car headunit used on 120v source?

[954runner 10+ year member]

hey guys, my roommates and i are building a beer pong table, and i was thinking about putting my old alpine cda-9813 in it, with 4 coax speakers hooked up. are there any power inverters that will go from 120v to 12v?

one of my roommates is an electrical engineer major and said it would be pretty tough to find one because it there would be so resistance that it would get too hot.

are there any other options i can exhaust or should i just get a cheap home theatre receiver?

i'm just trying to save money and use what i've got already so if this can work that would be great!

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[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

hey guys, my roommates and i are building a beer pong table, and i was thinking about putting my old alpine cda-9813 in it, with 4 coax speakers hooked up. are there any power inverters that will go from 120v to 12v?
one of my roommates is an electrical engineer major and said it would be pretty tough to find one because it there would be so resistance that it would get too hot.

are there any other options i can exhaust or should i just get a cheap home theatre receiver?

i'm just trying to save money and use what i've got already so if this can work that would be great!

an old Pc power supply can do it, i hear. never done it myself.

 

[zack39648 10+ year member]

a computer power supply is all you need .. it has 12v output ..

google for more info ..

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

hey guys, my roommates and i are building a beer pong table, and i was thinking about putting my old alpine cda-9813 in it, with 4 coax speakers hooked up. are there any power inverters that will go from 120v to 12v?
one of my roommates is an electrical engineer major and said it would be pretty tough to find one because it there would be so resistance that it would get too hot.

are there any other options i can exhaust or should i just get a cheap home theatre receiver?

i'm just trying to save money and use what i've got already so if this can work that would be great!

Hopefully he's not very far along with his courses...

An old computer power supply will work just fine for what you need. All you have to do is tie the turn on lead on the mother board bus (the green wire) to ground and it will be able to turn on. From there, it's just attaching the turn on and power lead of the amp to the 12v rails of the PSU.

Here is an image showing what to short to ground to get the power supply to turn on:

It's simple and it will work and no, it won't get hot and blow up. A headunit will only pull about 3A max.

 

[954runner 10+ year member]

awesome thanks guys, none of us would have thought about using a pc power supply!

 

[mrbomb 10+ year member]

hope your putting it somewhere way under the table, id imagine a spilled beer wouldn't be a good hing for the HU

but it is definitely a great idea, make sure to get some pics of it up, i want to see this thing

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

You can get a small power supply at Radio Shack as well that would suit your needs.

 

[Tehgregzor 10+ year member]

one of my roommates is an electrical engineer major and said it would be pretty tough to find one because it there would be so resistance that it would get too hot.

After i first read OP's post i was like...WTF is that guy talking about, computers do it all the time! Heh.

 

[954runner 10+ year member]

After i first read OP's post i was like...WTF is that guy talking about, computers do it all the time! Heh.

computers never get hot/overheat?

and the table is built and painted, now its my job to wire it up with music. the top of the table is 3/4" mdf covered with 3 coats of oil based primer, and then 3 coats of latex paint so it won't absorb any liquids. the sides of the table are 12" high, so we can easily mount 2 speakers on each side, and the headunit will be sticking out of the side so we can control the music. we will mount the power supply under the table as well to keep it from getting wet. the legs will be stained a nice brown, and it will be covered with a tarp whenever it isn't in use //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

PE sells dc power supplies

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

I hope your roommate isn't far along in his major, either, or he might want to consider changing //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Most electronic devices use DC, not AC. They all have inverters, whether internal or external in the 'square' or 'rectangle' box on the plug/wire.

You could buy an inverter designed for car electronics for $45 or less and not have to deal with the PC power supply mess. Radioshack has this one. I believe it may handle more amperage than a PC supply at the same price, as well.

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

hey guys, my roommates and i are building a beer pong table, and i was thinking about putting my old alpine cda-9813 in it, with 4 coax speakers hooked up. are there any power inverters that will go from 120v to 12v?
one of my roommates is an electrical engineer major and said it would be pretty tough to find one because it there would be so resistance that it would get too hot.

are there any other options i can exhaust or should i just get a cheap home theatre receiver?

i'm just trying to save money and use what i've got already so if this can work that would be great!

lol...you realize like 90% of the stuff you plug into the walls of your house have regulated power supplies and are already stepping down that 120v significantly...

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

I have a question about the PSU shorting...

Could you cut the wire from the harness and solder them together instead of using that jumper?

I'd have to assume so, right? Just seems like a better connection that will last longer.

 

[Spectrum]

I have a question about the PSU shorting...
Could you cut the wire from the harness and solder them together instead of using that jumper?

I'd have to assume so, right? Just seems like a better connection that will last longer.

yea it will work

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

I have a question about the PSU shorting...
Could you cut the wire from the harness and solder them together instead of using that jumper?

I'd have to assume so, right? Just seems like a better connection that will last longer.

I have had a staple shorting mine out for over 4 years with no problems at all. It's just a trigger to turn the amp on; you don't have to worry about it not lasting. You could solder it but then the psu isn't in stock condition anymore. I like to leave them stock just in case I need them for PC use.