Witterings Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I used to have a Hobbyking 350 watt power supply but unfortunately it failed after a couple of years https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-350w-25a-power-supply-220v-240v.html?srsltid=AfmBOopwMholB85WfM31RAYC8tv-G4XcZb3mvCqFvWbWDwwV8WuFjfTD and it was virtually silent ..... I also had (and still have) one of their 540 watt ones but it's quite noisy. Can anyone recommend me something aorund the 200 to 350 watt range that's fairly quiet, 2 outputs would be nice but not essential? I was looking at some of the Fusion and Ripmax ones that I'd bookmarked quite a while ago but they seem to be out of stock, Fusion did a 200 watt and a 415 watt both with dual output, does anyone happen to know if they'll come back in or if they've been discontinued / not trading anymore as I can't find any of theirs in stock anywhere. Any help / suggestions much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepish Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Hi Witterings If you are happy with a little soldering and a project then this could be the answer: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1292514-How-to-convert-Server-Power-Supplies I have two 450w HP server power supplies I bought for £5 each online and they have been working for me for more than 2 years now. Very quiet and very well specified power supplies and it’s possible to find 1000w and more versions if that’s of interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Bradly Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Get one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004776127256.html and then find a PC power supply. These can be had for free if you look around, easily good for 300-400w or more. No need for modifying or big costs, its criminal what "RC battery charger power supplies" go for, when millions of perfectly good PC power supplies are junked every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Cheers and I'll do some research and take a look at both of those ... @Dale Bradly ..... the link that you gave, how do they attached on, I#m guessing they need to be soldered rather than "clipping" into place? Sad part is, I had 5 PC's from my old office in storage for the last 6 years and cleared it out and junked the PC's, one of those may have been OK ... the only thing I kept was my old server which has been repurposed and is now serving as a NAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Bradly Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Just plugs onto the ATX power connector (that would usually be plugged into the PC motherboard). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 29 minutes ago, Dale Bradly said: Just plugs onto the ATX power connector (that would usually be plugged into the PC motherboard). Initially reading that went Whoooossshhh over my head 😄 .... I'm not used to the terminology .... Just googled it and realise it's actually very simple and what a great piece of kit ... I've recently learnt to swap out power supplies and did one for a friend recently, I took one out of the PC's I mentioned above. A modular supply may be better to avoid the octopus of wires for everything else. Don't suppose you happen to know any half decent power supplies off the top of your head I should search for on e-bay? Can't thank you enough, this looks like a brilliant solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 On 08/01/2025 at 17:25, Dale Bradly said: Just plugs onto the ATX power connector (that would usually be plugged into the PC motherboard). I finally got round to setting this up last night and it works brilliantly. On the 12v there's one + output and one - output, is there any reason why on the negative I can't just swap the leads so that I have a 2nd channel and can plug a seperate charger into it and use both at the same time? I did use a volt meter and swapped over the positive / negative and it showed as positive instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Bradly Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 I can't answer that, as I don't have your setup in front of me, and I didn't quite follow your question. But as you are ok using a multimeter and therefore have the smarts to figure it out, give it a go. No reason you can't run 2 chargers from one power supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 NO NO NO! The second 12V supply is likely to have a very small current capacity. Check for a placard on the case detailing the output details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 5 hours ago, Dale Bradly said: I can't answer that, as I don't have your setup in front of me, and I didn't quite follow your question. But as you are ok using a multimeter and therefore have the smarts to figure it out, give it a go. No reason you can't run 2 chargers from one power supply. 4 hours ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said: NO NO NO! The second 12V supply is likely to have a very small current capacity. Check for a placard on the case detailing the output details. OK, take onboard both comments, I'm wondering of maybe I'm over thinking it. What about if on the +12v I just put 2 sets of wire to bullet connectors on both the positive and the negative, one for each charger. I'm guessing it may not like it if one's being used and I then try and plug the secpnd one in but if they're only ever plugged in / removed when it's off maybe it should be OK and if one charger is running and then I start the second, I guess it'd just see it as a change in amp draw which could happen at any stage just with one charger attached??? To summarise, I'm trying to find out of I can attach 2 chargers to the one board so I can use the one power supply for 2 chargers rather than having to have 2 power supplies. My alternative is I maybe convert a server power supply where you can attach a couple of outsputs or alternatively something like one of these .... although the feedback varies quite considerably and some reported as noisy. https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOGOULUA-Switching-600W-24V-Transformer/dp/B09YLFNJHM/ref=sr_1_23?crid=1OYBQHTL8G94M&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bJwVm3C-DlqimOMoEDwUjvS3U46huDoXZ_V6NBpxHjf7IXtbFJ-q0hOfCF48j71Gn1RljFq5YJhHqa9knjjAGoicU0H1VLlJmp_5ENQefc_cHQeFkbR7PJ1H-PUbn_-gebkNlghcaovmpn2e-OF2apkOs8RXJTHt3JgN_JmzTc1EkABrba8fdKRfVvWBdAsxbuVr927ks_Kegvx9XuQacusITnY5dRZLWiRe9F3rMc3hmFWe5bhMgESHf6ur1zQIjk8MPanpZtUs9Q0NXBL5OwWV19m2MHLI_8K8hfl59BJCQE8CRu9X0m4Qkrvb9ULR58RD68WIV_6Fanlwk6mJHpw47XfWQqpDgl1Arec1YeLhkAzhQf0mB_i_zS1s6wsF6385Q4K5Pn49SU4mMAgFSbg_uMYs5OdbfqmxhBtvxpzPqOLcWo2uu3Pplk50DFfo.h9QHdCpfze1lqRhdsd1L8KyQBVXfcfsE46nCuBWn1Oo&dib_tag=se&keywords=24v%2Bpower%2Bsupply&qid=1741128158&sprefix=24v%2Bpower%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-23&th=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 You can certainly power a number of chargers from a common supply as long as you don’t exceed the capacity of the source. One thing to beware of with some “intelligent” chargers is charging multiple receiver batteries in the same model when separate chargers are powered from a common source. The batteries will normally have common negative connections and interactions can confuse the chargers’ detection circuitry. There shouldn’t be a problem charging LiPos outside a model, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 26 minutes ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said: You can certainly power a number of chargers from a common supply as long as you don’t exceed the capacity of the source. One thing to beware of with some “intelligent” chargers is charging multiple receiver batteries in the same model when separate chargers are powered from a common source. The batteries will normally have common negative connections and interactions can confuse the chargers’ detection circuitry. There shouldn’t be a problem charging LiPos outside a model, of course. Cheers for that ... I have a couple of chargers that if it did any damage I really don't care and the power supply was from a edundant computer so will test with that combo 1st and see how it works. Thanks to everyone for their help 👍😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Bradly Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Atx power supplies have both a -12V and a +12V (with respect to 0V). Beware the -12V is of little use fir what you are using it for, as this output will be capable of very low current only. I wonder if the comment you made inferring the polarity was incorrect means you have found this -12V output. The +12v output will be capable of delivering 30A or some such figure, so by all means connect two chargers to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 7 hours ago, Dale Bradly said: Atx power supplies have both a -12V and a +12V (with respect to 0V). Beware the -12V is of little use fir what you are using it for, as this output will be capable of very low current only. I wonder if the comment you made inferring the polarity was incorrect means you have found this -12V output. The +12v output will be capable of delivering 30A or some such figure, so by all means connect two chargers to this. Brilliant and thanks again, will hook them both up to the +12v output .... just for info, the website spec says they're good for 20A which is plenty enough for what I'm doing and will provide for my immediate needs, I'm surprised this isn't more widely spoken about in RC forums as it's a great and easy solution. Probably also going to do as @Sheepish suggested and convert a server as well for the longer term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Lewis 3 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 3 hours ago, Witterings said: Probably also going to do as @Sheepish suggested and convert a server as well for the longer term. I've made literally dozens of these over the years. Very high output, up to 87 amps, I use two of these to power two quad chargers each so in effect eight chargers for each power supply with each charger charging a 5 cell 5,000 mah pack so eight batteries per power supply being charged. If you go down the route of converting a servo supply make sure you know how to turn the 12 supply on, for instance with these ones you short together the three pins in the photo. However beware, high power they are and very compact too, but the one thing they definitely aren't is quiet! You also need to use at least 12 awg wire from the supply to the charger and that assumes you have two + and two - connections of you'll get too much heat in the wires. The good news however is that these are in effect electrical waste with virtually no demand for them, the last lot I bought were advertised on e bay at £30.00 each plus postage at cost and they had 12 of them, I offered to take all 12 for £100 and they pay the postage, and they accepted the offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 33 minutes ago, Philip Lewis 3 said: I've made literally dozens of these over the years. Very high output, up to 87 amps, I use two of these to power two quad chargers each so in effect eight chargers for each power supply with each charger charging a 5 cell 5,000 mah pack so eight batteries per power supply being charged. If you go down the route of converting a servo supply make sure you know how to turn the 12 supply on, for instance with these ones you short together the three pins in the photo. However beware, high power they are and very compact too, but the one thing they definitely aren't is quiet! You also need to use at least 12 awg wire from the supply to the charger and that assumes you have two + and two - connections of you'll get too much heat in the wires. The good news however is that these are in effect electrical waste with virtually no demand for them, the last lot I bought were advertised on e bay at £30.00 each plus postage at cost and they had 12 of them, I offered to take all 12 for £100 and they pay the postage, and they accepted the offer. I ordered one of these earlier today, there's quit a good video onhow to set them up https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/167351747060 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve too Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 8 hours ago, Witterings said: Probably also going to do as @Sheepish suggested and convert a server as well for the longer term. I would happily recommend the DPS750TB1 if you can find one. A bit for effort to convert than some others, but it is quiet. There is a reference topic on RGC on converting server PSUs. https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1005309-A-simple-high-quality-12Volt-100Amp-Power-Supply-Part1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witterings Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 (edited) Just thought I'd update firstly to say cheers for everyone's input but also in case anybody else stumbles across it and finds it useful. I've gone a bit power supply mad .... I bought a ToolkitRC ADP 200 which is great and absolutely silent, whilst I can use it quite a bit of the time the 10Amps will be it's limitation. I also bought the ATX breakout board and have fitted 2 sets of leads to the main +12v terminals and have been using it with 2 chargers, it'll provide 20Amps / 240 Watts so will cover my needs most of the time and is virtually silent. Think this must be when the obsession kicked in 😄 as I also bought a 2nd hand server power supply, an HP DPS800GB and followed the video linked below and it works brilliantly and is still a very acceptable level of noise sitting just behind me. Think all my power supply needs are covered for the immediate future and thanks again for eveyone's input 👍 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDeLH6yzlbw Edited March 12 by Witterings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Have been using the computer power supply for probably 20+ years, on a 4 x lipo charger and my Robbe infinity 2 at the same time, no problem, I also have a BMI 2112, I run a Robbe Infinity 2 and 3 both at the same time, no trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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