iflyrc1012

ok..... i need 12 volt power in house. . . what is the best,cheapest,most wonderful, home 12 volt power unit on the market?? i am a edf newbie and i need to power my chargers!! mostly 3 or 4 lipos.... 2200mah now but i'm looking at getting bigger and faster... so gimme some options!!!!! lol!! thanks for the help in advance!!

groundrushesup

How much bigger, and how much faster? If you are talking about 5-8S packs I dunno if the following will work for you and I am too lazy to do the math on the amp draw But....

If you are handy with a soldering iron, you can pick up a 300+ watt computer power supply and use the 12v rail to power your charger. Its relatively simple - all you need is the power supply, some female banana plugs a power switch and a 10-ohm sandbar resistor or an automotive lightbulb (the soft power system needs a load to function properly) - the former you can get at a flea market or pull from an old PC you might have; the latter three or four things being readily available from Radio Slack and Walmart.

Lots o' linkage out there on this topic but this one is pretty good. Chances are you'll be dealing with an ATX power supply.

Cheers,
GRU

jdetray

You need a so-called 12V power supply. In fact, the actual voltage of such a supply will be 13.8V, which is the nominal voltage of a fully-charged automobile battery.

One popular line of power supplies comes from the Astron company. Astron supplies are very rugged and are available with and without built-in meters. Here's a company that carries the Astron line:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...ps/astron.html

This is not the only place or necessarily the best place that sells Astrom supplies, but merely the first one I found that shows the prices. Get the biggest (highest current) power supply you can afford. Go for at least 15A. You'll never regret owning a good quality, high-current power supply.

You may find lower prices in other lines of power supplies. For example, the Pyramid line is fairly popular, though not of the bulletproof reliability of an Astron. Here's a site with Pyramid supplies and pricing.
http://radioproshop.com/pyramid-ps/powersupply.htm

Again, I have no experience with this particular seller. It's merely the first one I found carrying the Pyramid line.

There are lots of other brands, such as Samlex, and there are many other sellers. You'll find lots of power supplies on E-bay, for example.

This will at least help you understand the sort of thing you are looking for.

The PC power supply option is good, if as GRU says, you are handy with a soldering iron and have some knowledge of electronics. I've converted a couple of PC power supplies. Just remember that there are lethal voltages inside a power supply, so you must follow good safety procedures.

- Jeff

Henry Sistrunk

I have converted two and they are working just fine. I am not that good at soldering or electronics but I just followed the instructions.

iflyrc1012

thanks to all for the input. now i have some options to mull over!

CHELLIE

here is some info for you

http://www.marcee.org/Articles/PCPowerSupply.htm

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...Specifications

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8194990

Henry Sistrunk

http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.bat...OWERSUPPLY.HTM

This is the one I used. I did not need that fancy set of different outputs so I just soldered banana plugs to the 12 volt leads.

hebertjj

Check it out; $20 + $13 s&h. You'll need a power cord (steal one from an old PC) and other wires.

http://www.web-tronics.com/1512siouposu1.html

iflyrc1012

Well??? All you guys?? Is this enough voltage. . Watts?. . Amperage. . . We are looking for the perfect home 12v power source to charge lipos..3cell to 8cell ..all us regular guys need input. . .we need opinions from experts!!!! Chime in. . .. All you gurus AND WIZARDS of the electron wave!!

CHELLIE

Gee First it was 3 to4 cells, Now its 3 to 8 cells Gee, you cant make anyone Happy Now Days Just Kidding 10 to 12 Amps, should do you just Fine, with a Power source, Look at the Above Power sources, one is a 12 Amp, Thats all you will ever Need, Take care, Chellie

http://www.web-tronics.com/1512siouposu1.html

Wingman26

I've been using 12 volt power supplies for over 40 years in ham radio, if you want to do it right, you need to get a good quality regulated power supply, I can't recommend any power supply that isn't regulated, a non regulated power supply can damage the equipment you connect to it and the damage can easily exceed what a decent quality regulated power supply would have cost in the first place.

The next best alternative is to get a decent size car battery and connect a battery charger to it, this will take care of a lot of the problems, but will end up costing about as much as buying a good quality regulated power supply in the first place.

jdetray

Hi Wingman -

I believe all of the power supplies recommended in this thread are regulated. That is indeed an important point, and it's why most of the "wall-plug" type power supplies are not suitable for powering our chargers.

- Jeff (amateur radio NK1F, licensed 40 years)

hebertjj

Read the specs before you start scaring people:

http://www.web-tronics.com/1512siouposu1.html

<<<<< Line Regulation (Full Load): <± 0.5% >>>>>

This ain't 40 years ago; we're now in the PC age of cheap switching power supplies. There are millions of PCs out there that aren't blowing up from bad power supplies. If you don't want to convert a scrounged PC supply, this is a good PS at a good price.

Wingman26

You need to read a post before you criticize it, I made a point that it was important to get a regulated power supply, at no time did I say that particular power supply wasn't regulated.

iflyrc1012

o.k fellas lets not bicker. . . but by all means lets keep the great information flowing!!

iflyrc1012

thanks to all for the great info. . . it just happens that i work in and around n.y.c. (the world capital for discarded p.c.'s) and i found one just today. i'm gonna give the cheap fix a chance first.i have the power supply out and will stop by radio shack for the other stuff i need.By the way. . . there are little cd rom motors, worm gears and a laser inside there too that i may need to tinker with also!!!

Rabbitcreekok

The CD Rom motors can be used as a core to rewind and create a decent outrunner motor, but they are not useful as is. There is a whole cult following of folks who love to tinker with those motors but you really need some training unless you are familiar with rewinding motors. but the information is available.

I have found it is quicker and cheaper to buy new motors.

iflyrc1012

it may be quicker and cheaper to buy new motors, rabbit ole' buddy. . . but how does that scratch my urge to tinker with stuff i know nothing about??? huh huh huh???

Rabbitcreekok

I have links somewhere to the motor rewinding task and as soon as I can locate them, I will post them for you.

It is not really difficult. I attended a little seminar where we removed the motor, unwound the old tiny wire and rewound the larger wire. Actually you have to buy new wire, magnets, motor shaft and various other bits. You actually only use the outer housing and the stator and a few other items.

I will find it for you.

Rabbitcreekok

Here are some links you may find interesting.

Fly Electric CD ROM motors

Micro Dan is a good source for supplies.

Another site for info on how to rewind motors.

I hope this gets you on the way to winding motors. One thing I learned is that not all CD ROM motors are created equally and some just can't be used as cores for rewinding.

iflyrc1012

very kool info rabbit. . . i've flown .40 and bigger glow greasers for 15 years. but i gotta say that i'm glad i found electric. i love my stryker-c and fanfoam fighter jets!!