PR System 1 60 Series DC Cord

I just found out that my travel machine is missing and i"m going camping this weekend. As I'm in Canada, I don't have time to get a 12v dc adapter from our hosts and the local DME's want over $100 for one. If I can find out the name of the connector, I can build one for less than $10.

Does anyone know the name of the connector?

Chris

You might be better off using the M series IF you have a DC cord for that?

CRMW wrote:I just found out that my travel machine is missing and i"m going camping this weekend. As I'm in Canada, I don't have time to get a 12v dc adapter from our hosts and the local DME's want over $100 for one. If I can find out the name of the connector, I can build one for less than $10.

Does anyone know the name of the connector?

Chris

Pretty sure it's the same barrel connector that comes with Dell laptops (older ones perhaps) like the Vostro 1500, something like this:

http://www.ibuybattery.com/laptop-power ... dapter.htm

But that's where the similarity ends - the Dell has totally wrong voltage and I couldn't tell you what's happening on that center conductor wire either. But physically I think that's the one.

In our house, we have both this machine and a "Resmed Airsense 10". Recent Resmed Power Supplies put a unique Voltage (+3.3.V) on the center pin, and they require a certain resistance value to be resent along that conductor. (A value of 2.7k Ohms represents a "90 Watt genuine Resmed Power Supply"). But Phillips did not put voltage on the center pin of their 'System 1 Series 60' connector, and their CPAP Connection cord contains only two wires. When my Phillips 120VAC PSU is plugged into the wall, the "inner cylinder" is + 12.1V, relative to the "outer cylinder" Ground. And, although the "center pin" reads zero volts relative to the "outer cylinder", they are not connected inside the PSU, or the cable, or the connector. (They have infinite resistance between them.)

When Dell was using a connector like this (the Power Adapter "PA-12 Family"), the middle pin was connected as an actual green wire "equipment ground", all the way back to a 3-wire wall plug. But it seems that Phillips did not use the "center pin" in my 120VAC Power Supply for anything - and my homebuilt "Travel Trailer Adapter Unit for PR System 1" works great, with just two wires inside the CPAP Connector Cord.

If using a "straight through" cord, I would only attach to a battery which doesn't have any kind of charger attached at the same time (no running automotive Alternator, no Generator; no 120VAC "Power Converter"; and no Solar Charge Controller). When discharging only, a Lead-Acid battery won't have Voltage any higher than about 12.8V. But Travel Trailer "Power Converters", "Battery Chargers", and "Solar Charge Controllers" can sometimes present up to 14.4V when charging the batteries, and the PR CPAP machine might suffer ill effects if attached to a voltage that high. My homebuilt unit therefore contains an expensive Vicor "regulator module", which keeps the output voltage constant across a wide range of input Voltage Values (10-15V input, exactly 12.1V output). A "regulator module", capable of at least 100W max, might be the way to go. That's what I did, and it has worked great for many years.

TheSnoringMan wrote:...
If using a "straight through" cord, I would only attach to a battery which doesn't have any kind of charger attached at the same time (no running automotive Alternator, no Generator; no 120VAC "Power Converter"; and no Solar Charge Controller). When discharging only, a Lead-Acid battery won't have Voltage any higher than about 12.8V. But Travel Trailer "Power Converters", "Battery Chargers", and "Solar Charge Controllers" can sometimes present up to 14.4V when charging the batteries, and the PR CPAP machine might suffer ill effects if attached to a voltage that high. My homebuilt unit therefore contains an expensive Vicor "regulator module", which keeps the output voltage constant across a wide range of input Voltage Values (10-15V input, exactly 12.1V output). A "regulator module", capable of at least 100W max, might be the way to go. That's what I did, and it has worked great for many years.

I'm in the same situation on the boat - I unplug and stow the pump every morning, and pull it out every evening. Although I use a variety of charging methods, none of them function while I'm sleeping, so the voltage is never over 12.6. It is implied that anything that runs on a "cigarette plug" can handle up to 15 volts or so (there's actually a spec somewhere that says that) but there's no guarantee that Philips honors that, nor is there any guarantee that a voltage regulator will not run amok and raise the voltage to unexpected levels. Just had this happen last month: the voltage was running up to 16 which is beginning to cook the batteries. I pulled the cable from the regulator, sprayed in contact cleaner, plugged back in and the voltage read a proper 14.4V.

For readers that have the ResMed DC converter, it handles a wide range of voltages and puts out a clean 24V for the ResMed pumps. It may be overpriced, but it does a good job.

Thanks for the info on the dell connector. I couldn't find one before i left but managed to use a small inverter and generator to recharge the beats during the day. I see an add on KIJIJI for a older dell power supply so I should be rocking soon.

Chris