Pc power supply powering amp?
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Bronze Member Username: EggcreamPost Number: 19 Registered: Jun-10 | I'm trying to hook my amp up to a pc power supply. So far I've hooked the B+ to a +12v wire the ground to a black ground wire and the remote to the green remote wire all the wires were labled on the power supply so i assume i got them wright.... any ideas? |
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Bronze Member Username: EggcreamPost Number: 20 Registered: Jun-10 | http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9jszEqdd_p7Sy7YrGkCbKVk0NUFVwc1YVaS8GoLyAqQ ?feat=directlink (left to right) Ground, power, remote. I connected them as they were labeled on the power supply. The amp, there is one shitty speaker hooked up for testing purposes. the RCA goes to an iPod. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nxOEjKZpVkUT1UhvG0vWwVk0NUFVwc1YVaS8GoLyAqQ ?feat=directlink |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13825 Registered: Dec-03 | very, very bad idea. |
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Platinum Member Username: Insearchofbass2 hifonics 2607s, 2dcSounds12xls SPL\idmax12SQ Post Number: 14426 Registered: Jun-04 | listen to glasswolf |
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Bronze Member Username: EggcreamPost Number: 23 Registered: Jun-10 | How can I make this work, I've heard of it being done. I got a new amp I want to test, and possibly keep inside. |
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Bronze Member Username: AlonzoubPost Number: 35 Registered: Apr-10 | You have the power supply turn on wire (green) hooked up to the remote of the amp? If so, this is wrong. In order to turn the amp on you need to ground the green wire; the way you have it the power supply will never turn on. The way I did it was I soldered the green wire and a black wire to a switch which I put up in my desk. You really don't need a switch if your power supply already has one, but I like to have it within arms reach. I realize this is dangerous so im not gonna "recommend it", but In order for the amp to turn on, it needs ~.3 amps to the remote terminal. I just jumped the 12V from the pos input to the remote. Ill post some pictures of my setup when I get home (might be late) Good Luck. |
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Platinum Member Username: Insearchofbass2 hifonics 2607s, 2dcSounds12xls SPL\idmax12SQ Post Number: 14469 Registered: Jun-04 | i smell danger |
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Bronze Member Username: AlonzoubPost Number: 37 Registered: Apr-10 | typo: In order to turn the *power supply* on you need to ground the green wire (complete the turn-on circuit). I don't know if I should do this with new equipment, after all; this isn't what power supplies were meant for. I did it with an old MTX amp I found in the garage that used to be my brothers and would have sat and collected dust if I didn't pick it up. Its a 4 channel that I am using for a 2.1 computer speaker setup. I have 2 old 6-ohm Infinity Reference E-L bookshelf speakers running off the front 2 channels and a small 8-ohm pioneer home theater sub bridged on the rear 2 channels. This is the B+, Ground, and Remote. Sorry about picture quality but all I have for pictures is my phone right now. Notice the jumper between the B+ and Remote. Thats to turn the amp on.  Heres the green (turn-on) power supply wire. I have it extended like 3 feet with some cheap radioshack speaker cable and then solderd a ground wire and the green wire to 2 pins on a switch. This is just for ease of turning the power supply on and off from my chair. If you want to simply use the switch on the back of the power supply (mine didnt have one) or just unplug it to turn it off, you could just tie/crimp the green wire and a ground wire together.  Heres the speakers I have setup on/under my desk. Youll notice an LED taped to the side of the desk in this 1st pic. I took some speaker cable and a resistor and wired the LED to a 3.3volt (usually orange) wire on the power supply. This is so I could tell when the Power Supply was on, and to remind me when I get up from my comp to turn it off.   The amp is only rated for 25watts @ 4ohms so its only puttin maybe 18~19 to my bookshelf speakers and 25 to the sub. It gets plenty loud enough for me though. I can actually hear the sub outside the house on a queit day :P |
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Bronze Member Username: AlonzoubPost Number: 38 Registered: Apr-10 | Id also like to mention, ive had this setup running like this for atleast 6 months to a year with no problems. Yes its dangerous; But im still alive, and my home intact. Its also very convenient for me because ive been trying to build a working VU meter for my car stereo and being able to test my circuit at home in my room is extremely helpful. |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13834 Registered: Dec-03 | can this be done? yes. Is there a good chance of starting a fire? absolutely. PC power supplies are not designed to supply sustained high current demands. They simply don't have the proper internals, or the proper cooling to do what you want to do. What you need to run an amplifier in the house (car amp) is one of these: http://www.cascadeaudio.com/power_converters/power_converters.htm |
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Gold Member Username: IlluminatorUSA Post Number: 5300 Registered: Apr-05 | PC power supplies also have crap filtering with their caps. I'll throw my usual plug in here for an Astron or Tenma DC power supply. Can be found on ebay for great prices. Much more convenient because they typically have (+) and (-) posts. Plus you don't have a mess of wires sticking out. It's also important to have an ammeter to know if you could potentially cause a fire (indicating a short or amplifier failure)--this is something PC power supplies typically do NOT have. Car audio in the house looks ghetto and doesn't sound particularly great. Do I still do it? Yeah, especially for testing purposes. But I have a proper power supply etc. |
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