Re: Digital converter (for t.v.) problems - help appreciated
Posted by
Svetaswan-2 on
URL: https://www.es-forum.com/Digital-converter-for-t-v-problems-help-appreciated-tp1553564p1553609.html
--- In
[hidden email], "Marc Martin" <marc@...> wrote:
>
> > Here I was assuming that the external power supply of my troublesome
> > laptop was also a switching power supply - but could that actually be
> > linear as well?
>
> Laptop power supplies *are* often switching -- what does it say on
> the label? If it says something like INPUT: AC 120 - 240 volts 50/60 hz,
> then it *is* a switching power supply (because it can handle a very
> wide range of input voltage)
>
> Marc
>
----------------
The power supply of my Dell laptop says,
INPUT: 100 - 240V ~ 1.5A 50-60Hz
OUTPUT: 19.5V -- 3.34A
So the INPUT is pretty much exactly as you indicated for a switching power supply.
Obviously, I have an even poorer understanding of what constitutes a switching power supply than I thought. This is an embarrassing admission for *this* forum - but I was pretty much under the assumption that any "brick"-like structure that's somewhere along the power cord was a switching power supply. I thought that all such bricks "tamp down current" in such a way thatRF frequencies are produced. (IIRC, the Prevention Magazine article pretty much explained it in this way.)
So if the power supply of the Digital Adapter is linear - why does the AM radio test indicate that the power supply and the cord are "RF hotspots"? Am I "hearing" the AM radio wrong? Or could this be a sign that our house'selectrical wiring is "polluted" with RF?
I just hate that I have to even entertain the idea of switching or "upgrading" my t.v./cable service just to have a more tolerable bedroom environment. For the most part, I'm satisfied with getting just basic cable in my bedroom - right now, I'm not looking to get DVR service, an expanded channel package, or anything like that (and absorb the extra costs associated with this). I wish there was a simpler solution - that didn't involve going backto 1980.
I mean, I certainly don't need this extra headache on top of the massive one I'm dealing with regarding my "computer woes".
~Svetaswan