Power supply needed?

[Gary Murphy 1]

I am after a power supply and do not know what to go for.

I see a Pro-peak at my LHS which was on offer,luckily i did a search and it was not well liked.

I think 200w will do for me and i do have 2 chargers that i can use at once so dual would be good.I can not see me chargeing more than 4s packs but who knows.

The mags have a selection of PS by Logic but i have no idea if they are good.

I have seen some which are not directly for modelers abd some are very pricey,maplins etc.Perhaps you need to pay more for a safe unit?Advice anyone?

[flight1]

Hi What i did for mine was to convert an old ATX pc power supply(350w). it hase been giving very good service for years now 8+ years. It is not hard to do and there are plenty of old pc laying around with 350w + power supplies. (if you need instructions I will look then up if needed).

Mind you in the last few years a lot of off the shelf have become available , like at http://alshobbies.com/shop/cat.php?id=153

 

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

An alternative is a power supply from a redundant laptop - older ones were available below 16V which are suitable for many chargers although most modern ones seem to be nearer 20V.

 

Look for an output above 2 Amps which equates to 240 Watts at 12V or 300 Watts at 15V and you'll have plenty of margin.

Edited By Martin Harris on 16/09/2011 09:38:33

[Doug Ireland]

There are plenty of "how to" guides on YouTube regarding the conversion of PC power supplies. I ripped an old machine apart some ago and now Have a unit that will put out 5A at 12 vdc.

Edited By Doug Ireland on 16/09/2011 10:49:17

[IanN]

I did it here starting from a very low knowledge base, so it can indeed be done. It works a treat

 

 

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Hate to go against you Martin but most laptop power supplies are between 65 & 100 watts tops.....I've just looked at mine & its 3.5A @ 18.5 volts.....or 65watts. Also a typing error I'm sure but.2A at 12 volts is 24 watts or 30 watts at 15 volts....

 

Something from here might do the job but a power supply capable of 20A is going to quite pricey....£30-40 or so. How are you going to use the charger at the field? 12v car type battery....? Maybe use this as your power supply at home but keep it well charged with a cheap charger....(don't leave the 12v battery charger connected when using the battery as a power supply....you'll melt it!!)

[Gary Murphy 1]

To be honest guy`s i did go the PC PSU route.I had a high quality 600w unit left from when i did a upgrade.

The conversion came out good,i did outputs for 6v and 12v by bundling the yellows together for 12v and red i think for 6v.The major problem i did not see was that 12v is a bit low? read since the voltage should be 13-14v.

This is why i will have to get a proper PS.

Edited By Gary Murphy 1 on 16/09/2011 17:56:41

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Steve, I could fight back and say that .2A x 12V is 2.4 Watts but I realise that's a simple typo - you've got me bang to rights - I must have left my sums head at home this morning and at the time work was intruding on my posting!

 

The laptop supply I use is with a 50W charger now I'm thinking straight...

Edited By Martin Harris on 16/09/2011 19:14:43

[flight1]

Just remember to get full power out put on an atx power supply you need to put a load on the +5v side. A outomotive 12v lamp and socket will do(tells you it on as well) between red and common(black normally). This load is needed to get full 12volt out put as they are designed as switching power supplies(an eco thing). If you don't get slightly over 12v this load needs to be increased al little(brighter lamp or a 1 ohm 25watt resister).

Pc power supplies are best as laptop ones tend to be of small capacity <160w.