A solution for powering 12v stuff inside

**zootjeff** · 12-17-2004, 05:24 AM

I came up with an idea for a little board that you can plug into an ATX AC-DC power supply and get the full rated current out of it for powering 12 volt stuff inside while your configuring your car computer and stuff.

Just about everyone has a Cheapo ATX power supply lying around, or can open up their case and borrow it for a while. Most of these put out more than 10 amps at 12 volts. This ATX Breakout board will control the ATX power supply, show little LEDs on all the supply rails and power good, and bring out the power connections to standard automotive blade connectors.

Works like a charm for powering my computer.

www.mpegbox.com/atxBreakout/index.html

-Jeff

**zootjeff** · 12-17-2004, 05:53 AM

I just hooked up a bunch of resistor loads to the output of this puppy and I was able to pull 20 amps out of my 12 volt rail using the ATXBR01. The power supply is only rated for 10 amps, and it started humming at 15 amps so I didn't keep it there for long. The voltage only dropped to 11.5 volts at a 20 amp load. It stayed around 12 volts with a 10 amp load.

This is from my old AMD 1gig machine's ATX power supply. It is a 300 watt.

-Jeff

**Sonicxtacy02** · 12-17-2004, 08:06 AM

I'll keep an eye on this thread in case it ever dumbs down so i can understand it

**god_of_cpu** · 12-17-2004, 08:36 AM

I dont get it, doesn't the power supply already have 12 and 5 volt output for powering drives and stuff? What exactly does this thing do?

**Lord_Pall** · 12-17-2004, 08:39 AM

How do i buy one?

**waltsongs** · 12-17-2004, 09:12 AM

What exactly does this thing do?

This is sort of a wall wart that you can use to power your 12 volt system from the mains power while you are setting it up. You can also use it if you want to leave your system on for a long time while it's parked in the garage without running your battery down.

Walt

**Altimat** · 12-17-2004, 09:43 AM

Why the need for the board just short the turn-on and hook up to the 12V.

**zootjeff** · 12-17-2004, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

I dont get it, doesn't the power supply already have 12 and 5 volt output for powering drives and stuff? What exactly does this thing do?

This is so you can power your DC-DC converter that runs on 12 volts, or test your inverter that runs on 12 volts. Yaa, if you can dissconnect everything and just plug in the ATX power supply, you don't need it, but most of us have a case that is a pain in the butt to tear apart if we take the computer inside to test out. All my car computer has is a 12 volt input.

**zootjeff** · 12-17-2004, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by Altimat

Why the need for the board just short the turn-on and hook up to the 12V.

Well, how do your short the on? I've been using a paperclip, it falls out, it's annoying it bumps into other stuff.

The other option is to clip the wires and sacrifice the power supply, thats annoying too.

Then you have to supply a minimum load, also annoying.

Also, the board is a sanity check for power supplies. It verifies all the outputs are puttin out juice, useful if your building your own power supply or if you think you got a fried one. Or if you don't want to fuss trying to cram the DMM right into those little square pins on the ATX connector, while you have the paperclip on the on signal, etc.

I agree, this isn't for everyone, but I think it is useful.

**rando** · 12-17-2004, 12:40 PM

As best I can tell, this board provides a switch, a few LEDs, blade connectors, and a couple of 15W resistors to supply a minimal load on the PSU. Not sure what it costs but it's basically just providing a (very) minimal convenience.