At 02:08 PM 5/11/2005, Lindy Mayfield wrote: >I found today lying around (and scavenged) a phone charger that reads on >it: Output 5.0v DC 1.7A. > >Can I use this as a power supply to my breadboards for simple projects, >Pics and other testing, etc? Probably. Given that it says "5.0v DC 1.7A", it is most likely a SMPS unit. It is most likely both well regulated and well filtered. Grab your trusty mulit-meter and measure the output with both the AC and DC functions. DC should show very close to 5V, AC should show very close to 0V. Now grab any small 12V lamp (dashboard lamps work well). Connect it to the output of the supply while the meter is reading the DC voltage. The voltage should remain the same, whether the lamp is connected or not. If all the above are true, I'd say that the unit is ideal for your uses. dwayne -- Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax Celebrating 21 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 2005) .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .- `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' Do NOT send unsolicited commercial email to this email address. This message neither grants consent to receive unsolicited commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist