Thread: Opus = Best, but will ITPS suffice for low end?

The ITPS + PW-70a combo http://mp3car.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=31 is okay so long as you don't need to PC while the engine isn't on or cranking.

the prob with these i think is that the 12 volt feed isnt regulated so you will fry the stuff that runs of 12 volts when your car power spikes.

some people get around this by using laptop drives that use the regulated 5 volts and they seem to survive.

im not sure of any of this and you need to search.

you can power lcd's of your pc power supply or from accessories.

Originally Posted by Bodgy

the prob with these i think is that the 12 volt feed isnt regulated so you will fry the stuff that runs of 12 volts when your car power spikes.

You're talking about the PW-70a by itself. The ITPS takes care of this issue and regulates the 12V line. When they are used together it's okay.

Originally Posted by Bodgy

the prob with these i think is that the 12 volt feed isnt regulated so you will fry the stuff that runs of 12 volts when your car power spikes.

some people get around this by using laptop drives that use the regulated 5 volts and they seem to survive.

im not sure of any of this and you need to search.

you can power lcd's of your pc power supply or from accessories.

Nope, the ITPS will regulate the 12v line

Edit: me too slow!

what i've gathered is this:

any dc-dc powersupply is gonna have to have regulation on 12V line. ITPS takes care of this. so, voltage fluctuation is not a problem.

my concern is not not having enough power, but the (oh boy), cranking voltage drop. while most agree the OPUS will survive a crank, will the ITPS setup do so? specs say input voltage (i've read this also) 7V or so min. i suppose i will meter my car soon to find out exactly what mine does.

but yeah,
if the OPUS can survive crank based on what i believe to be a builtin ITPS, why not this combo?

now... there is MUCH discrepency on this board over the crank issue. most point to either the OPUS or the tank-circuit setup.

is there really no other way? and with regard to crank issue... is the problem that the PC momentarily starts - stops - starts again or the it starts (in IGN) and then dies (CRANKING) and won't start w/o manual restart.

anyone? like i said, outside of OPUS this is very controversial.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/VInternet/power.pdf

EXCELLENT article i haven't seen posted yet.

article describes a workaround for the cranking voltage dips, using a small sealed acid battery and a diode. anyone have specs for battery and diode and maybe a schematic? i did find a reference to this on here somewhere... but no conclusions...

I've got a question about the OPUS and the ITPS solutions. What if you want to power your carputer when the car is off? Will it work?

Opus will work with the car off. ITPS + whatever won't.

There is a 1.3V dropout on the regulator in the ITPS, so to give out 12V, you need to input at least 13.3V, which you don't get when a car is switched off.


Garry

Thanks Confused! So if I get the OPUS, then if I hit the power button on the PC, then it'll turn on. Now, what if I have it so when I turn my car on, the carputer starts. Will that mess with the computer if it's already on?