Radio Shack Compact 13.8V Power Supply

 

As many of you may already know, Radio Shack has closed more stores and the few remaining stores are expected to close soon. With that in mind, I was at both of the remaining two stores near me recently. I was underwhelmed by the prices that I saw on most items.

There was an exception to that, however. I noticed that they had a compact 2 amp power supply that plugs in a standard wall outlet and has a 12 volt automotive type outlet. For years I have had an older, similar device from Radio Shack. My first one was 1 amp and, eventually, that one quite working and I bought a newer one that has folding prongs, but is still just one amp.

I was all set to buy the 2 amp version, but a little voice told me to hold off. It may have been the signs indicating all sales final. So, after checking the Radio Shack website, I see that they are the same price online, but the website states "FREE shipping on orders $19 or more. Returns are always free." That sounds much better to me than buying one in store.

Then, I happened to notice below the "Other Customers also Viewed" area, that they also have a 3.5 amp version for $7.00 more. To me, it just seems worth it to have the one with higher available current.

One of the reasons I mention this is because many of us with automotive GPS units would be able to power their GPS units up with 120 volt AV power using this. Sure, the units have internal batteries and we can also usually power them and charge them with a USB cord, but sometimes it is handy to be able to power it without having to use a computer.

Another nice aspect of that is the ability to see if the traffic receiver is receiving signal. The Garmin traffic Receivers need power to their cable in order to receive signal. Simply using the internal battery or connecting to a USB cable won't work for the traffic receiver.

Also, just in case anybody is curious about how much current the Garmins need, I just checked the OEM 51 DriveLuxe power cord 320-00239-50 and it lists Input: 10-24V 1.5 A.

The Garmin GTM60 shows:
Fuse: 2A/250V~
Input: 10-30V
Output:5V /2A

I will say that my 1 amp Radio Shack power supply does seem to power either the DriveLuxe 51 or Nuvi 3597 with the traffic receiver.

On a related note, I have noticed that Garmin shows a symbol similar to an equal sign, except it has a solid line on top and three broken lines underneath it. Does it literally mean approximately or something else?

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-compact-13-8v...

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-compact-13-8v...

That's the DC volts symbol

jim1348 wrote:

On a related note, I have noticed that Garmin shows a symbol similar to an equal sign, except it has a solid line on top and three broken lines underneath it. Does it literally mean approximately or something else?

https://blog.banggood.com/how-to-choose-the-right-ac-adapter...

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Striving to make the NYC Metro area project the best.

Appreciated

Good info re. power supplies. I have done the same.

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romanviking