Durable Laptop Batteries
DIY: Using a PC power supply with your lipo charger
Most RC battery chargers require a source of 12 volts to power them and in this DIY video, I show you how to convert an old PC power-supply to a source of 12V that will do the job perfectly. If you have any questions, just ask them in the comments section below or in the forums at: www.rcmodelreviews.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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nice quick vid bruce.. im late to the party, but? a simple way to ground the signal wire is to stuff it into the wire next door to its original spot in the atx plug (ie: 5th from the left).
cheers!
Hi Bruce – thanks for your advice , pulled out an old computer sitting under the bed , ripped out the power supply & now were flying tomorrow (weather permitting) – the grey wire was? 1st in from the left on the Dell PS – 5141 3A 145W power supply – none the less were flat out charging batteries tonight – TOTALLY Stoked Thanks Heaps
fair point, might just have to? dig out that old pc
I wouldn’t run any expensive electronics from a junk power supply when you can get an excellent PSU for $30.
Also, a switch would be better than shorting because some PSUs take a few milliseconds before giving? clean power, although smarter ones don’t turn on until they can.
Crude ones don’t work with various cross loads.
I have modified quite a few in the past and most need a load on the 5v line to turn on and maintain 12v. Best I have found is to use a large 50w 4.7R metal cased resistor, but they do work well.
I am also using two 400w PSU wired in parallel (another mod? needed for that) to double the current to drive the stepper motors on my Home made CNC machine
Thanks for the guide, very clear and logical. Do I have to join the black from the same lines as I am charging from. Our can I just join the grey/green to the black on the same atx group of wires? I just don’t want to cross over the black so its neater. Also, I am planning? on running a quad charger that says it needs 200w @20-30 amp. My psu is 400w i think it says 12v @ 20amps %) also is it safe to touch the crocodile clips when the system is on?
It’s not such a good idea to use a battery charger — most of them don’t output smooth DC but a rectified AC that has a huge level of hum on it and? that can confuse the charger or even cause damage.
good tip or just use a car battery charger, most do 6 and 12 volts
?
actualy those ATX? power suplyes need some load to work correctly, add an 10-100ohm resistor betven 5V line and GND and voltage will be 12V
Hello everyone, i just did this with one of my power supplies and it powers up ok and then when i go to plug on my Triton 2 to the yellow and black leads it basically kills the power supply, shuts it off, and then i hear like a buzzing sound coming from the mother board within the power supply, am i doing something wrong? PLEASE HELP!!!!?
Maybe you can help. I pulled the power supply out of my old HP tower. It works fine IN the tower so I know it’s a good unit. I’ve read everything and watched everything I can and still can’t get it to power up OUT of the tower. Dummy load on? the 5v rail, 12 v rail, black to green per industry standards. NOTHING. What am I doing wrong? This has a single row mother board plug, not the double row like your video. About ten across or there abouts.
Thanx
Thanks a lot! But all this procedure just to power a charger from the wall outlet? How come cheap RTF aircrafts come with cheap chargers and adaptors? Can those adapters be used on this Turnigy? charger?
old? English version of Kip kay
The single most usefull Youtube clip I? ever watched. Thanks Bruce.
Thank you very much for the DIY help, I have quite a few of these power supplies laying around. They will all be put to? work once again.
hi mate,,great video,,i have one cuestion?i buy one power supply from one pc and? i have 500w 30a,my charger its 200w 10a,,you tinks its ok for my charger???????tanks
Thanks Bruce this is a great guide!
Would it be possbile to run more than one charger off one of these power supplies if? they are a larger 500+ watt unit?
Thanks.
Cut them off and use heat-shrink tube to make sure it’s safe. Be aware to put heat-shrink tube on every wire and not all of them at the same time as this will probably short-circuit your Power Supply.?
what could i do to get rid of the extra wires on the back to? make it look neater?
becausae you power? supply can only give it 1 amp
hey, ive used an old wall plug power supply and put the correct end on it for the ac plug in the? side of my charger, it has an output of +12v 1000mA it powers it fine and charges only at 1 amp, anything over that the charger says input voltage error. can you tell me why?
Come to think of it, if the PSU is in one of those old steel cases, the whole case could be used for battery charging. Not only will it have a fan to help regulate temperature, but it could be a great container incase? of battery catastrophic failure. Any fire or explosion would be contained.
Most of them will have the 5v sense on a green wire. When the fan in back is off, it “should” be the only wire with power on it, but there may be another 5v in the motherboard connector that is live for PCI and USB power? while the machine is off.
While each wire may be capable of carrying 7-22 amps (wire gauge), most PC power supplies will only recommend a load of 75 watts at 12v each.
Done this for years to bench test car audio equipment. No issues yet.
Great job.
i’v? done that ……thank you
windows 3.1*
great vid thanks?