Re: OK... Wall Wart Bad Idea for someone who would have to ask what size!

The value of the Campbell Board is in the signal buffers which clean
up a lot of problems caused by weak drive out of the parallel port
and the breakout terminals that make wiring and testing easier.

For my +5 and +12 (used for some non-contact limit sensors) I bought
a cheapo DC to DC converter from BG Micro (www.bgmicro.com) that took
36-66VDC in (I had right at 60VDC at the filter cap) and gives me +5
@ 10A (way overkill on the current) and +12 at 8A. All in a cube that
fits in the palm of your hand. The outputs are well filtered and
closely regulated. The cost was somewhere in the 12 dollar range.
Their part number is PWR1079. They have other DC to DC supplies as
well. Connections are REAL easy.

Sorry to hear that you are "electrically challenged". For strongly
mechanical types it's sometimes difficult to deal with forces that
are not visible to the eye. I overcame my disability (and ended up
being an EE) by visualizing electricity as "water" like. A lot of
the same physics. My dad was a mechanical genius and held several
patients but couldn't tell you an amp from a clamp. I think he
secretly pushed me into electronics so someone in the family could
wire things up! ;-). I have the greatest respect for the
mechanically inclined.

Sorta Old but Not a Grouch (SONG)

TC