AD12VC Power Supply?

phrasius · 04-21-2008, 12:15 PM

Just picked up a CarPC with a Jetway AD12VC power supply off ebay. It's 100W DC-DC.

My question is: does anyone have this power supply? I searched but found nothing, and the website doesn't help me much.

I'm hesitant about how to install it. The seller says it draws 12V 10A and has a timer. I'm trying to find out if it's safe to wire directly to my ignition wire.

FusionFanatic · 04-22-2008, 09:03 PM

I quickly 'googled" it, but couldn't find any useful information that PSU either. when you click on the "manual" link on the jetway site, it just says "coming soon!" so that certainly doesn't help...

did the seller provide you with any wiring information about it?

phrasius · 04-22-2008, 10:24 PM

Let me preface this by saying I'm an utter newbie and it took me hours of reading to just figure out what questions to even ask the seller.

Anyway, he said that the power supply was regulated with a timed auto-off and that I could simply take the 12V straight from the ignition.

I'm going to keep my headunit though, so if I'm pretty sure the smartest thing to do would be to run a wire from the battery and set up a relay.

nobb · 04-22-2008, 10:27 PM

Just fyi, you might need some type of high current 12v regulator. That psu looks like it is rated for 12v at +/- 5%, which is definitely not within safe automotive range.

phrasius · 04-22-2008, 11:13 PM

Ok. I see the input range on the M1 ATX is 5.7 to 30. I'm assuming then that the input range on this is 11.4 to 12.6, which wouldn't work.

Now I'm just confused because this is allegedly a car PC pull. It's a solar system solarpc JD2500. I thought it was a steal at $56 US with the power supply, but if I need to buy a Carnetix then I'm totally over-budget and will have to put the project on hold for now.

Thanks for you help though.

EDIT: Got a response from the seller: Power is a regulated power switched supply. It has a delay circuit for voltage bounce if you have to crank car on off. Hook straight to ignition, just fuse 10a inline.

Crawdaddy · 04-23-2008, 09:37 AM

I wouldn't hook up the main feed directly to the ignition because it can't supply enough power. Now the remote turn-on lead to power on the power supply, sure. The ignition circuit can't supply 10A. Not sure if you knew, just wanted to be better safe than sorry...

FusionFanatic · 04-23-2008, 10:20 AM

it is ok to use the IGN or ACC circuits as a signal wire to control a relay, but you should NOT directly power your computer from it. don't take chances when it comes to electrical wiring.

do you know the pinout for the power harness? if it has a delayed shut-down then it must have a signal (ACC) wire, not just power and ground. if it doesn't than it would simply hard shut-down when power is cut (not good

)

it seems that it needs a regulated input to work properly. if you hook it up directly to the car's fluctuating battery voltage then the output voltages may be unstable. you might be better off not using that PSU at all. you don't need a carnetix for a regular PC (they are mainly for laptops). an M2-ATX or M3-ATX would be fine for your system since it draws less than 100watts.

phrasius · 04-23-2008, 10:45 AM

Right, I was going to run wire from the battery and use a relay (taking all the precautions talked about in the various threads through this board.)

I already have a spare PC power supply and a 300W inverter, so I might end up going that route with everything in my trunk.

I think the ideal solution would be to find a cheap regulator and use this PSU though. (I'm not comfortable making one.)

FusionFanatic · 04-23-2008, 09:25 PM

an inverter is NEVER a good solution if it can be avoided. inverters are bulky, inefficient, and often times cause audio/video "noise"/interference issues that can be difficult to correct. you would be much better off just getting a good regulated DC-DC PSU vs. using an inverter with an AC-DC PSU.

the PSU may work ok as-is... hook it up directly to your battery and use a multimeter to test the rails (voltage) with the engine on and off, both no-load and under load. if the output voltage for each rail stays within +/- 5% then it should be fine. if it's way out of whack then you'll certainly need a regulated input

if you can find a "cheap" regulator that is capable of supplying 9A, then that should work fine. I suppose it depends on what you call cheap...

phrasius · 04-23-2008, 11:01 PM

I've seen arguments against inverters in multiple threads. No doubt the DC-DC is the way to go, but it's a budget issue.

That said, you've given me (some) optimism and I will check the PSU. I'm inclined to think the specs may be wrong and it might be ok since I know it was used in a car previously.

Can I check the voltage in one of the unused molex connectors, or should I be checking somewhere in the 20-pin connector? For that matter, can I check just the 12V, or do I need to check the 5 and 3.3V as well?

EDIT: I don't know what's cheap to be honest. Less than than an M2 ATX or there's no point. I'm having trouble finding anything that remote looks like what I'll need.

Beehphy · 04-25-2008, 01:29 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by FusionFanatic

it seems that it needs a regulated input to work properly. if you hook it up directly to the car's fluctuating battery voltage then the output voltages may be unstable. you might be better off not using that PSU at all. you don't need a carnetix for a regular PC (they are mainly for laptops). an M2-ATX or M3-ATX would be fine for your system since it draws less than 100watts.

Fusion said it all.

I sounds like the product you bought is not able to do the job you need. If the device has a strick voltage tolerance, hooking it up in an automotive enviroment could damage it, or the computer its powering.

Look around at what others are doing, spend plenty of time reasearching, and value price 3rd (1st function, 2nd quality) when making product decisions.

It might take longer, but if you do it right you'll have a system thats functional and reliable (won't make you look like an arse when your showing it off).