I just got a new cell phone and was ready to throw out the old charger coard and realized that its output is rated as 12V DC. Can I wire this as a cheap lighting power source for some of my structures? I know its a goofy question but 1) I hate the throw away useful stuff and 2) I don’t want to burn down my layout.
Thanks in advance.
You will need to determine it’s current capacity (amps, milliamps ma) so you don’t exceed it. The closer you get to it’s maximum, the hotter the unit will get. As long as you don’t exceed its capacity, there’s no problem using it.
Sure, wall-warts are a great source. The probably only have a few hundred milliamp rating, though. If you’re using, for example, 30 mA Minitronics bulbs, then a half-dozen of them will come up to 180 milliamps. That’s all you can put on if you’ve got a 200 milliamp supply.