Help! AC Adaptor: How much voltage is enough to damage something?

RichyX

I bought an AC adaptor for use with my minidisc player and GP32 (Korean handheld console)
It's managed to shag both of them despite being set to the correct voltage (3V in each case), and polarity in each case. Neither will even turn on anymore.

I tested it at work and it's putting out 3.6V on the 3V setting. Would this be enough to do the damage?

I'm planning to take the thing back tomorrow but I have no idea if I have any arguement to get some money out of them or what.
Any idea what I can do in this messy situation?

thanks
(not sure if this is the correct forum but I couldn't see any more relevant)

Inspector Gadget

...you probably bought an unregulated PSU, where your toys needed a regulated one.

(Regulated supplies have circuitry to keep the voltage near what you set it to within the current range it's designed to deliver; the voltage from an unregulated supply will vary (sometimes a lot) depending on the current draw)

If the PSU itself still works, its unlikely you have a prayer in terms of seeking some kind of recourse, unless the PSU and your more expensive toys state (in writing) that they're designed to work together (you can bet that both the MD and the handheld console both have their own PSUs available for sale - somewhere...). The best you could do, I'd imagine, is get a replacement PSU if the one you bought broke.

Gadget
(IANAL, naturally)

RichyX

The PSU was a regulated model. Yet it still put out 3.6V out the 3V setting.
I showed the assistant in the shop the box of the MD that had all the specifications of the MD (power supply etc.) He specfically said this PSU would work with the MD. Not in writing but it is something worth mentioning.

WTH is IANAL?

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by XCRichard
The PSU was a regulated model. Yet it still put out 3.6V out the 3V setting.
I showed the assistant in the shop the box of the MD that had all the specifications of the MD (power supply etc.) He specfically said this PSU would work with the MD. Not in writing but it is something worth mentioning.

WTH is IANAL?

Even with regulation circuitry, you can't test it no-load. You have to put a resistive or inductive load across it (say a 3v bulb or something - its current draw must be within the published range of the power supply) and check the voltage then.

Sounds like pretty rotten luck... it'll be extremely difficult to diagnose what actually happened, I'm afraid...

Oh, and that acronym means I Am Not A Lawyer

Gadget

Giblet

It might be putting out less current.