zenie said:
Just asking if anyone's owned one or can help me find a charger not discussing the should or should nots am I?
When shit happens to you, you go for self preservation. This is my mates way of dealing with it.
#include <quasiparentalrant.h>
OK, so what you've got is a "device". It needs a power supply. It needs to suit the "device" in three aspects:
- Connector size
- Voltage
- Polarity
If you get 1. wrong, you won't be able to plug it in. If you get 2. or 3. wrong, you MAY zap the device and cause it to stop working permanently.
What you need - probably from Maplin - is one of their universal power supply type things. These come with a set of connectors which you can plug onto the output lead, and they have a little switch on the top which allows you to select the voltage. Polarity is determined by which way round you plug each little connector on.
I suggest that you start (fairly obviously) by selecting the connector you're going to need. That's easy: just plug each connector (before you attach it to the power supply) into the "device" until you find the one that fits nice and snugly.
Check the bottom of your device just in case there's a nice discreet little moulding somewhere near the socket which says about polarity. Normally, this looks something like this:
+ --C o-- -
which, in this case, means "connect positive supply to the outside bit of the connector, negative to the bit in the middle". If you have that, cool - that's one variable sorted out, otherwise it's down to trial and error.
Voltage-wise, you're best off starting at the lowest voltage and working up. So set the power supply to its lowest range and start there. Hopefully, the "device" will have a little LED that will tell you when it's charging, so plug your selected connector into the power supply (making sure you've remembered to plug the power supply in and switch it on) and see if you get a light. If you're having to use trial and error for polarity, and you don't get a light, reverse the connector and try again.
If you still haven't got a light, bump the voltage up a notch and repeat.
In my experience, you're more likely to blow the device up by getting the polarity wrong than by giving it too many volts, but a cheapo Far Eastern gadget might easily get blown up by either.
Hopefully, you'll eventually reach a point where you're getting a light - you can probably assume that you're now working with the right voltage and polarity.
As far as the actual device is concerned, my worry, quite apart from the legality of it, is that if you're carrying something like this you might be - even subconsciously - inclined to feel safer than you really are, and thereby put yourself in even more risk. The trouble with any kind of weapon (as that 16 year old kid discovered a few days ago) is that it can end up not protecting you, or - worse - fall into the hands of your assailant.
Personally, if you're concerned about your safety, I suggest you learn to use weapons that can't be removed from you: specifically, hands and feet. I'd strongly urge you to go and find out if you can go to a self-defence class, or - even better - a martial arts class nearby, and learn to use the weapons you already have.
