Playing a car audio system at home.

[Rakins]

I have a car audio system and a set of speakers I bought 10 years and never used. I want to wire this up for home use. The biggest problem seems to be converting my 230V power supply at home into a 12V DC current. One suggestion is to use the PSU that powers a desktop. Is this a workable idea? What other stuff do I need to do to use the system inside the home? Thanks.

 

[ADRT]

That's actually not a bad idea. Just make sure you fuse the radio at the rated current for the stereo. Outside of that you shouldn't need anything else. Make sure the 12VDC output you use off the PSU is also rated to handle the current consumption of the radio.

 

[Martaine2005]

Hi Rakins, apart from following ADRT's advice,
As a kid I made a headboard with swinging bed side tables for my bed.
I had my CB radio and car Radio/cassette player all wired up.
The Pioneer speakers were in the sides of the swinging side tables.
I used the CB power pack/power supply and it worked great!!
I miss those days.

Martin

 

[Arouse1973]

Hi Rakins, apart from following ADRT's advice,
As a kid I made a headboard with swinging bed side tables for my bed.
I had my CB radio and car Radio/cassette player all wired up.
The Pioneer speakers were in the sides of the swinging side tables.
I used the CB power pack/power supply and it worked great!!
I miss those days.

Martin

I had a science kit

 

[Martaine2005]

I had a science kit

That's why I am thick and you are my physics teacher!!!!

 

[BobK]

I had a TV that I rescued from street side on large trash day hung on a chains over my bed. I repaired it by bringing the tubes to Radio Shack for testing.

Bob

 

[Martaine2005]

I had a TV that I rescued from street side on large trash day hung on a chains over my bed. I repaired it by bringing the tubes to Radio Shack for testing.

Bob

Now tell the truth!!
What was hung by chains exactly?

Martin

 

[Gryd3]

I have a car audio system and a set of speakers I bought 10 years and never used. I want to wire this up for home use. The biggest problem seems to be converting my 230V power supply at home into a 12V DC current. One suggestion is to use the PSU that powers a desktop. Is this a workable idea? What other stuff do I need to do to use the system inside the home? Thanks.

ADRT's reply in post #2 is ideal.

Some considerations:
When you find a power supply, don't just look for the highest 'Wattage' Computer power supply... Specifically look at the sticker on the unit and look at the 12V output to find how much current it will provide.
A fuse is a good idea, but in my opinion not required, as the desktop Power supply will have built-in protection and will actually shut itself down if you try pulling too much current.
One last thing to note... is that some, but not all, computer desktop PSU will only operate to their potential if you put a load on the 5V output as well. If this is the case, you will need a high-power resistor.... usually uncased in a little metal heatsink. Look for a 10 Ω resistor. This will end up being 2.5W ... so oversize it so the resistor does not burn out... (Getting a 10W resistor will be more than enough of an oversize)

In order to actually 'use' it... you will find that you need to tie the control wire to ground... but there are details everywhere for it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/ATX-->-Lab-Bench-Power-Supply-Conversion/step2/Planning/

 

[Tha fios agaibh]

If you plan on using the radio portion, you'll want to observe the antenna impedance for best reception.

 

[Tha fios agaibh]

I built my own 12v ps in high school to power my 8 track tape player.
At the time, I really didn't mind the 60 cycle hum along with the music.

 

[ADRT]

ADRT's reply in post #2 is ideal.

Some considerations:
When you find a power supply, don't just look for the highest 'Wattage' Computer power supply... Specifically look at the sticker on the unit and look at the 12V output to find how much current it will provide.
A fuse is a good idea, but in my opinion not required, as the desktop Power supply will have built-in protection and will actually shut itself down if you try pulling too much current.
One last thing to note... is that some, but not all, computer desktop PSU will only operate to their potential if you put a load on the 5V output as well. If this is the case, you will need a high-power resistor.... usually uncased in a little metal heatsink. Look for a 10 Ω resistor. This will end up being 2.5W ... so oversize it so the resistor does not burn out... (Getting a 10W resistor will be more than enough of an oversize)

In order to actually 'use' it... you will find that you need to tie the control wire to ground... but there are details everywhere for it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/ATX-->-Lab-Bench-Power-Supply-Conversion/step2/Planning/

I was not aware of that with the 5 volt output. Good to know Gryd.

Jason

 

[Gryd3]

I was not aware of that with the 5 volt output. Good to know Gryd.

Jason

To date, I've only had one of the power supplies require it. I've run Stereo and 4-channel Car audio amps off of these things and they pack a punch
If it dies on you, just reset the computer PSU and your good to go again.. (just turn down the volume so it wont happen again)
Can easily drive a sub hard enough to shake a room