Hi to all you knowledgeable electricians out there!

I've got a pair of old desktop PC speakers here that are powered either by four C-cell batteries or by an external 6VDC power source. I've bought $25 worth of regulated plugpack that should be able to supply 1A at 6V, but the speakers are popping and crackling on anything but barely audible volume. Since this is what it does when the batteries run low I believe that this is due to the power supply being unable to supply the necessary peak power for the speakers. (They're old flat plane speakers designed for being attached to a CD player, if that helps).

Now, my thought was to get a bit of wire, a decent millifarad capacitor, a plug and a socket of the type necessary, and build my own inline capacitor to supply the necessary momentary peak power. The capacitor would be wired in series on one line, thus storing the DC for the speaker's use. AFAICS the 1A should be enough to keep the capacitor charged under anything below excessive loads, and since I'm in an office I can't turn it up or my neighbours complain ("damn that repetitive oontz oontz oontz!", they say).

So does this sound feasible, or am I going to have to invest in a better power supply?

Thanks in advance,

Paul

Although you could probably get the capacitor thing working, things would be much better off if you simply scrounged a better power supply. It would be more reliable, less mickey-mouse, cheaper and easier to do, more portable, etc.

But hey, if you want to try the capacitor thing just for kicks, more power to ya.

The capacitor would be wired in series on one line, thus storing the DC for the speaker's use

That won't work. A cap blocks DC current (after having charged up to the supply voltage)

You need to wire it in parallell to the power supply and the speakers (ie the + lead [supposing a polarized cap] to the +wire from the supply (which then continues on to the speakers) and the - lead to the -wire from the supply (which then continues on to the speakers)

/Michael

Check the voltage of the power supply to make sure it's really putting out the rated voltage. Also, you might want to try a 2A or higher power supply...

-brendan

Ah, yes. That. I knew that, of course I did.

Ta,

Paul