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Some scanners do work off the USB cable alone, and do not require an AC plug as USB ports have a 5v feed in them. There are 4 wires. The first 2 wires provide a balanced data signal. The third wire is power and the 4th wire provides a common ground. ... Voltage: 4.4V - 5.25V. Current: 250mA ... If the device can work with 5 volts and 1/4 amp .. it can run off USB alone. Typically these are networking devices like Bluetooth USB connectors and wireless networking ... I would be interested to know how well a printer works within these constraints. You are correct. I use USB to charge my cell phone, my Ipod and power my scanner. That is why I can't figure out why a simple black and white no frills printer won't work off just USB. Maybe because nobody want's a black and white only printer? Ya got me :D |
USB hubs only have a limited amount of power available and a printer combination will draw up to 400mA. At some point the USB driver will shut down everything on the hub when the max is reached.
Most printers run on 16V DC or less. Those power cords have a AC to DC converter. You could possibly find one that runs at 12V and make your own cable. The power may not be clean enough or stable enough though. I would suggest buy a real small cheap converter to run it. You can buy some that are the size of a pack of butts to do the job. |
Garmann asked: What do you drivers do for a printer in your truck? I want to start using Drivers Daily Log software. I don't have AC in the truck do they make a 12v printer that is low priced? I guess I am looking for a small printer just to print logs and can be portable without costing a lot. I would really prefer one that is just powered off usb but I havn't run across one yet. Give me your input. |
Originally Posted by SteveBooth
Most printers run on 16V DC or less. Those power cords have a AC to DC converter.
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I have the cheapest Wal Mart Lexmark printer I could find in the truck. They no longer carry it, and I'm likely going to replace it with this. At $44.88, I'll just end up buying a new one when the ink runs dry, since the ink itself runs $33.00. That way, I always have a fresh printer with no mechanical troubles.
If you don't have AC in the truck, buy one of those cigarette lighter inverters to run the thing. Remember, the more moving parts something has, the more chances for it to break from bouncing down the road in the truck. |
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Originally Posted by Mars
Originally Posted by SteveBooth
Most printers run on 16V DC or less. Those power cords have a AC to DC converter.
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Originally Posted by BanditsCousin
I was thinking about a printer for my truck too. However, I opted to g with a printer/scanner unit and an inverter (12v-110v).
HTH The cost was about 130.00 and the 400W inverter was like about 40.00 tootie |
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