I recently purchased a used machine that tosses baseballs in the air for teaching kids how to hit. The machine is a Wheeler Dealer made by Athonic Sports and runs off of (2) Power Sonic 12v 5ah batteries that require frequent charging. The charger is a Jameco 24v 400 mA. I know very, very little about electronics but what I would like to do if possible is to eliminate the batteries all together and be able to plug this machine directly into an extension cord. It does have a circuit board and has 2 controls, 1 that controls the height of the toss and 1 that controls the time between tosses. Any suggestions?

 

here you go:
http://octopart.com/partsearch#sear...min]=0.5&rangedfilters[output_current][max]=2

 

So you charge the batteries separate from the machine, or are they left connected?

i agree with panic mode that you simply need a 24V power supply and many are available.

But I'm not so sure about the required load rating. It could be as simple as using the 400mA charger but I imagine it requires more current to operate the machine. You need to know how much current it needs, and make sure the supply you buy is rated for a current that exceeds that amount by a comfortable margin.

 

You need a 24V 8amp psu like this


Usa Ebay version

 

Is there a label on the machine to indicate its (not the charger's) power rating /current draw?

 

I don't know what the power rating of the machine is and I don't see a sticker anywhere. I will call the mfg. today and see if they will tell me. They did tell me previously that it needs at least 26V in order to function. I've been charging the batteries now for 2 days and of this morning I'm up to 12v's volts each for 24v. I will post the power rating when I find out... To answer an earlier post, the (2) batteries sit side by side in a box on the machine and the circuit board is mounted via 4 small screws directly to the battery terminals.

 

your battery and or charger likely need replacing. You may consider looking at some of the higher capacity batteries which take on a charge quicker.

Please, do not consider pulling an extension cord out to where kids play, indoors or out. I'm a bit surprised at the suggestions considering your declared experience and intended use. Open frame power supplies should not be used.

 

All power supply suggestions are inappropriate until we know the load.

But the warning above is a good one. Any solution must have safety as a top priority. My friend has one of those electric pressure washers. Since water and electricity don't mix well, it has a GFCI built into its power cord. This would be a very good addition to this project, if it goes forward. Something like this.

 

There's going to be a large inrush current drawn when the drive wheel first contacts and begins accelerating each ball so plenty of supply capacitance would be in order to keep the throws consistent.

 

This unit will be used in an indoor sports training facility only, but is no different than any other pitching machine that has been used on baseball fields and run with extension cords for the past 30 years. This is an older model, the new models do not have batteries and run off of extension cords...

 

http://www.athlonic.com/sp2000.htm
Is this it?