MacGuyver at it again... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

SteveMcFloyd · 01-03-2005, 07:55 PM

Ok so my appartment is a shrine of things that are being used improperly, but are serving a purpose..

this paticular one has me stumped

i have an old car amplifier, one used for like subs or whatever (sony xPlod i think it's 200 watts but i dunno offhand..), but, i have no car, so why not use it for speakers in my house? i have 2 real options, my computer, or a television. I know that it needs to be powered with DC power. I've never hooked it up before though so i dunno where all the in/outputs are...that shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Since it needs to be powered with DC power, does a PSU from a computer put out DC power? and if so, could i have the power go from the wall, to the PSU, out (something) and into the amp?

any useful info please

Lotronex · 01-03-2005, 08:38 PM

Hopefully your doing this with a spare PSU, because a 200 watt drain might exceed your systems limit.
Your computer's PSU will put out 12, 5 and a couple other voltages of DC power. I'm pretty sure that a cars electrical system runs 12V, so thats what you want to use. Any yellow wire coming out of your PSU puts out 12V, red wires are 5V, and I forget what the orange/brown ones are. Just take what you need, and ground it with any black wire.
If you are using a spare PSU, take the big ATX connector, locate the green wire, and connect it to any black ground to use a a power switch (green is the power-on). You can insert a switch in there, or just use the one on the back of the PSU to turn the amp on/off.
Hope that helps a little.

SteveMcFloyd · 01-04-2005, 12:09 AM

well i'm definatly having the amp's power be completely independent from the actual computer's PSU.
so here's what i've got so far..

the amp runs on 12v DC current; the PSU takes AC current, converts to DC, and has 12v outputs, so far so good

could you explain in further detail of how to ground it?

SteveMcFloyd · 01-04-2005, 12:14 AM

would it actually be more worthwile to just use a computer's PSU to power the speakers themselves? or is this the best idea?

monkeysugar · 01-07-2005, 04:37 PM

Steve, I've done this before, but I used a power inverter from Radio Shack. If you're using a PSU, I can't imagine it'd be much different. I wouldn't recommend using home stereo speakers with a car amp unless you know what you're doing. If you've got a car sub, this is a pretty good way to make a cheap powered subwoofer.

If you wanted to do this so it looks nice and nifty, get yourself a female molex connector to fit the male connector coming off the psu. (radio shack, computer stores, etc. should have one. )

Take the two power lines (one is supposed to be connected to a constant "hot" wire and the other is basically set up on the accessory circuit in the car. Don't worry about this since you're probably just going to use the switch on the back of the psu anyway. If not, wire a switch into the "accessory" wire.) and connect them in with a 12 volt wire from the power supply. Take the "ground" wire from the amp and connect it to the black wire that should be connected to the same molex connector from the power supply. Any one will work, but it'll look a lot cleaner this way.

Now, you have the amp powered. Turn it on to make sure it actually turns on. Then unplug it, attatch your input and speakers and you should be in business.

monkeysugar · 01-07-2005, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMcFloyd

would it actually be more worthwile to just use a computer's PSU to power the speakers themselves? or is this the best idea?

No. That would just send power to the speaker. It wouldn't amplify the signal you are sending the speaker, and I'm guessing it would fry some stuff as well.

tommylee02 · 01-18-2005, 08:41 PM

I think you might want to look into the amperage. That's the reason you can grab both car battery connections and nothing happens, then AFTER the coil, it'll shock you like nobody's business. If your computer DC 12V output thing has really high wattage, it might fry the amp. Also be careful what speakers to run, as in home and car audio speakers use different ohms (?ithink?). Call up an electrician or stereo installation shop, maybe they could help more!

taylorspl · 01-19-2005, 01:17 PM

I got a big metal box lookin thing from Radio Shack that converts A/C to D/C, I used it for a while to power a couple high current car amps. Power inverter...converter...I always get confused. Either way the one I have is 10 amps and it powered some very large amps just fine. I'll try to look at it when I get home and post the stock number or whatever.

Edit: got bored, this might be what I have at home but I can't tell because there is no picture.

jstory · 01-31-2005, 10:10 PM

A PSU will work ok, they are good about giving the proper voltage needed automaticlly.

01-03-2005, 07:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
SteveMcFloyd Upright	MacGuyver at it again... Ok so my appartment is a shrine of things that are being used improperly, but are serving a purpose.. this paticular one has me stumped i have an old car amplifier, one used for like subs or whatever (sony xPlod i think it's 200 watts but i dunno offhand..), but, i have no car, so why not use it for speakers in my house? i have 2 real options, my computer, or a television. I know that it needs to be powered with DC power. I've never hooked it up before though so i dunno where all the in/outputs are...that shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Since it needs to be powered with DC power, does a PSU from a computer put out DC power? and if so, could i have the power go from the wall, to the PSU, out (something) and into the amp? any useful info please

01-07-2005, 04:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
monkeysugar I'll be on the veranda, since you're on the cross. Location: Rand McNally's friendliest small town in America. They must have strayed from the dodgy parts...	Steve, I've done this before, but I used a power inverter from Radio Shack. If you're using a PSU, I can't imagine it'd be much different. I wouldn't recommend using home stereo speakers with a car amp unless you know what you're doing. If you've got a car sub, this is a pretty good way to make a cheap powered subwoofer. If you wanted to do this so it looks nice and nifty, get yourself a female molex connector to fit the male connector coming off the psu. (radio shack, computer stores, etc. should have one. ) Take the two power lines (one is supposed to be connected to a constant "hot" wire and the other is basically set up on the accessory circuit in the car. Don't worry about this since you're probably just going to use the switch on the back of the psu anyway. If not, wire a switch into the "accessory" wire.) and connect them in with a 12 volt wire from the power supply. Take the "ground" wire from the amp and connect it to the black wire that should be connected to the same molex connector from the power supply. Any one will work, but it'll look a lot cleaner this way. Now, you have the amp powered. Turn it on to make sure it actually turns on. Then unplug it, attatch your input and speakers and you should be in business. __________________ I've got the love of my life and a job that I enjoy most of the time. Life is good.

01-19-2005, 01:17 PM	#8 (permalink)
taylorspl Insane Location: Tucson, AZ	I got a big metal box lookin thing from Radio Shack that converts A/C to D/C, I used it for a while to power a couple high current car amps. Power inverter...converter...I always get confused. Either way the one I have is 10 amps and it powered some very large amps just fine. I'll try to look at it when I get home and post the stock number or whatever. Edit: got bored, this might be what I have at home but I can't tell because there is no picture. Last edited by taylorspl; 01-19-2005 at 01:20 PM..

01-03-2005, 08:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Lotronex Tilted	Hopefully your doing this with a spare PSU, because a 200 watt drain might exceed your systems limit. Your computer's PSU will put out 12, 5 and a couple other voltages of DC power. I'm pretty sure that a cars electrical system runs 12V, so thats what you want to use. Any yellow wire coming out of your PSU puts out 12V, red wires are 5V, and I forget what the orange/brown ones are. Just take what you need, and ground it with any black wire. If you are using a spare PSU, take the big ATX connector, locate the green wire, and connect it to any black ground to use a a power switch (green is the power-on). You can insert a switch in there, or just use the one on the back of the PSU to turn the amp on/off. Hope that helps a little.

01-04-2005, 12:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
SteveMcFloyd Upright	well i'm definatly having the amp's power be completely independent from the actual computer's PSU. so here's what i've got so far.. the amp runs on 12v DC current; the PSU takes AC current, converts to DC, and has 12v outputs, so far so good could you explain in further detail of how to ground it?

01-04-2005, 12:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
SteveMcFloyd Upright	would it actually be more worthwile to just use a computer's PSU to power the speakers themselves? or is this the best idea?

01-18-2005, 08:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
tommylee02 Tilted	I think you might want to look into the amperage. That's the reason you can grab both car battery connections and nothing happens, then AFTER the coil, it'll shock you like nobody's business. If your computer DC 12V output thing has really high wattage, it might fry the amp. Also be careful what speakers to run, as in home and car audio speakers use different ohms (?ithink?). Call up an electrician or stereo installation shop, maybe they could help more!

01-31-2005, 10:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
jstory Crazy	A PSU will work ok, they are good about giving the proper voltage needed automaticlly.