Hi all. I'm new here, and being only slightly electronically savy, I'm afraid I can only ask and provide little help. I hope that with some assistance and further reading of the text on this site, I amy be able to expand my high school electronics knowledge into something more practical.

Here's my dilemma. I purchased an outdoor weather station for my daughter. A wonderful toy, remotely sends wind speed/direction etc to a receiver in the house. However, the transmitter outside relies on 2 AA batteries to power it. These batteries need to be replaced on average three times a month. In the colder temps we have to purchase even more costly lithium batteries.

You can see where I'm going here. Within 4 feet is a receptacle. Is it possible, with relative basic electronics know how to adapt the battery compartment to accept converted AC power rather than batteries?

I appreciate any assistnce anyone can offer, and I thank everyone in advance. I will provide additional info as needed if that is of help. Thanks to those that even bothered to read this post ... its evidence that you may have wanted to help ... and thats great.

Thanks

 

Max Ark:

You're using two AA batteries in series, each one providing 1.5V, so a simple 3VDC adpater will do the jub.
If you don't want to spend too much time designing a 3V power supply, I suggest you spend a few bucks and buy this one instead:

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-3vdc-700ma-regulated-ac-to-dc-adapter--pi-2049704.html

Radio Shack is a very expensive supplier of electronic components, however, so you might still want to browse around and see if you can find a better deal for an equivalent adapter.

You might have to cut the adapter's plug and peel the wires to connect them directly to the battery receptacle's terminals.

 

Thanks cmartinez! Its really that simple? I don't need to worry about amps or anything like that? Any 3V AC-DC adapter will do.

 

Yeap, it's that simple. You don't need to worry about amps because that is something that the electronic circuit will demand (a few milliamps in your case, quite possibly) based on the regulated 3VDC given by the power supply. And as I said, any 3VDC power supply will work, good luck finding one outside Radio Shack, though.

Have a good one!

 

Beware of weather and water. The Rat Shack adaptor is not water proof.

Another option is this one if it has enough current output.
http://store.sundancesolar.com/somo2v38.html

 

Another option is to buy two NiMH rechargeable batteries and a charger. Probably a bit more expensive than wall adapter but simpler and needing no modification.

 

Another option is to buy two NiMH rechargeable batteries and a charger. Probably a bit more expensive than wall adapter but simpler and needing no modification.

four batteries would be even better, then you always have two in the device and two prepared for change

 

I just recently saw a four pack NiMH AA with charger for under 10 but the batteries were no-name. They were at Fry's.

 

Hi, I'm new here also but I read your question and the responses. Nobody seems to have mentioned that if you place rechargeable bateries in your device and also power it from a simple "a.c. plug pack", it will still work if there is a power failure.

 

Another thought, if you want to get even more fancy, is to use rechargeable batteries and get a small solar panel to mount to the station, thus recharging the batteries throughout the day. That's even more pricey though, but hey, why not?

Good luck with the project.

 

Try this site:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

to see which rechargeable batteries are best value. Also, battery chargers make a HUGE difference in preserving battery life. If you want to get the "1000 charges" out of a battery, get a good charger (try Maha's equipment: http://www.mahaenergy.com)

Good luck!