[TheBoyD]

First of all my knowledge is really bad (i got this year electronics class in school), so dont judge.
I have 3 question:
    1.  L and N on ac ports, which one is + and - ?
    2. Does it matter where L and N are connected on wall outlet? ( does it matter which one is connected to the phase)
    3.  Where should I connect wires to get 12V? ( also if someone could explain why is that and how to get different voltages, if possible)


Thanks in advance

Edit: I am wondering if this is the scheme of what i have in hand, or just yellow thing is what i have

[Cr3aTor]

First of all my knowledge is really bad (i got this year electronics class in school), so dont judge.

It's no shame to ask questions, of course before you tried to research it by yourself.

I have 3 question:
    1.  L and N on ac ports, which one is + and - ?
    2. Does it matter where L and N are connected on wall outlet? ( does it matter which one is connected to the phase)
    3.  Where should I connect wires to get 12V? ( also if someone could explain why is that and how to get different voltages, if possible)

As for this one, I think @phyrrus9 is the person who can help you.

[phyrrus9]

First of all my knowledge is really bad (i got this year electronics class in school), so dont judge.
I have 3 question:
    1.  L and N on ac ports, which one is + and - ?
    2. Does it matter where L and N are connected on wall outlet? ( does it matter which one is connected to the phase)
    3.  Where should I connect wires to get 12V? ( also if someone could explain why is that and how to get different voltages, if possible)


Thanks in advance

Edit: I am wondering if this is the scheme of what i have in hand, or just yellow thing is what i have

I've taken the liberty of demystifying that "AC to DC" box you've got there and breaking it down to the bridge rectifier that it really is (and should be labelled as such). Take a look at the below image. I used a 100 ohm resistor in place of your parallel loads to make things simple.



That capacitor there is not a load, it's a filter, and it keeps the output voltage from being all bumpy. You'd need to tune this properly for the load you're using.

As for the AC line notation, L means Live, and N means neutral. Remember that AC is a 3-wire system, you've got Live, Neutral, and Ground (which connects to Neutral by way of the Earth).

Yes, it does matter which is connected on the outlet. If you're in the US, Live is the smaller of the two pins, neutral is the larger, and ground is the round one.

No, it doesn't matter what phase you're using, so long as you don't combine all 3 of the phases together.

I've added labels on my drawing to where the DC + and - are. If you were using this circuit, DC + would be the green line from the capacitor, and - would be the red one. In your circuit, DC + is the top pin.

[phyrrus9]

As an added note, old ass wall adapters are this



Newer ones use my first image and use DC-DC voltage stepping to get the 5v

[Cr3aTor]

This will help me as well so thanks

[TheBoyD]

You'd need to tune this properly for the load you're using.

Yes, it does matter which is connected on the outlet. If you're in the US, Live is the smaller of the two pins, neutral is the larger, and ground is the round one.

1. So by needing to tune you mean I cant connect it to like breadbord projects or something?
2. Also out of curiosity why does it matter what side I am going to plug fase into, cuz all manufactured ( not sure if using right term) ac to dc have no problems  switching side of phase?
3. If I wanted to connect it to anything I would connect on contacts dc - and dc + ( black dots  xd)

Thank you anyways

[phyrrus9]

You'd need to tune this properly for the load you're using.

Yes, it does matter which is connected on the outlet. If you're in the US, Live is the smaller of the two pins, neutral is the larger, and ground is the round one.

1. So by needing to tune you mean I cant connect it to like breadbord projects or something?
2. Also out of curiosity why does it matter what side I am going to plug fase into, cuz all manufactured ( not sure if using right term) ac to dc have no problems  switching side of phase?
3. If I wanted to connect it to anything I would connect on contacts dc - and dc + ( black dots  xd)

Thank you anyways

By tune I mean you'll need to select the correct capacitor for the load you're using. Remember that capacitors resist changes in voltage for DC. Once you remove the power they will continue discharging until they have nothing left, thus you don't want to select an extremely large capacitor that may have a long discharge ramp. At the same time, you don't want to use a very small capacitor because you'll end up with an inverse sawtooth waveform as your DC output if the load can drain the capacitor before the AC sine wave is able to come back up.

As for which pins to connect, this matters simply because of fusing. You want your fuse to be as close to the source of the AC current as possible. If there wasn't any sort of fusing, it wouldn't matter.

[TheBoyD]

You'd need to tune this properly for the load you're using.

Yes, it does matter which is connected on the outlet. If you're in the US, Live is the smaller of the two pins, neutral is the larger, and ground is the round one.

1. So by needing to tune you mean I cant connect it to like breadbord projects or something?
2. Also out of curiosity why does it matter what side I am going to plug fase into, cuz all manufactured ( not sure if using right term) ac to dc have no problems  switching side of phase?
3. If I wanted to connect it to anything I would connect on contacts dc - and dc + ( black dots  xd)

Thank you anyways

By tune I mean you'll need to select the correct capacitor for the load you're using. Remember that capacitors resist changes in voltage for DC. Once you remove the power they will continue discharging until they have nothing left, thus you don't want to select an extremely large capacitor that may have a long discharge ramp. At the same time, you don't want to use a very small capacitor because you'll end up with an inverse sawtooth waveform as your DC output if the load can drain the capacitor before the AC sine wave is able to come back up.

As for which pins to connect, this matters simply because of fusing. You want your fuse to be as close to the source of the AC current as possible. If there wasn't any sort of fusing, it wouldn't matter.

Thank you