# cheap Hi current 12v power source.?



## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

So I have a spare 12" rockford fosgate sub in a sealed box along with a spare jbl600 watt amp. I would like to add it to my home theater system if it won't cost me too much. 

Are there any cheap 12volt power supplies that i can use to power the sub/amp combo? I will never really play it at full volume, so I'm guessing 40amps should be sufficient. Any suggestions? (110volt AC outlet btw)


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

An ac to dc high amp power supply isnt cheap. I would just get a home sub plate amp from here:

SUBWOOFER AMPLIFIERS from Parts Express ship same day and come with 45 day money back guarantee. Free Shipping Available. Order free 10,000 product catalog.

You will spend a lot less on one of these than a power supply for your current amp.


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## briansz (Feb 5, 2008)

I saw a 50-amp on Craig's for $50 yesterday. I bought two 45-amp switching supplies from a PC mainframe for $30 each awhile back. Got my Pyramid 35-amp supply for $40 I think.

If you can wait awhile, Craig's List is your friend. Just keep your eyes peeled.


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

Ignore my last post sorry. Here is a link for hobby power supplies:

TowerHobbies.com | Search Results

There is a 30 amp one for $200 or a 25 amp one for $89:

TowerHobbies.com | Team Checkpoint 12Volt 25Amp Racing DC Power Supply


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

i like the $89 price a lot better than 200. like i said its just spare stuff i have lying around that i'd like to make use of, i'm not looking to spend a ton of $$ doing so. 

but idk if 25 amps is enough. i'll keep an eye out on craigslist for a 30amp plus. 

i was just wondering if there were any specific brands that you guys recommend as far as quality?


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

briansz said:


> I saw a 50-amp on Craig's for $50 yesterday. I bought two 45-amp switching supplies from a PC mainframe for $30 each awhile back. Got my Pyramid 35-amp supply for $40 I think.
> 
> If you can wait awhile, Craig's List is your friend. Just keep your eyes peeled.


i have an old pc power supply powering an exhaust fan (old twin radiator fan) in my basement, but i dont remember seeing an amperage rating on it.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Most of the PC power supplies I have seen have been pretty weak current output, although that is what's powering my test bench right now too  I have heard bad things about stringing PC power supplies together in parallel (due to differing output, ground differences, etc), but I have enough un-used computer power supplies that I may just throw some diodes inline and try it out.


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

How are you guys utilizing the pc power supplies? How are you turning them on?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Search ebay for Iota power Supply.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Austin said:


> How are you guys utilizing the pc power supplies? How are you turning them on?


Some of the power supplies have a switch on the PS itself. One of mine didn't but I found that grounding the green wire (I think it was the green wire, I will have to double-check) turned on the power supply. I don't remember how I figured that out. 

Once I had that figured out, I just grabbed a DMM and measured until I found all the 12VDC rails, and tried to use the most direct one. One of my projects for this weekend is actually pulling some of those apart and building a better test bench, so I will have to get back to you with details.


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## MarkZ (Dec 5, 2005)

Expensive. And going from 110ac down to 12vdc back up to ~40vac is not efficient. I like the plate amp idea. That's what I did with my spare sub and box. Wait for PE to put them on sale though. When I checked the other day, they had a lower powered one for $89.


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## briansz (Feb 5, 2008)

Here's the link for the Craig's one:

12 volt power supply-50Amps


My power supplies are not ATX. They are purpose-built for a mainframe. I tired to get them for less than $30 each but the guy did electronics repair and knew what he had.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

I'm sorry, let me clarify. My test-bench setup is rigged together that way because at one time I actually had so many ATX power supplies that I was actually throwing them away. They came from many gutted old computers and were useless to me. I would not recommend actually pursuing my method as a "solution" to run a 12VDC amp in the home (110VAC) environment.


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

that one looks good but i'm not looking to buy from someone i dont know off craigslist....too many scams on there. if he was local to NYC i would go grab it tomorrow!


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