How many amps you think if coming out of the 12v rail? I’ve got a bunch of old power supplies, this would be handy since I’ve already managed to fry a led by “testing” different batteries.
Nice build! I have an ATX supply I hacked into a bench supply, although I put the banana jacks ad master switch right into the metal case of the PSU.
One thing to note: these power supplies are not current-limited the way a proper lab supply often is. You can easily short many amps through something if you are not careful. Easy to let the magic smoke out.
Thanks for the information! I have numerous atx supplies in the garage that I couldn’t part with! Now look what i can make. The woman will be so happy that i have another BLF inspired project. Lol
Thanks, guys! Yeah, even my step-son came home last night with his girlfriend and saw it on the kitchen table. He came into the living room where I was and asked, "did you make a power supply inside a cigar box?". I replied, "yeah, man" to which he said, "that's awesome!" :bigsmile:
If you happen to have them lying around. I think I have about 50 of them so anyone within 3 hours drive of me can have one for free. It’ll help clearing the crap from my house.
Power supplies need a certain minimum load to work properly. The min. load for mine is around 0.8 amps. Thus if you plan on powering LED’s or other such low-power device exclusively, you’ll need a resistor to provide a load. Otherwise you will damage the PSU.
A meaty 10-Ohm, 10 watt resistor from Radio Shack is a good choice. Wire it across 12 volt and ground.
interesting! I wonder if one of these could be used to do home anodising? Most guides I read specify a certain amount of current per surface area, whereas these are voltage controlled instead. It certainly would make it a whole lot cheaper if it would work.
That greatly depends on the size of item being anodized. I have read through post that did use a computer power supply for anodizing with small pieces. I use my automotive battery charger to anodize with. It works well with a small host like a cut down mini mag with very good results. I tried a full sized 2D Maglite one time and didn’t turn out so well. The current wasn’t high enough for the amount of surface area in the mag.
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