(no subject)

[pne]

Darn—looks as if the AC adaptor for my PDA has a Wackelkontakt[*].

I noticed this when we were in the temple; connecting it to the PDA would sometimes make the charging light go on, sometimes not. Jiggling the short cord from the socket to the adaptor would make ominous buzzing noises and would sometimes work, but I was never sure how long the connection would hold.

If this stays this way, I'm not sure what to do. I don't know whether these things can be repaired easily by an electrician (the adaptors are probably not designed to be opened or serviced) or whether I'll need to buy a new one.

[*] What's this in English? I'm referring to an electrical connection that is not reliably made. Either it'll make and break itself randomly, or (as in this case) the connection will be there only if the two components are aligned fairly carefully: jiggling the cable will cause the connection to make or break and it's difficult to maintain the connection because you're not sure whether jarring it or gravity or other influences will cause the connectors to move into a "bad" position.

LEO suggests "insulate contact", "loose connection", "loose contact", and "slack joint", but I don't think I've ever heard any of them.

Comments

[pthalo]

I don't know the english word for that (useless, sorry), but I want to say that I hate it when my ac adapter does that and even when I keep it and the box power thingy on the desk next to the computer so there is no strain on the cord whatsoever and dont move the computer for fear of my life, the connection STILL gets progressively worse and then I have to pay 9000 forints for it to be fixed.

broken adapters

[pne.livejournal.com]

Ick. That's quite a bit of money (xe.net says €35); on the order of what I'd expect a new adapter to cost.

[pdcawley.livejournal.com]

The phrase you are looking for is 'dry joint'.

[nerosmaster.livejournal.com]

A 'dry joint' is usually solid, but bad electrically. I would go for 'loose connection', since the buzzing suggests a intermittent contact.

It can be repaired - it should just be a case of reattaching the cable; but it could be cheaper to get a new adaptor rather than pay someone to fix it.

[nik-w.livejournal.com]

It depends who you ask, as people from different places could have different terms for it, but up north where we don't bother much with fancy terms, we just say it's a "bad connection"!:)

[will21cn.livejournal.com]

Second "loose connection". I am majoring Electrical Engineering. So that's what my Professors called. ;)