Other External products

[Syborg4691]

Friends,

I need to know the tech specs for my unit's power adaptor.

I'm not sure if the adaptor I've got it's the right one and I can't find the specs neither in the web nor in the box.

(Of course, I have it NOT plugged them yet)

My unit model is: STAY3000202

(too many HD's ... too many PA's ... )

Thank you

[AskTheLeaf]

The specs for your Expansion drive's power adapter can be found here:

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/204171en?language=en_US

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Syborg4691]

Thanks, ATL, but every picture I can see in the link you give me shows 12v2A Power adaptors.

The one I have (the one that I think is associated to the unit) is 12v3A ... ¿may I plug this one? ¿is it dangerous for the unit?.

Thanks again,

[kenji57_? · Accepted solution]

Hi Syborg4691,

 I am not associated with Seagate (except as a customer like you) and my posts are just opinions;

But a 3 Amp rated power supply is no problem. The device will only draw the current that it requires and 3Amp is just the available current.

Voltage is critical and a current rating too low can cause problems. Too high a current rating could be an issue for charging batteries if the charging circuit is not properly designed, so you need to be more cautious with rechargeable devices, but it is the device that determines the current load, not the power supply, so an external drive is no problem. 

[Syborg4691]

Thank you very much Kenji. I'll give a try.

It's a little shame that Seagate doesn's show this kind of information in the site (or in the manual) ...

[kenji57_?]

Actually I "misspoke" in my earlier post. 

While it's true that the device will draw the current it requires rather than the supply "pushing" a higher current, there is an older style of power adapter that is unregulated. In these the output voltage actually changes depending on the load.

The newer switched power supplies are relatively light and sound hollow if you tap the casing. And like all the seagate supplied ones, will take a wide range of input voltages (100-240V). These are no problem as long as the amp rating is higher than required, as stated in my original post.

But if the power supply is one you found at the back of a cupboard, there's a chance it could be one of the old linear style  and could also be unregulated which means the voltage will not necessarily be what 's written on the label. These are quite heavy and solid, are only rated for a single input voltage and usually the only way to see if it is regulated or not is by checking with a voltmeter.

My bad

[Syborg4691]

Don't worry, Kenji. It's a modern PA (I told) and the unit is working now ok. Thank you again for your help.

Anyway, I suppose Official Seagate Support take a look at this forums sometimes and do answer questions like this.

My unit is a 'Seagate Expansion External Drive 3TB'. Maybe anyone have the same HD and can tell me the exact elactrical specs (12v ¿2 or 3 Amps?)

[kenji57_?]

3.5" hard drives are all 12V, 2.5" drives are all 5V.

External drives are just standard hard drives inside an enclosure with a USB-SATA interface. Seagate don't seem to publish real specs for external drives. it is hard enough trying to find out if they are 7200rpm or 5400rpm.

The power requirements of a hard drive will vary depending on what is is doing. The highest current draw is on startup. The  spec sheet for Seagate Barracuda drives  show the 3TB pulls 2Amps on startup, but only around 60milliamps when idle and 0.7A on average. (Amps =Watts / Volts).

That's why I said the Amps is not so important, as most of the time the drive doesn't need the full output current that the adapter is capable of supplying, that is only needed on on startup

But the standard power adapter usually supplied by Seagate for the expansion drive is the same as in the link provided by AskTheLeaf http://support.seagate.com/kbimg/204171-1.jpg  12V 2.0A

ps. I have the 2TB Expansion drive

[Syborg4691]

Thanks, Kenji

Everything is clear after your help.

The 3Amps Power Adaptor I have seems to be for a Woxter multimedia ... I did some works at home last summer and I live now in a mess