Power Supply Without Opus

**chewy747** · 09-01-2004, 11:56 AM

I certailnly dont have $200 to spend on a power supply. I searched through the forum but couldnt really find any clearcut answers. I am looking for a power supply that will run of the car battery(of course) I either run the cable directly off the battery or off of of the cigarrete lighter directly. I was thinking about just using a regular old power inverter. What are the problems with using a power inverter directly out of the cig lighter and connecting to a standard computer power supply?

I also would like the computer to shutdown after a certain amount of time. I realize I need a shutdown contoller, but wasnt sure where to turn. Again I am looking for the cheapest solution that is practicle.

Any help would be appreciated!

**parawing742** · 09-01-2004, 12:11 PM

You'll probably need to run power from the battery because most cig lighter sockets can't handle the necessary power (most can provide about 120w).

The problem with power inverters is that they add another large box to your power system which is really unnecessary. Most of them can't survive engine cranking, and you'll also need to ground both the inverter AND your computer case so they won't be ground noise in your audio.

The ITPS makes a good shut-down controller and you can find more about them by searching on this forum.

**samc** · 09-01-2004, 12:13 PM

if you can afford the space then there's nothing wrong with a good ol dc-ac inverter then back to a ac-dc computer power supply.

**chewy747** · 09-01-2004, 12:19 PM

yeah space wont be a problem.

**chewy747** · 09-14-2004, 10:04 PM

The ITPS seems to be a cheaper way to go as I would like the computer to stay on during crank(I hope it can). Is the ITPS only compatible with those mini ITX motherboards? I was looking just to use an older comp and was wondering if I can use it or not.

I see http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...products_id=34

Am I right in saying that I could buy a ITPS power supply and and this cable connector and it will power virtually any motherboard ok?

Thanks!

**Nic** · 09-14-2004, 11:47 PM

you need an itps and a dc-dc power supply that cable wont work, and it wont survive crank

**Confused** · 09-15-2004, 04:08 AM

If you decide to go the DC-DC route (which is MUCH better than an inverter) then don't even consider the ITPS, unless you know that you will NEVER, EVER, NEVER even THINK of using the computer with the car off, as it won't work.

If you are using a Mini-ITX computer, then get yourself a DC-DC power supply such as the Morex 60W or the PW70A, and get yourself a Carnetix, as it does what the ITPS does, only better.

If you're using a standard desktop computer (or anything that will be using more than 60W of power), then the best bet is the Opus. Yes, it might be expensive, but get it right first time, and it's a lot cheaper than getting every other method, only to find that you are getting an Opus in the end anyway. Take my advice, i've done this before. I've used inverter+ac/dc PSU, ITPS + Morex, and then I finally got the Opus, after spending as much on the other stuff as if i'd got the Opus in the first place.

Garry