20V 750mA power supply

[sidk47]

Hi guys,

I bought a Thrustmaster Ferrari F430 steering wheel from USA. I live in India by the way. I'm not getting any force feedback whatsoever from the device. It uses a 20V 750mA DC output and a 110V AC input adapter which I was using with a converter that is meant to be used with hair dryers.

As a result I don't know if I blew out the circuit in the adapter or what. All I know is that I am not getting force feedback from the steering wheel and I suspect that it is not receiving any power.

I went to the local electronics store and asked for an adapter that could convert around 220V AC to 20V DC and 750mA. But they said no such product is in stock.

I would really like to play racing games with force feedback. I reckon I'll only get force feedback if I find a way to power the device to the spec listed. (20V 750mA center positive.)

Hence I request you knowledgeable electronics whiz kids to provide me with options that may include:

1. Getting a power supply that converts 220V AC to 110V AC. Even then, I don't know if the adapter is dead or not.

2. A simple power supply that converts 220V AC to 20V 750mA DC center positive.

I do have experience with a solder iron. But basically just a beginner.

Your advice on this issue would be most appreciated.

Thank you electronic wizards for your time and look forward to your inputs.
Siddharth.

 

[eKretz]

Do you have a multimeter? It would be good to find out what is dead before you go buying something that may not solve the problem. Did it ever work using the setup you are using to get power? Or did it not function right from the start? Any funny smells or smoking going on ever?

If it is just the power supply that is fried, you should easily be able to get a DC power supply feom somewhere like eBay and run it with that. I run my FFB wheel with a bench power supply. I'm using the stock supply to run only the cooling fans. If you can find a plug-in supply that converts 220VAC to 20VDC, the amperage rating doesn't have to be the same. It only needs to be equal or higher, because your wheel will only draw the amperage that it needs.

 

[sidk47]

I don't really think it's a software problem. The game detected the presence of the steering wheel and told me it's a Thrustmaster Ferrari F430. It set up the steering wheel too according to a default preset. It is recognized fine in Windows 7, I think. It works fine. Every single button.

I measured the output using a digital multimeter. I put it into the 20V setting. DC. It told me .28 or .24 V, at 200V DC it showed me 0.2 if I remember correctly. Yeah I measured the wall voltage using 1000V AC and it showed up as 250V. It's possibly supposed to be 240V. I don't know what that means. I would be most happy to get an explanation. I also put the 2000 micro AMP, DC setting. There was no AC setting for current in the multimeter. I would be glad to know why, the reading came out to be something like 0 or 0.001 or something.

Yeah. Yeah, at 200V DC it showed me 0.2 if I remember correctly. Yeah I measured the wall voltage using 1000V AC and it showed up as 250V. It's possibly supposed to be 240V.

Yeah, maybe the adapter is gone. But I don't remember smoke coming from it or a burning smell or anything.

I was using it with a converter meant for heating equipment like toasters and hair dryers. I guess those are pretty cheap.

What do you think I should do? Should I buy some power supply that can give me 20V and 750mA and use that?

Just to clarify. The steering wheel works fine in every other way. It's just that there is no force feedback. It doesn't return to center. It doesn't have any feedback. I tried out my friend's thrustmaster. Another model, with no separate power but powered through USB. It worked great. There was force feedback. It kept on returning to center. It just doesn't happen with my steering wheel.

 

[eKretz]

Well if you are not getting 120VAC from your converter then it is definitely the problem. You need to check the output from that converter. The wheel's logic controls (position sensors and buttons) are probably powered by the USB connection, and the FFB powered by the wall adapter. If it were me I would just buy a straight 220VAC DC power supply and use that. You can get an adjustable one from eBay or try to find a straight 220VAC—> 20VDC supply.