Stable 12V DC power supply


I read somewhere that one of the few available tweaks for a ClearAudio Concept is to use a stable 12V DC power supply (i.e. a battery) instead of the provided wall-wart.

I thought I had come up with a great solution: the XTPower 10,000mAh external laptop battery. Among many options it includes a 12V DC output rated to 2A. It costs $38 - considerably less than power supplies targeted at the audiophile market.

Here's my problem: Since the device is designed to re-charge laptops and cell phones it switches itself off if the current drain is below some threshold. The motor in the turntable is rated at 480mA, but probably draws considerably less when up to speed.

So about 2 minutes in to "Well, You Needn't" and the turntable winds down to a halt :(.

Anyone know if there's a way to "trick" the device into thinking the current draw is higher, or raise the current draw, or over-ride the settings. Otherwise it's back to the drawing board - any suggestions on a simple (and not too ugly) way to get a good 12V DC supply? Are any available wall-warts of better quality?

Thanks for any suggestions.
blueeventhorizon
Connect a power resistor load to meet the minimum load required by the power supply.
I believe you could spend the same $38 and get a battery that powers one of those plastic kiddie cars. It would be a lot heftier than a laptop battery for certain, and they are 12V. Also, they sell them everywhere they sell toys. I would suggest bypass caps on any battery, though.
Thanks for the ideas.

For the power resistors I guess I would use 120ohms to get 100mA load, 60 to get 200mA, etc. Probably should contact the manufacturer to find out what the minimum required current drain is to keep the battery operating. I would need to bust out my ancient wiring soldering skills!

Surprisingly, the batteries for kiddie cars are quite expensive. I would need a charger as well plus a little wiring work to add by-pass caps and appropriate connectors! I had not thought of this source for 12v batteries.

Once, again. Thanks for the responses.