Quick question about 12 Volt Power Supplies....

[Jaloosk]

Why not just use a power supply for a pc that what im using in my home theater set up. Just use the yellow wires as positive and black as ground and solder the green and black wire that are connected to the motherboard and it should turn on

Most PC power supplies only put out like 10-15A unless you're dropping $150-$200 on a power supply.

Edited February 9, 2012 by Jaloosk

[Wicks]

Why not just use a power supply for a pc that what im using in my home theater set up. Just use the yellow wires as positive and black as ground and solder the green and black wire that are connected to the motherboard and it should turn on

Most PC power supplies only put out like 10-15A unless you're dropping $150-$200 on a power supply.

Computer PSU's also only have 12V outputs (for the hard drives).

You should feed an amp the 13.8V that it would expect from an auto environment.

In case you do have voltage drop, you'll have more headroom with 13.8V than you will with 12V.

if you have a smaller amp then no sweat. If its current hungry then you might get issues.

[30Hz.wav]

Why not just use a power supply for a pc that what im using in my home theater set up. Just use the yellow wires as positive and black as ground and solder the green and black wire that are connected to the motherboard and it should turn on

I actually used 1 a few years back and I it wasn't that great. It cut out all the time. That's why I made this thread to try and do it right this time.

No problem, glad to help.

The 30A supply is a switching power supply. They use a different method to produce the power. Less expensive parts. Usually no large transformer/capacitors inside.

Here's some info on the differences:

http://en.wikipedia....de_power_supply

I've played around with a cheap 40A switching supply on an amp and the power supply freaked out with the dynamic current pulses that the amp drew.

They're probably fine for constant and even power draw but when amps draw large current spikes, the cheaper power supplies may have a problem keeping up.

It may work fine but I'd hate for you to get it and it not work like you want.

If you go with a switching supply, I'd shoot for a higher current rating to make sure you don't have any issues.

Hmmm, looking around online, the prices sure jump up when you go over 30A. One of the reasons I haven't gotten a good bench supply either....

Is this one too much?

http://www.trcelectr...-600-13.5.shtml

This has a little more headroom and has PFC (power factor correction) which may help the capacitive load that the amp will draw.

I don't see PFC in the manual for the pyramid and for the price, I doubt it does.

These simple encased power supplies will have better internals rather than the extra money for the flashy case.

Although it may need some extra effort to wire it up...

Options options...

Thanks and thanks again! lol Really appreciate this info. That's actually a good price for the amps. The only thing I might have trouble with is working it. I was looking at the data sheet and it looks very confusing. It also says it has "Built-in remote ON-OFF control". Not sure how to turn it off and on, as it seems it's triggered by a sensor?

[tejarillo]

Why not just use a power supply for a pc that what im using in my home theater set up. Just use the yellow wires as positive and black as ground and solder the green and black wire that are connected to the motherboard and it should turn on

Most PC power supplies only put out like 10-15A unless you're dropping $150-$200 on a power supply.

Computer PSU's also only have 12V outputs (for the hard drives).

You should feed an amp the 13.8V that it would expect from an auto environment.

In case you do have voltage drop, you'll have more headroom with 13.8V than you will with 12V.

if you have a smaller amp then no sweat. If its current hungry then you might get issues.

Well im only running like 250 rms

Edited February 9, 2012 by tejarillo

[Wicks]

I actually used 1 a few years back and I it wasn't that great. It cut out all the time. That's why I made this thread to try and do it right this time.

No problem, glad to help.

The 30A supply is a switching power supply. They use a different method to produce the power. Less expensive parts. Usually no large transformer/capacitors inside.

Here's some info on the differences:

http://en.wikipedia....de_power_supply

I've played around with a cheap 40A switching supply on an amp and the power supply freaked out with the dynamic current pulses that the amp drew.

They're probably fine for constant and even power draw but when amps draw large current spikes, the cheaper power supplies may have a problem keeping up.

It may work fine but I'd hate for you to get it and it not work like you want.

If you go with a switching supply, I'd shoot for a higher current rating to make sure you don't have any issues.

Hmmm, looking around online, the prices sure jump up when you go over 30A. One of the reasons I haven't gotten a good bench supply either....

Is this one too much?

http://www.trcelectr...-600-13.5.shtml

This has a little more headroom and has PFC (power factor correction) which may help the capacitive load that the amp will draw.

I don't see PFC in the manual for the pyramid and for the price, I doubt it does.

These simple encased power supplies will have better internals rather than the extra money for the flashy case.

Although it may need some extra effort to wire it up...

Options options...

Thanks and thanks again! lol Really appreciate this info. That's actually a good price for the amps. The only thing I might have trouble with is working it. I was looking at the data sheet and it looks very confusing. It also says it has "Built-in remote ON-OFF control". Not sure how to turn it off and on, as it seems it's triggered by a sensor?

Yeah, they're not very user friendly.

Its very configurable depending on how you want to operate it.

In the datasheet, you see the terminals "RC" and RCG". Looks like you can just put a simple switch there to turn it on and off.

This unit does have exposed AC input terminals so you'd have to be very careful to not leave those accessible. Maybe mount the PSU in a case or something.

When you're all said and done, maybe one of the other commercial power supplys would be cheaper in the long run...

[30Hz.wav]

I actually used 1 a few years back and I it wasn't that great. It cut out all the time. That's why I made this thread to try and do it right this time.

No problem, glad to help.

The 30A supply is a switching power supply. They use a different method to produce the power. Less expensive parts. Usually no large transformer/capacitors inside.

Here's some info on the differences:

http://en.wikipedia....de_power_supply

I've played around with a cheap 40A switching supply on an amp and the power supply freaked out with the dynamic current pulses that the amp drew.

They're probably fine for constant and even power draw but when amps draw large current spikes, the cheaper power supplies may have a problem keeping up.

It may work fine but I'd hate for you to get it and it not work like you want.

If you go with a switching supply, I'd shoot for a higher current rating to make sure you don't have any issues.

Hmmm, looking around online, the prices sure jump up when you go over 30A. One of the reasons I haven't gotten a good bench supply either....

Is this one too much?

http://www.trcelectr...-600-13.5.shtml

This has a little more headroom and has PFC (power factor correction) which may help the capacitive load that the amp will draw.

I don't see PFC in the manual for the pyramid and for the price, I doubt it does.

These simple encased power supplies will have better internals rather than the extra money for the flashy case.

Although it may need some extra effort to wire it up...

Options options...

Thanks and thanks again! lol Really appreciate this info. That's actually a good price for the amps. The only thing I might have trouble with is working it. I was looking at the data sheet and it looks very confusing. It also says it has "Built-in remote ON-OFF control". Not sure how to turn it off and on, as it seems it's triggered by a sensor?

Yeah, they're not very user friendly.

Its very configurable depending on how you want to operate it.

In the datasheet, you see the terminals "RC" and RCG". Looks like you can just put a simple switch there to turn it on and off.

This unit does have exposed AC input terminals so you'd have to be very careful to not leave those accessible. Maybe mount the PSU in a case or something.

When you're all said and done, maybe one of the other commercial power supplys would be cheaper in the long run...

True, I was thinking this 45 AMP Kinetik model.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_34479_Kinetik-KIPS12-45.html

[Wicks]

Hmmmmmm, a battery charger as a power supply?

I haven't really tried that but it could work...

I'd be curious about the pulsing mode that it goes into while charging batteries. It's designed to provide a constant charge to batteries so I don't know how it would handle the dynamic output to the amp...?

If it works fine then hey, you have an intelligent battery charger as well! Bonus!

[30Hz.wav]

Wow, didn't even fully read it. Just seen the part "power supply" and thought it was good. lol Thanks for catchin that it was a charger. Guess I will keep looking.

This seems a bit better. Just wish they weren't too big.

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_22372_Pyramid_PS52KX.aspx

Edited February 10, 2012 by cccmaa

[Wicks]

Now you're talkin'!

It's rack mountable if you want to get elaborate later on.

Big means heavy which means good thermal capacity which means big current capacity! Worth it in the long run.