"Electronic Transformer" ... as 12V PSU?

[T i m]

Noted.

I think I may have seen a 'Spinup delay' on some Mobos (for std drives even) but I'm not sure if it is present on this one (and as it's offline I can't check either).

As I've not touched the server for ages I might pull it out in any case and put it on the bench and 1) check it over, 2) measure the current, 3) replace the fan in the PSU for one of these Arctic F12 'Silents' and 4) blow it out.

Technically, I should have retired it a while back when I built the WHS 2011 but whilst this old WHS V1 keeps going ... ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Cheers, T i m

[Chris Green]

Possibly, but not very likely as it's a 12 volt supply and the CPU etc. probably all run at 3.3 volts, that leaves *lots* of headroom for the 12 volts to dip a little without having any effect at all on the electronics.

True, it was only a possible idea.

I *still* think 12 volts 7 amps sounds a crazy amount of power for a fanless Atom board (even including some disk drives). It's something like three times as much power as my I5 desktop with four disk drives in takes.

[T i m]

I've not suggested anything otherwise, just that my friend had a 7A PSU spare and I thought bigger might be better (considering it was made in the Far East, was 'cheap', felt 'light' and I wanted it to run cool rather than hot)?

And I wonder what capacity PSU you have in there? 450-500W possibly? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Chris Green]

It has an 80 watt power supply. :-) For the good reason that a larger power supply would probably be horribly inefficient when running at 18 watts.

[T i m]

Ah, ok. ;-)

Quite ('80 Plus' etc).

As I have said elsewhere, I think I'd be happy with a 'good' 5A PSU, allowing for a little overhead and happy if it wasn't running close to maximum design load just to get maximum efficiency etc.

But I still intend to measure it as if it really only draws what we think it might, I could get away with something even smaller (cheaper and easier to get). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Bob Minchin]

Tim Try this type

There are lots of vendors on ebay and they possibly all come out of the same factory. I've used a number for various electronic applications. The regulation is good and the output voltage is trimmable by a few % either way and there is no minimum load.

Bob

[T i m]

Thanks for that Bob.

I actually have that type of PSU (12V 20A or so) in my 3D printer but it came as part of a kit (so I didn't spec it as such).

Quite possibly. A mate had some specialised garage kit that had a similar PSU in it that was knocked out during a lightening strike. I found him an exact replacement online that was about 45 quid including next day delivery ... the suppliers of the garage equipment wanted 200 for the same thing. ;-(

Good to know. Oh, I did help wire a couple more up used as CCTV power supplies. ;-)

OOI, what sort of overhead (if any) would you set on the capacity of such a solution?

Say I measure 3A peak on boot and 2A when running but idle, would a 5A model be overkill?

Cheers, T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Something designed for lighting may well not be suitable for other electronics. Things like how well regulated and smoothed the output is.

Have you looked on Ebay for a generic PS designed to do the job you want? Can't see it being that much more expensive than a lighting PS.

[dennis]

[T i m]

It wasn't really the cost but the 'I'd like it now' that was the issue at the time Dave (this being the 'silly season' and Companies and postage being all over the place etc). ;-)

So it was a 'what could I go out and buy today that would work properly ... and if I can't find anything easily at the right price, I'll get the right thing online when the seasonal dust settles'. ;-)

That said, I ordered the replacement handle for the TD on the 28th and it arrived on the 29th so it couldn't have been any faster! ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

I don't go straight to CPC (even though I get more catalogues though the post than I can read) so thanks for that. The only thing is I don't know what sort of quality the gear is they sell (if / how they vet stuff) ... if it's just the same stuff found on eBay etc?

Cheers, T i m

[dennis]

If they sell rubbish then they will still be there when the courts get to them, while an ebay seller may well just disappear.

They also tend to be cheaper than amazon for most stuff and the really cheap stuff is usually shipped from "china" on amazon and ebay.

[Andy Burns]

They do seem to overdo it with the catalogues; never a week without one, and often two ...

[Andy Burns]

Element for my oven ordered Friday am, delivered Saturday am, three other items ordered since boxing day all delivered, can't grumble.

[T i m]

Good point.

Noted. I might give em another go then, when I know more accurately what I want.

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

And if you mix them with Machine Mart, Coopers, Screwfix, Toolstation and my subscription mags (Kitcar / Motorcycle), there is generally plenty to browse whilst having a quiet sit down and paper to work on when cleaning stuff etc. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

I think it can depend on your local PO staff and may also be a weird side effect of the seasonal chaos where they are pushing stuff though as fast as possible? The TD handle was on second class and 'due' between the 1st and 4th of Jan, the sort of delivery time I would expect to be about right under normal circumstances.

Cheers, T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've noticed even second class post can be faster at this time of the year. Extra staff (or longer hours)?

[Bob Eager]

I did buy a couple of small USB PSUs for some Raspberry Pis a couple of years ago. They contacted me soon after to tell me they wer now subject to recall, and sent me replacements.