DIY Magic Flight Power Adapter

I don't know much about the MFLB personally but making an adapter should be as easy as figuring out whatever voltage/amp is required to power the thing or even just the voltage and amperage of the battery. Then you just need to adapt something to connect your wall outlet power into your MFLB. They make dummy batteries that are not filled with anything which could probably be useful here.

 

I'm sure someone is going to give you a design for a power adapter so you can sell it...

 

It takes an AA? That's pretty simple, anyhow I don't know if you would be able to find any at Radioshack, your best bet is to call and ask. Also what is the amperage rating on your power adapter?

 

Not sure if this post even means anything anymore but to get a wall outlet to put 1.2v (the power of a AA battery) you would need a transformer (or resistors to reduce the output voltage), some diodes (to change the ac current to dc current; that of a battery) and if you wanted the temperature control, a potentiameter. All the parts are fairly cheap besides the transformer, still should be able to complete the task in under 30 dollars easily. I made one with my electronics class (I'm a senior in high school) completely free using lab materials. Fit all of the components inside an altoids can, and it works great. The only problem was getting the battery component to be able to slide into the battery compartment of the box. I can make a video overview if its still a topic of interest. But otherwise its just simple electronics that is being way too over priced.

 

[quote name='"H0H3N5T3RN"']Not sure if this post even means anything anymore but to get a wall outlet to put 1.2v (the power of a AA battery) you would need a transformer (or resistors to reduce the output voltage), some diodes (to change the ac current to dc current; that of a battery) and if you wanted the temperature control, a potentiameter. All the parts are fairly cheap besides the transformer, still should be able to complete the task in under 30 dollars easily. I made one with my electronics class (I'm a senior in high school) completely free using lab materials. Fit all of the components inside an altoids can, and it works great. The only problem was getting the battery component to be able to slide into the battery compartment of the box. I can make a video overview if its still a topic of interest. But otherwise its just simple electronics that is being way too over priced.[/quote]

That is way too much power to be dissipated through resistors!

How about this, instead of hooking up homemade electronics into 120v ac, simply buy or use a dc power supply with a high watt output to match the fast discharge of a 2400mah NiMH battery.

 

[quote name='"H0H3N5T3RN"']Not sure if this post even means anything anymore but to get a wall outlet to put 1.2v (the power of a AA battery) you would need a transformer (or resistors to reduce the output voltage), some diodes (to change the ac current to dc current; that of a battery) and if you wanted the temperature control, a potentiameter. All the parts are fairly cheap besides the transformer, still should be able to complete the task in under 30 dollars easily. I made one with my electronics class (I'm a senior in high school) completely free using lab materials. Fit all of the components inside an altoids can, and it works great. The only problem was getting the battery component to be able to slide into the battery compartment of the box. I can make a video overview if its still a topic of interest. But otherwise its just simple electronics that is being way too over priced.[/quote]

I wouldn't mind seeing how you did this and how to make one.

 

I agree with this guy. Building a power supply from scratch is not something someone inexperienced should do, besides you could get a cheap supply at 1.5v, but the problem comes in with the current. As Sickleg and others said, you need to meet the high current needs (fast discharge) that the MFLB requires, which most 1.5 power supplies will not suffice.

Depending how long a 2400mAh battery lasts in the MFLB, you could determine around how much current it draws. It would need to be timed how long the battery is connected, every time, until it is drained. 2400mAh means it can provide 2.4 amps for one hour (ideally). Draw more current than that, and it will obviously not last as long. If you drain a 2400mAh battery with 4.8amps constant, it will only last half an hour, etc..

So my guess is that MFLB uses a higher current power supply in their wall adapter. You could get a 12 volt adjustable power supply, which would then have enough current at lower voltages to meet what you need. But this is only due to Ohms law. For example: 12v @ 1Amp will provide 1V @ around 6-8Amps or more. So this should be plausible from the same power supply as long as it is not using separate stages for the voltage levels.

Another option is to run several 1.5v power supplies in parallel to match your amperage needs, but this may require a lot depending on their output. lol

 

Yeah you guys have a really good point. I have a power supply but the amperage and watt output isn't high enough to replicate the AA battery (really weak, the kit cost maybe $15). The only reason I made one by scratch was because I am in electronics 5 at my school and I needed a project to pass the class and I chose that. I actually used a transformer for mine, the resistors were needed to apply ohms law to control the amps. Also used capacitors to make an even flow.

 

Tin foil, just place sthe contacts in thr correct places and attach the two leads to the power adaptors leads

 

I think that you should never mess with power supplies without any experience. Bite the bullet and just pay the $65 dollars. You'd spend that in batteries in a year and a half anyways! Plus, the power adapter from magic flight absolutely kicks ass, and comes with a lifetime warranty like the box does . Seriously consider getting the real thing you won't regret it!

 

this is what i'm thinking...
Instructables - Convert an ATX Power Supply Into a Regular DC Power Supply
Need to brainstorm more on getting it to "1.42 V & 16 A" according to MFLB as well as the battery part.

 

Hey everyone I was wondering this too. There are a few things I've noticed about the batteries. They are just normal NIMH's with the label pulled off right? (I've been using energizers the past year) I also noticed that they seem to short out (which makes sense because I can't see 1.2v creating enough power to run the MFLB for so long, while I don't know this for certain I used a few of my label less batteries in a remote and it started getting super hot haha.

I would love to find a cheap-o solution cause it would add to the hippie appeal of my flight box. I was toying around with the idea of taking a gameboy color power adapter, slicing the ends and connecting it to short the battery which would effectively give you unlimited power..... but that specific adapter might simply have to much jam for the battery (plus I don't even know what would happen if you connected a shorted wire to a battery) Just some thoughts to get the ideas flowing.

 

Regular alkaline batteries (non-rechargeable) are 1.5v. Compared to 1.3v rechargeable batteries. Not sue if this was the case though. It could also be a case where your NiMH batteries are reaching their end point where they no longer charge to maximum voltage and will need replaced.

You might be confused on what the term "shorting" means. It is basically hooking the battery to itself (positive on one side directly to the negative on the other). This is usually NOT a good thing and will severely damage power supplies and other electronics. Besides I don't think a gameboy power supply would be able to provide enough current that the MFLB requires. Its easy to find 1.5v power supplies, the problem is providing enough current.

What do you mean as far as using the batteries in the remote and it getting hot? I have used rechargeables in remotes for years without a problem. lol

The power supply part is easy. Its finding a battery "shell" to attach the supply to that will be more difficult I think. Computer power supplies are prefect for applications like this as they provide high current at lower voltage, for a decent price. If you have an older computer, this would be perfect. You wont even need to buy a supply. I always rip the power supplies out of old computers just for this reason. Let me know if you need any help figuring out how to hook it up, I've done it many times before

 

You might be confused on what the term "shorting" means. It is basically hooking the battery to itself (positive on one side directly to the negative on the other). This is usually NOT a good thing and will severely damage power supplies and other electronics. Besides I don't think a gameboy power supply would be able to provide enough current that the MFLB requires. Its easy to find 1.5v power supplies, the problem is providing enough current.

What do you mean as far as using the batteries in the remote and it getting hot? I have used rechargeables in remotes for years without a problem. lol



The power supply part is easy. Its finding a battery "shell" to attach the supply to that will be more difficult I think. Computer power supplies are prefect for applications like this as they provide high current at lower voltage, for a decent price. If you have an older computer, this would be perfect. You wont even need to buy a supply. I always rip the power supplies out of old computers just for this reason. Let me know if you need any help figuring out how to hook it up, I've done it many times before [/QUOTE]


I'm not too sure if the battery itself is shorting or not. I'm just throwing ideas out there. The battery in the launch box only has one end pushed in, it isn't a contained battery and the label is removed. I've had my launch box for about a year (love it) but I've already gone through 8 batteries. Which is why I suggested shorting out. With my RC Radio (remote), (don't mind my use of different words cause I'm hitting the vape hose hard and I wanna type this up before I lose interest lol) It takes 4 AA with the labels removed. I put a few of my labelless NIMH in there and it started to get hot. I mean really hot. Because of the contact between the batteries, same thing if I have 4 or 5 batteries in my pocket.

Admittedly while my knowledge of electricity itself is average at best I know very little about batteries other than the basics. Either way I love learning new shit. I'm a small time computer tech with a fartload of psu's laying around so I'm totally going to get into modding one. Think 450w would be high enough for daily use? (its not one of those fancy gold certified power supplies just something I pulled out of an acer carcas.

 

What about a model RC charger? I have this one: Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balancer/Charger w/ accessories

Can anyone measure how much amps the MFLB draws with those good 2700MaH batteries? If it is less than 6A, I guess it would work if I make a connection piece.

 

Can you use this?

4 Pcs Pack Dummy Battery AA Size Conduct Conductor Electric Current Ultracell | eBay

 

Those just conduct the electricity. I don't think it's useable.

 

I meant for use in conjunction with the dc power supply. The one listed before isnt strong enough though....the launch box draws about 15 amps....if the power source were adequate, couldnt you just wire it to that conducting battery and go?