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View Full Version : How to convert a laptop/PC power supply to power RC charger?


great_life2
05-17-2007, 01:44 AM
Here is hours of research and time spend on power supply conversion. I tried for days to convert a laptop adapter and an old PC power supply to power my charger at home. First laptop adapter is not a switching power supply and leaks AC voltage into DC. I tested this on a meter and it showed an unstable 2 to 5 volt AC voltage mixed with DC. This damages the charger which automatically shutsdown and displays error code. You can not bypass this error message by instantly pressing any button. So story continues and I started converting a PC power supply. The first problem was that a PC tower case power supply requires a signal from the motherboard before it can operate, so you have to turn on the whole PC to make the power supply run. I tried a power supply which did not require the tower case auxillary on/off button. THen the problem was peaking when it first powered up. I had to plug in the charger after turning the power supply on and even that sometimes shut down the power supply. Most switching power supply goes into auto recovery which revented me from burning one up. To make the long story short no power supply conversion is worth it. Go to Ebay and you can buy one for $39 including shipping and it is the same one that Astro Flight 109 uses. It is specifically designed to power a RC charger. I wasted hours and more than $20 dollars but you don't have to, now that you know.

Racer38
05-18-2007, 05:13 AM
Gee thats funny, I used a HP laptop power supply to run my Astro 109 charger until my Radio Shack 25 amp power supply arrived. I had no problems at all other than the input voltage was a little high, I think it was right around 18v but the 109 didnt complain one bit. You just couldnt turn the amp's up very high, 1C is all it would handle.

Craig

llamatrails
05-18-2007, 11:34 PM
I followed these instructions, using a 450W PS from a large EISA floor tower :
http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.batts/ps/powersupply.htm

I use a Triton, Astro 109, and a MicroLader Pro, and have had no problems.

Air_Alpheus
05-18-2007, 11:48 PM
I have been using my PC power supply for almost 2 years now. Sorry its not hard to do I can do it with new ones and older ones which is easier...