If you keep an eye open, people throw computers away to the curb.
More often than not the power supplies work (even the computers themselves but for the spyware they picked up and folks didn't know how to deal with.)
Anyway, just open the case (usually screws in the back to remove, then the cover slides off. Look around for retainer screws and remove them. Now you're holding the computer power supply in your hand, about 3.5 x 5 x 7" on a side, with lots of wires hanging off. (You'll need a power cord too, which are pretty standard and removable.)
I'm looking at one from Real Power Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), 200 Watts DC output, with four different ouputs: +5V @ 20A, -5V @.5A, +12V @ 8A, -12V @ .5A
The hard-drive plugs have wires that are yellow, red and two black wires, which I take to be commons. Testing different lead combinations, I found 22.1V & 10.7V, which I take to be multiples of the voltages listed, altho not exact; didn't have an ammeter handy to test the output amps.
The mother-board plugs have blue and orange wires as well as the above. I couldn't get a tester into the tiny pin-holes, although cutting the connectors off would give bare wire ends.
If you want to vary the V/I, you'll need a pot or variable R that can take the full current.
Just tear into it. Nothing to lose if working with junk.Statistics: Posted by thrival — Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:31 pm
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