AC CHARGER

[STEVEHEAT]

I purchased a charger from ebay. This is not a used charger but new and has more for sale.

In the description it has output as 16V~4A, 65W

I was a little concerned as the majority of chargers were DC output so I sent this message

please could you confirm if output is AC or DC on the details it shows
Output Voltage: 16V~4A, 65W
I'm hoping this is right an its ac as shown by the ~ but have a feeling its dc

I got the reply yes its AC

I went ahead and purchased the charger and on the label it shows a solid line over 3 dashes which as far as I understand means DC

I sent a message back and got this answer

 I have just confirm from our technical team and they say that its AC And DC both.
You can return the item if you are not happy with it.

There are no switches or settings and a single 2 wire cable for the output

I just want to confirm that its not possible and that he's basically talking rubbish

Am I correct

thanks

Steve

 

[steptoe]

You are correct,

The seller is talking through his rear end,  

 

[Rob_the_rich]

I can imagine the technical teams request;

"Darling, was it on DC or AC.?"

"DC of course.US Capital. I am in the bath"

"Our team says it does both"

 

[poni]

aren't all charger's DC, as you cant get a AC battery ?

 

[Tony S]

aren't all charger's DC, as you cant get a AC battery ?

I was wondering how long it would be before someone pointed that minor point out.

 

[poni]

I went ahead and purchased the charger and on the label it shows a solid line over 3 dashes which as far as I understand means DC

this means that its AC rectified to square wave DC  

 

[STEVEHEAT]

Is it possible and if so simple to get back to AC

I was looking for a cheap 16v ac power supply

 

[Rob_the_rich]

Search 16V AC power supply unit (PSU) or Transformer. Make sure power rating is sufficient. Check manufacturer's warrantee, they often specify using their own transformer, they are, after all, robots in disguise.

 

[Tony S]

this means that its AC rectified to square wave DC  

View attachment 7270

Don’t think so, it’s reversed sinusoidal.

 

[Sidewinder]

And the cap across the output of the bridge will smooth out the troughs in the output waveform too, if it is correctly sized to the load.

 

[Rob_the_rich]

Oh, and the ~ symbol also means "approximately equal to" so charger in first post gives around 4V

 

[poni]

Don’t think so, it’s reversed sinusoidal.

I'am sorry, you are correct I had a bit of a mind melt, it must be the heat

 

[poni]

Oh, and the ~ symbol also means "approximately equal to" so charger in first post gives around 4V

does it?

I always thought it was ≃, and  ~ was for RMS (AC)

 

[Sidewinder]

I'm with Poni on the ac symbol in relation to the approximately equal to.

 

[Tony S]

≡ Exactly equal

= Equal

≈ Something like equal

≠ Does not equal

 

[Sidewinder]

The curly line above an equals sign, or above a lowered single straight line is also accepted in certain circles to be approximately equal to, along with the following, depending on your school of maths

 

[kerching]

I was brought up as a 'double squiggler'.......

single squiggle ( tilde)...denoting AC

 

[Sidewinder]

Same as me Kerch, but, I have had my horizons broadened since by others!

 

[Rob_the_rich]

TBH I never even heard of double tildes, always used single tilde for "approx. equal to". every day is a schoolday.

Single tilde (~) is a weak approximation, double tilde is a strong approximation.

Single tilde is in wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mathematical_symbols

There does seem to be a conflict between its use as an approximation and as a symbol for AC, but in the context of the first post I stand by my approximate statement.

 

[Sidewinder]

Rob,

I wasn't criticising your use, just trying to broaden horizons as it were.

The specific use of symbols I think depends on which University you studied maths with.

Obviously the one Kerch & I attended used the same convention, not all do.

It's a bit like the different calculus notations which are taught at different universities depending also on the course you take, pure, applied, physics, engineering etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notation_for_differentiation