very good.

 

[MagnumW]

Overkill but I’m throwing to the kernal in 10 secs so happy.


Tripplite https://a.co/d/hJHCfcr

 

[SteveOak]

Overkill but I’m throwing to the kernal in 10 secs so happy.


Tripplite https://a.co/d/hJHCfcr

The documentation does not state sine wave.