General > General Technical Chat

Power adapter advice - Magic smoke from 12V 1.5A portable hard disk

<< < (4/4)

tooki:
On a DC barrel jack, you can only switch the outside contact. There’s no way to switch the center one.

Regardless, the point is that it used to be common. That it’s inconvenient today to encounter both is undisputed, but it is what it is.

Ground facing outward on a barrel plug has an advantage: if it shorts against another connector, it’s less likely to cause a short (since most plugs, if they have any exposed metal, have it as ground). Not all power supplies are floating.

james_s:

--- Quote from: tooki on July 05, 2021, 11:49:06 am ---On a DC barrel jack, you can only switch the outside contact. There’s no way to switch the center one.

--- End quote ---

Sure, but what difference does that make? When would it ever matter whether you disconnect the battery positive or the battery negative when you plug in the external supply? Either way accomplishes the same goal of disconnecting the battery from the circuit.

I don't recall ever seeing a barrel plug used on a power supply that was not floating. I would argue that it is an inappropriate connector to use for such a supply.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod