Power supply for Linksys WAP354G

letuongthuy2000

The power supply for my router was broken, on the output it's saying: 12V, 1A. I've a power adaptor with 12V, 1.2A output. I'm just wondering if I can use it for my router? What's the meaning of A (current)? Does it really affect much if you use a power supply of 1.2A for a 1A device? Thanks

rogerramjet

Difficult one this, especially as companies are being squeezed into tight profit margins.

There maybe no issue with the other power supply, however; in relation to my first line some companies are getting thier profits back by making things like power supplies matched to the unit its for thus rendering other units incompatable. I'm aware that some Dell laptop power supplies are matched and generic supplies will allow the item to run but will not charge the batteries.

If Linksys haven't gone down this line of manufacturing, I would assume the unit should have a tollerence level which maybe capable of taking the extra ampage given by you 1.2a supply. You can but try...

T4i

a) 0.2amps is tiny

b) The amps is what the device requires to work 100% under load (non-techy)

Should be fine! Just means your new psu could deliver abit more power if needed. But the device will never use more than 1amps so the 0.2amps difference is not an issue.

letuongthuy2000

Thanks, I'll try it out and see what happens.

espresso

letuongthuy2000 wrote:

The power supply for my router was broken, on the output it's saying: 12V, 1A. I've a power adaptor with 12V, 1.2A output. I'm just wondering if I can use it for my router? What's the meaning of A (current)? Does it really affect much if you use a power supply of 1.2A for a 1A device? Thanks

Caution :eek:

If the 12V 1.2A supply is similar to the original 12V 1A supply it may be suitable as it can supply slightly more current, however more information is required to be sure. Is this 12V 1A DC? and is the other supply also a DC rating? The other thing to check is the polarity i.e. is the positive connector the centre connector or the outer connector and are both supplies the same polarity?

T4i

espresso wrote:

Caution :eek:

If the 12V 1.2A supply is similar to the original 12V 1A supply it may be suitable as it can supply slightly more current, however more information is required to be sure. Is this 12V 1A DC? and is the other supply also a DC rating? The other thing to check is the polarity i.e. is the positive connector the centre connector or the outer connector and are both supplies the same polarity?

I dont think its gonna be 12v AC

Dont all DC adaptors have the live in the centre...........I must have a bucket full here and I've never come across a adapter with live outer plug.

ManAtHome

I run a Linksys switch from a generic power supply - same voltage but equal or higher rating should be ok.

ps - hit Post too quick - should be ok as long as it's a Regulated power supply..

letuongthuy2000

thanks for your remind, both are DC. Positive in the centre connector for the Linksys PSU, but not sure if it's the same for the replaced one. Is there any way to check if the positive connector is the centre or outer conector?

rogerramjet

You could plug it in as see if smoke starts pouring from the router other than that there is usually a small diagram on the PSU or use a multimeter if you have one hanging around...sad bit is, I bought one just for these kind of situations

letuongthuy2000

I've got one more question, if a psu says 12V, 1A, it means 12VDC; is this 12VDC the amount of voltage (or whatever) the device draws or is it just the maximum amount that the psu can handle?

If it's just the maximum amount of electricity the psu can handle, it means the amount of electricity the device draws is somewhat lower than 12VDC; and it's not harm to use a 12V, 1.25A (16VDC) psu for the device as the device never draws that much of electricity. Am I wrong at any point?

espresso

letuongthuy2000 wrote:

I've got one more question, if a psu says 12V, 1A, it means 12VDC; is this 12VDC the amount of voltage (or whatever) the device draws or is it just the maximum amount that the psu can handle?

If it's just the maximum amount of electricity the psu can handle, it means the amount of electricity the device draws is somewhat lower than 12VDC; and it's not harm to use a 12V, 1.25A (16VDC) psu for the device as the device never draws that much of electricity. Am I wrong at any point?

If it says 12V 1A it is saying that it supplies 12 volts at a rated maximum current of 1 Amp. You could, if you had one, use a 12 volt 2 Amp power supply as long as the polarity of the plug is the same.

Basically the voltage should be the same, otherwise the router may have to dissipate more power internally and it could cause overheating and the alternative power supply must be capable of suppling at least 1 Amp.

Some Netgear routers have 15V supplies while others use 12V.

HTH.