PC Power Supply (Help)

PC Power Supply (Help)
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PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/16/2003 7:40:15 PM

Posts: 54
Joined: 7/15/2003
From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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Hi,

Just been looking through the forums and seen alot on using your PC for your 12v charger. OK where do I start

Can I use my current PC or should I get an old one and take out the power supply and go from there. Also what should I need to know about the pc power supply regarding this AT, ATX etc ? and what wires do you need from it. It will be used for my Supanova charger.

Any info would be appreciated.

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/16/2003 10:03:15 PM

Posts: 323
Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Knoxville, TN, USA
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Go with a speparate supply from an old PC and check out:

http://www.marcee.org/Articles/PCPowerSupply.htm

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 12:43:25 AM

jacs

Posts: 394
Joined: 1/27/2003
From: Uddevalla, SWEDEN
Status: offline

Get an AT power supply (the old one) load the +5V side with a lightbulb (12V) or a resistor (10Ohm 50Watts) and a cpu fan (to cool the resistor) and have fun. I have the setup with a resistor. I added the cpu fan because the resistor got hot and after installing cpu fan on top of resistor it got 37 degrees now.

_____________________________

Jacs

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 3:34:53 AM

Posts: 54
Joined: 7/15/2003
From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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Hi,

Thanks for the info. I have looked on ebay and there is alot of AT power supply new ones will these be ok? also what sort of things should I look for eg max output, also one of them had this info... Has the following connections to motherboard : P1 - 6 Slot Fitting (only uses 5 wires), P2 - 6 slot Fitting, P5 - 11 slot fitting (only uses 10 wires) or is thus nothing that will be of use?

Cheers Simon.

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 9:34:16 AM

Posts: 323
Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Knoxville, TN, USA
Status: offline

Simon,

Go to a PC shop and ask them for an old power supply. Usually they have them to give away, because they can't fit the new mother boards in the old cases. Also, the old ones often have higher output loads than some of the newer "mini" boxes.

Just use a set of wires going to a hard drive power connector. Typically, the black wires are ground, the red wire is the 5 volt line, and the yellow or orange wire is the 12 volt line. You can cut off the other wires (when the PS of OFF !!! ) or leave them dangling as a convenient handle.

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 1:47:46 PM

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Joined: 7/15/2003
From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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OK thanks for that

One more thing what about the amps I read I should need 7-8 for it to be any use ?

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 2:28:35 PM

Posts: 54
Joined: 7/15/2003
From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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also what sort of wattage one shoyld I get

cheers simon.

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PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 9:04:58 PM

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Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Knoxville, TN, USA
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How many amps does your charger's manual say it needs? My Dymond Turbo specs 7 amps, so I need a PC ps that will supply 7 amps on the 12 volt output. It won't use all 7 amps unless I'm charging a lot of cells at high amps.

Wattage? I assume you're asking for the power resistor to load the 5 volt ps output. If you put a 10 ohm resistor across 5 volts, it will pull 1/2 amp. Watts = Amps squared X ohms = .5**2 X 10 = 2.5 watts. Use a 10 watt resistor to keep it from getting so hot.

Joel

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 9:13:35 PM

Posts: 54
Joined: 7/15/2003
From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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Hi,

Its for a supanova charger which says max charge current 5.0A so do I need one that will be 5A?

The wattage bit I was on about is that I have seen alot of AT/ATX power supply box for sale with different ratings e.g 200w 300w etc what would I need?

Thanks

Simon.

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 9:40:17 PM

Posts: 99
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Baker City, OR,
Status: offline

simon109,

If you can find one go with an AT style, that way it is a simple switch to turn it on or off. You can use an ATX, but the wiring is more complex since switch is a momentary and power supply on or off would normally be controlled by mother board, theres ways around this however.

Best bet for finding the amps the power supply puts out is to look on the power supply. Forget the watt rating on the power supply and go directly to the sticker. THe supernova requests a supply with at least 10A, but I doubt you will need one that high unless your doing very high charge rates and or very large batteries. I doubt you will find many cheap power supplies with 10+ amps on the 12v side.

Mike

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 9:48:07 PM

Posts: 54
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From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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Hi,

Thanks for that. I'm looking on ebay for one at the moment, none of them tell you what amp's they put out. So I think I will have to email them first. So the higher the amps the better then ?

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 9:57:43 PM

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Joined: 4/1/2002
From: Kelso, WA, USA
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I have been using a computer power supply for yrs .. I have found that the bigger the better . Try to get one that is in the 350 to 400 watt range or more .. If you can lfind a newer one that is better because theyare better regulated. Like some say here AT power supplys are easier but nowhere near the wattage that I think is desirable ..I can use the electric startet off a 350 watt one ,also it wont overload and heat up and kick out like the smaller ones.Another advantage i think is I have one 12 volt lead connected to a power panel.that also gives me multible connectionson ..The 5 volt out I rarely use but over the yrs I have found several uses for it too including flight packs.. So dont get rid of it..

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 10:04:17 PM

Stark Cty Flyer

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Joined: 5/26/2003
From: Canal Fulton, Ohio
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If you can't find a used supply or don't want to mess with e-bay then try CompUSA. They have new AT supplies for $20. You can get them at the stores or over the internet.

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 10:05:18 PM

Posts: 54
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From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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Hi,

Yes I can only find AT ones upto about 230w max but ATX go all the way upto 550w.
Now i'm getting confused :-)

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 10:13:58 PM

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From: Knoxville, TN, USA
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Simon,

I was referring to the SuperNova's max INPUT requirements, not output. This will be different and probably greater than "max charge current". Do you have the manual? Read it !!!

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 10:26:02 PM

Posts: 54
Joined: 7/15/2003
From: FarnhamSurrey, UNITED KINGDOM
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Hi,

Yes I relised I put the wrong thing down

All the manual says is Input Voltage 12v pb battery or 10-15v power supply?

(in reply to simon109)

PC Power Supply (Help) - 7/17/2003 10:32:22 PM

jacs

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Joined: 1/27/2003
From: Uddevalla, SWEDEN
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You need around 8Amp because if I take my other transformer a mascot that delivers 1.5Amp on 12V I can't charge with more than 1.5A and my battery for my screwdriver wants 4Amps.

_____________________________

Jacs

(in reply to simon109)