A40 AC Adapter

[AndrewShirley]

I just bought the A40 - love it!

I'm wondering if anyone has used a non Canon AC Adapter with it?

I bought one from Radio Shack for less than half the price of Canon's, however the closest voltage setting is 5.0V, where the A40 specifies 4.3V. The available current supply is ample (pardon the pun) at 2.1A.

I'm wondering if the voltage regulator in the A40 can handle the extra 0.7V volts.

Any thoughts?

- Andrew

[onehotrx7]

Not only is the voltage wrong, it won't be as regulated as the Canon unit... use it at your own risk - one good surge and your smoking A40 won't be much of an investment...

That said, I don't recommend the Canon AC adaptor either... your money is by far better used on a set (or two) or good (1800mah or better) ni-mh rechargeable AA's and a charger... here in Australia you can pickup 8 AA's and a charger for well less than half the price of the Canon power supply, and they'll drive your camera for free forever more... at least, as far as you're concerned... you'll get longer life out of them in real camera usage than you will even with Alkalines... well worth the bucks...

Cheers,
Stuart Elflett
Dataman Pty Ltd

[ldelicato]

I agree with stuart,
also if you want to transfer files to computer then you can buy a card reader for ~$30 which does not require any power supply!

louise

[Digian]

Specs:

4.3v DC
1.5 A
Centre pin = positive

----------------------------
4.5v should be fine.
Can anybody clarify on amps ?
---------------------------------------

/me = looking for suitable adapter still
:)

[Eric_]

I transferred 144 pictures (S45, 10% flash use) onto my computer in 7 minutes (in 1 batch) with a battery that had been indicating low for 15 shots prior. After the download, the camera informed me on my computer screen that it was time to change the battery. If anyone is worried about download battery drain, don't. I'm going to get 2 spare batteries and forget about the AC adpater.

[onehotrx7]

That's great, but there is a world of difference between your S45 and the A40, batteery wise - the A40 uses 4 X AA batteries, you have a proprietary lithium ion battery... quite different in their usage, really - that's why I recommend the NIMH AA's...

Cheers,
Stuart

[agak40]

Any regulated power supply will work. Using a higher voltage(pressure) will put strain on the circuitry and may cause premature failure. As for current, the load decides how much current(flow) is drawn, so if you use a power supply with too low a current rating it will burn out, but it is imposible to have to high a current rating.

[bulebule]

What I can't figure is why 4.3V when the four batteries (which are connected in series) deliver 6V. Is there an internal regulator. I thought of using one of the regulated 5V outputs from my computer power supply as a power source when downloading, or a 4.8V supply from a Panasonic video camera adapter.

[onehotrx7]

If you're using the camera so much that you think you need a dedicated power supply to download the images, get yourself a card reader instead - you'll get the pics off the card so much quicker, and it'll be powered off the USB port...

Cheers,
Stuart

[Bimbobo]

I've been using my A40 with an adapter with 4.5v and
I have no problem at all.....
Of course the is a difference between 4.5 and 4.8 or 6v
I think that Canon just want to sell their own products!

[walter_wpg]

I'm wondering if anyone here has one of the "official" Canon AC adapters (model ACK600)? It would be interesting to know what the voltage is on the output connector when it is not plugged into the camera. I'm guessing that it is not 4.3V, but rather at least 1V or more higher. I'm also wondering about the stated 1.5A rating on the supply. I'd be very surprised if the current used by the camera is anywhere near that level. The adapter may have a voltage of around 4.3V when you are taking 1.5A out of it, but at the lower currents consumed by a camera, I wouldn't be surprised to see a voltage closer to 5 or 6 volts.

The camera obviously has to be able to tolerate some variation in voltage. For example, if you have 4 brand-new AA alkaline batteries installed, the battery voltage can be close to 4 x 1.6 = 6.4V. (Yes, I know that alkalines are "rated" for 1.5V, but just put a voltmeter on a brand new battery and you'll see it isn't exactly 1.50 volts.) Also, a set of AA NiMH batteries will have a voltage of 4 x 1.2 = 4.8V.

Anyway, if someone has an ACK600, and a digital voltmeter, could you please measure the ourput voltage and post it?

When I get time, I plan to do some experiments using a calibrated lab power supply, to determine what the lower voltage limit is at the DC input jack. (It may be different than the lowest battery voltage.) I have determined that the "pin" on the DC camera jack is Positive, and is connected directly to the most-positive pin of the battery compartment. I presume that when you plug in the AC adapter into the camera, it will disconnect the negative terminal of the internal batteries. You obviously don't want the adapter to drive current into the batteries, or try to charge them in some way.