Power Adaptors, Keyboards, and you!

BananaChips

A while ago my brother's friend gave me an old keyboard, a Radioshack MD-982 to be exact, but he didn't have the power adapter, so now she runs on batteries, expensive batteries. So I want to buy a power adapter but I don't know where or what kind. All I know that above the area where you plug it in it says DC 9V. I could supply a picture If it was needed but it's basically a hole with a prong sticking straight up the middle.

A google search brought me here: http://www.musicianswebstore.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PA5

If I bought this would it work? Is there a better place to get these things?

vonPoonBurGer

Danger, danger! From the owner's manual, that keyboard takes DC 9V at 800 mA. The power plug you've linked outputs 1.5 amps, or 1500 mA. Putting nearly double the rated amperage into the keyboard is probably a really bad idea. What you want is something like this, as long as it does 800 mA. You set the voltage switch the correct voltage (9V for your keyboard), attach the correct plug, and voila. These things are great to have around, you can use them with just about any device that accepts DC current at that amperage. Some even let you select the amps in the same way that you select the volts, making them even more versatile.

ecco the dolphin

Hmmm... looking through the owner's manual for your keyboard (here), it says on page 2:

MD-982 keyboard owner's manual wrote:

... power source that supplies 9V DC and delivers at least 800 mA. Its center tip must be set to negative and its plug must fit the keyboard's DC 9V jack.

Apparently the plug is a "size M Adaptaplug™ adapter" with outer diameter 5.5mm and inner diameter 2.1mm.

With all this in hand, you *might* be able to use the slightly cheaper one at the page you linked to - provided the plug size and polarity is right. Unfortunately, the picture on the plug pack is too small for me to tell what the polarity is and it doesn't describe its plug size on the page. On the other hand, I'm not familar with keyboards and whether or not they standardise on a fixed plug size though - they may, they may not.

You might want to call/e-mail the guys and ask if:
* the plug is "tip negative". You can tell this if the plug is tip negative or tip positive by looking for a certain picture on the plug pack. There are drawings of it here - it looks like a C with a dot inside and lines coming out horizontally. If the line leading to the center dot has a "-" written next to it, then it is "tip negative" and that is the one you want for your keyboard. Otherwise if it has a "+" written next to it, then it is "tip positive" and not the one you want.

* the plug is 5.5mm outer diameter/2.1mm inner diameter.

If so, then you're good to go!

edit:

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

Danger, danger! From the owner's manual, that keyboard takes DC 9V at 800 mA. The power plug you've linked outputs 1.5 amps, or 1500 mA. Putting nearly double the rated amperage into the keyboard is probably a really bad idea. What you want is something like this, as long as it does 800 mA. You set the voltage switch the correct voltage (9V for your keyboard), attach the correct plug, and voila. These things are great to have around, you can use them with just about any device that accepts DC current at that amperage. Some even let you select the amps in the same way that you select the volts, making them even more versatile.

No no, the 1.5A is *maximum rated output*. It means that it is capable of delivering 1.5A if needs be, but the keyboard will only ever need 800mA (0.8A) from the plug. It is a perfectly acceptable option if you wanted 700mA of headroom.