running car Amps of Power supplies at home.

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

any one on here understand how to mod a PC power supply to run DC voltage from 13v to 14v area? ive seen and heard of it done, but i dont know how to do it,

i want to run a very small setup probably a 5 or 7 speaker setup

a 300 watt supply may even do it.

Ultra GPB500S-B Limited Edition ATX Power Supply - 550W, Dual +12V Rail, Ultra Silent, Limited Edition, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration at TigerDirect.com for example this or something similar

Click to read more...

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

You would need a schematic of the power supply, and a lot of knowledge about how they work. I've never seen a PC power supply where the voltage is adjustable with a pot. You have to know which resistors to change.

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

From what I've seen, many have a +12v -12v, 3.3v +5v and ground, by wiring a 10ohm sand block into the 12v line the voltage increased to 13-14v

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

No one else lol?

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

why would you want to risk a perfectly good car amp ?

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

why would you want to risk a perfectly good car amp ?

going to do a unique little build for indoor, or anywhere use.

basically will be involving a HU, and a small (40-60x4 amp) to 5 or 7 speakers.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

From what I've seen, many have a +12v -12v, 3.3v +5v and ground, by wiring a 10ohm sand block into the 12v line the voltage increased to 13-14v

Don't know where you heard that but I rather doubt it's credibility. Either use the 12V rail or possibly run the 12 and 3.3 in series for 15.3V if your equipment can handle it...

It's not a very efficient way to run speakers off 110 though, you would be better off just investing in a home audio amp or receiver.

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

I see.. I was wondering what you were up to. In my living room I have 2 peavey 215's and a yamaha 218 sub set-up powered by a 2400 watt qsc and a 1400 watt mackie. lol...i need to vid the flexing on the side of my trailer house someday...is that redneck or what?

 

[R34P3R 10+ year member]

There were a couple threads about this about a year or two back with pictures and step by step instructions on how it could be done. It seemed relatively simple (splicing a few wires and MAYBE some soldering) and not uncommon. I would do a quick google search and it should turn up. It's neat if you have the equipment laying around collecting dust but it could save you a lot of headache buying a cheap audio receiver.

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

Don't know where you heard that but I rather doubt it's credibility. Either use the 12V rail or possibly run the 12 and 3.3 in series for 15.3V if your equipment can handle it...
It's not a very efficient way to run speakers off 110 though, you would be better off just investing in a home audio amp or receiver.

yeah i could, but i wana do something different.

Car Amp Project — www.TechIdiots.net - www.ElectronicInsanity.com

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

PA System Professional Sound Equipment

..i bought all of my stuff on CL...the above post is one of the best deals I have seen in awhile, if everything checks out. Look around in your area. I also have a pair of these...Behringer B212D Powered Speaker at zZounds and they get stupid loud and sound pretty dang good for the $. Hook up a mp3 player or whatever and jam.

 

[SourDeez 10+ year member]

Its easy.. I did it before.. you need to find a power supply with a single 12v rail though, and look at how many amps it puts out at that rail.. PSU wattage means nothing if its not a single rail. All you have to do is jump two pins together with a wire to tell the power supply to power up when the switch is turned on, and then simply wire the 12v constant to your power terminal and jump that to the rem terminal.

the wire colors will depend on the power supply though, so thats the tough part.

also that power supply only does 23 amps at the 12v rail, which is 276 watts

you need 40-50 amps

You fegget.

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

35 Amp AC to DC Power Supply

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

while it is easy to use a computer power supply to power an amp, it can be quite noisy and the power supply isn't set up for that kind of load. you can get a decent 13.8V or even adjustable power supply that work well. but in just about every case, you are sacrificing output and flexibilty. you still need/want a preamp to give you input selection and volume control.

for the cost of the power supply, you can get a used receiver that will give you more power, more flexibilty, and it's simpler. pro audio gear is perfect for this application as well, you get raw amplification with power supplies made for the application.

that said, have fun with the project. learning how to do it is most of the fun. the results are dissapointing so enjoy the journey.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Its easy.. I did it before.. you need to find a power supply with a single 12v rail though, and look at how many amps it puts out at that rail.. PSU wattage means nothing if its not a single rail. All you have to do is jump two pins together with a wire to tell the power supply to power up when the switch is turned on, and then simply wire the 12v constant to your power terminal and jump that to the rem terminal.
the wire colors will depend on the power supply though, so thats the tough part.

also that power supply only does 23 amps at the 12v rail, which is 276 watts

you need 40-50 amps

You fegget.

The second 12V rail can supply another 20A and while he will not see the full 43A from paralleling them, he will still get more than 30A...