PC Power Suppy to Car Amp Mod
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Manitoba
PC Power Suppy to Car Amp Mod
Hi guys,
I needed to run a car amp in the house to test some stuff so I did up a cheap power inverter using a PC power supply. It is much cheaper than buying one so I wrote up a quick and dirty howto.
Questions, comments? (Yeah I know I should do thumbnails, maybe later when I have a bit more time)
http://www.corvetteforum.net/c4/df/powersupply.htm
I needed to run a car amp in the house to test some stuff so I did up a cheap power inverter using a PC power supply. It is much cheaper than buying one so I wrote up a quick and dirty howto.
Questions, comments? (Yeah I know I should do thumbnails, maybe later when I have a bit more time)
http://www.corvetteforum.net/c4/df/powersupply.htm
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,961
Likes: 2
From: Fort Knox
That power supply from a PC wont give you more than 1.5 amps EVER before it chokes. Maybe powering a head unit is about as good as it gets with one of those, and yes, ive tried it.
I usually use one of these guys
100/50/10 amp version. Since the overprotect current is rather slow, you can do all sorts of testing with these guys....Ive used them for about 15 years with great results. Best unregulated power supply you can buy off the shelf for under $50 bucks. Works great for powering amplifiers that require 10-20 amps. I used to mount a 110 volt muffin fan on them, to cool it off. I used to charge the Hydraulics in one of my old lowriders with these, so id get real hot. But they take abuse well.
and its great for recharging the batteries in your TV remote. I can usually get 1.5 years use out of 2 AA standard non-recharable batteries. Ok, im cheap sometimes.
It is harder to find these now-days, since the latest versions from Schumaker are the minimum current load sensing transistor switched verisons, where you cant overcurrent them at all. Whats the fun with no sparks?? I thought that I could go to walmart or Advance and pick one of these up for the rest of my life, I guess I didnt expect them to stop selling the old type.
snoopdan
I usually use one of these guys
100/50/10 amp version. Since the overprotect current is rather slow, you can do all sorts of testing with these guys....Ive used them for about 15 years with great results. Best unregulated power supply you can buy off the shelf for under $50 bucks. Works great for powering amplifiers that require 10-20 amps. I used to mount a 110 volt muffin fan on them, to cool it off. I used to charge the Hydraulics in one of my old lowriders with these, so id get real hot. But they take abuse well.
and its great for recharging the batteries in your TV remote. I can usually get 1.5 years use out of 2 AA standard non-recharable batteries. Ok, im cheap sometimes.
It is harder to find these now-days, since the latest versions from Schumaker are the minimum current load sensing transistor switched verisons, where you cant overcurrent them at all. Whats the fun with no sparks?? I thought that I could go to walmart or Advance and pick one of these up for the rest of my life, I guess I didnt expect them to stop selling the old type.
snoopdan
Last edited by snoopdan; Jan 30, 2005 at 05:20 PM.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Manitoba
Originally Posted by snoopdan
That power supply from a PC wont give you more than 1.5 amps EVER before it chokes. Maybe powering a head unit is about as good as it gets with one of those, and yes, ive tried it.
If that doesn't convince you that it is putting out more than 1.5 amps feel free to just move onto the next thread.
Last edited by DF; Jan 30, 2005 at 07:59 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,961
Likes: 2
From: Fort Knox
I guess if I come off as a a$$hole, sorry. I didnt mean it that way..
I guess the power supply I was using was crappy. It couldnt keep up with a DVC L7 I have here at the house on a SAS 500 watt amp. I try to admit when im wrong.
Was your meter wired in series or parallel with the load? just wondering.
snoopdan
I guess the power supply I was using was crappy. It couldnt keep up with a DVC L7 I have here at the house on a SAS 500 watt amp. I try to admit when im wrong.
Was your meter wired in series or parallel with the load? just wondering.
snoopdan
Last edited by snoopdan; Jan 31, 2005 at 04:15 AM.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Manitoba
That is alright. 
On a 500 Watt amp you would be pulling more than 40 amps, likely around 50. So yeah, the power supply would either barf or be severly underpowering the amp.
It is wired in series, that is the only way that you can see how much current is flowing through the circuit.
On a 500 Watt amp you would be pulling more than 40 amps, likely around 50. So yeah, the power supply would either barf or be severly underpowering the amp.
It is wired in series, that is the only way that you can see how much current is flowing through the circuit.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,961
Likes: 2
From: Fort Knox
Originally Posted by DF
It is wired in series, that is the only way that you can see how much current is flowing through the circuit.
snoopdan
