Need >=15V@3A RA & Straight plugs and panel & inline sockets

• Need >=15V@3A RA & Straight plugs and panel & inline sockets
  Posted by i336_ on 11 Aug, 2013 12:23
• Hi all
  
  A few months ago my laptop's power socket conked out, only working if I wiggled the plug a certain way. After resoldering it I decided that if it ever happened again I would replace the socket if I could. Aaand... it finally failed again. So, time to fix it - and PROPERLY this time!
  
  After getting very confused by some photos I'd taken of the board first time around and thinking the power socket had 5 pins I was greatly relieved to find that not only did it only have three pins (the other two were solder pads for an unfitted SMD cap )... the laptop's power input system doesn't actually use the socket's 3rd/switch pin - it detects the presence of electricity electrically and I can thus connect more than one socket in parallel - so I'm hoping to put one on the back (for when I'm eg on a table), and one on the side (for when I have it on my lap), as a balance between strain and inconvenience (since the side socket *might* get in the way of the PCMCIA slots, and thus my PCMCIA/USB 2.0 card).
  I also thought it'd be cool to switch to a right-angled power input plug so I could completely eliminate the original issue - lifting the laptop makes the plug/cable, which connects at the back (but of course...) slowly lever the socket off the motherboard . That said, I love Japanese hardware (at least in this case): it took 14 years for the original solder connection to fail (but the second failure only occured about 9-12 months later *blames self/soldering iron/skills* ).
  
  So I set about finding a panel-mount socket, a right-angled plug and line socket for the extension cable, all in the Toshiba's original 6.3mmOD/3.0mmID. That was this morning, at about ~10AM. It's now ~10PM (although admittedly I gave up a couple of hours ago).
  
  Basically, I can find perfect factory-replacement Toshiba-compatible premade (!) R/A plug cables on eBay, and I've found a panel-mount socket online too... but the line sockets simply do not exist, and as far as heatshrinking that panel-mount one onto a cable is concerned... I reckon it would have sufficiant substance to it to annoyingly get in the way when I don't want it to, stub my feet on (especially early in the morning), and even perhaps knock someone out with, if swung/grabbed accidentally... so I'd prefer not to go there.
  
  So I gave up, tossed the original diameter specifications out the window, and have been in a a bad case of trying to find explicitly 15V@3A-or-better rated plugs/sockets/cables - particularly with the RA adaptor/cable; after remembering how easily those DIY/hobby RA plugs come apart from long ago, I certainly don't want to be using one of those to deliver 15V at 3A to anything, even if I did find one rated highly enough: I'd far prefer to get a premade cable with a RA plug on it, or get a right-angle plug adaptor. But while I can find various RA-plug-terminated cables on eBay none of the listings I saw provided explicit current ratings and I haven't even tried to find RA plug adaptors (mostly because it's now 10:25PM).
  
  So... I have no idea where to go from here. I usually go a bit dazed/loopy in the head when important hardware goes kaput like this (you could probably have cut, diced, packaged and shipped the tension in the room - and fed a small country - when I was troubleshooting/fixing my broken PDA (an MC218) after its plastic chassis practically dissolved... ) so I'm probably just still getting over it (it started playing up yesterday afternoon), although I do think I'm in over my head here (in terms of ordering parts... I never knew it could be this hard!!1), although thinking about it, it's just that I haven't been able to find a line socket or diameter-compatible RA plug adaptor that's got me stumped at this point.
  
  Links / pointers (not the hexadecimal kind though!) / advice much appreciated!!
  
  -i336_
  
• #1 Reply
  Posted by amyk on 11 Aug, 2013 13:05
• Lenovo's laptops have free-floating sockets in the body, connected to the mobo via a short lead (presumably to avoid the stress you describe), and some of them look suitable for your purpose.
• #2 Reply
  Posted by i336_ on 12 Aug, 2013 12:30
• I see. That looks interesting, and I actually came across those on my search.
  
  The listing for that particular item states however that the inner diameter is 2.5mm and I need 3.0mm (and it doesn't even mention any outer diameter!), so I can't confidently say that would work
  
  A couple of days of doing other things has reassured my nerves somewhat and I've been thinking of cutting (yes...) the cable on my laptop's PSU, inserting a generic plug+line socket inline, then wiring a second identical line socket to one of those RA cables on eBay. That would work, and I think that's probably the least amount of hassle.
  
  So, new question, and much simpler this time - where on earth can I find a specifically 15V/3A-rated matched line plug and socket - any diameter? All these tech companies' fancy parametric search systems are nice and all, but not if the databases don't list the parameters I want in the first place... lol. I'm not really at the point where I can say "eh, that looks big enough" from practical experience.
  
  Thanks again in advance.
  
  -i336