150 replies to this topic

[nag1_uk]

300w = £20
http://www.maplin.co...urce=1&doy=22m7

600W £5 ish!
http://cgi.ebay.co.u...4563885312&rd=1

just ebay search!

Remember it's not rocket science, ony cars! :cheese:

Mike

[mini_sam]

wow, they are rather large arent they!! i would prefer the psu now to be honest!! i am going to maplins in out town in a bit, so i will see what they have to offer! :grin: thanks, i will get some pics up of the PC Project soon!

[mini_sam]

does anyone have a picture of one of these home made in car PC's in thir cars allready, i would love to see where they go and how they look!

[philster]

Those nikkai invertors from maplin will overheat if used when the engine is running, they are C**p, it even says in the manual that they shouldn't be used with the engine on. I've tried it and they just get really hot and then the protection mode comes on.

My keypad arrived this morning all the way from hongkong, tried it and it works fine, have programmed the buttons using mediaengine and made some stickers to go over the keys so i know what does what.

Also got an e:mail form itxwarehouse, they said that the psu's are designed for the itx boards and should not be used on an atx board, the reason they said was that the psu deosn't give enough output for the atx boards, but they sell a 200watt one so that should be able to cope fine with an older board (mine was fitted with a 150w). I'm gonna get it ordered in next few weeks and then it can all be installed.

[mini_sam]

well...i have just been to Maplins in town and looked at those invertors, they are on a deal now, the 300w ones are 20£ instead of 40£!! but, after hearing they overheat very easily, i am a bit unsure whether to use one.

when using the proper psu for in car use, do you still nee the massive one inside the pc with the fan on it, as the car ones seem to just have a circuit board?

thanks! :smartass:

[philster]

The car ones deliver a lot less heat than a normal 240 volt psu, they need to produce a 12volt and 5 volt Dc output so for a car to do this is simple whereas a mains one first needs to convert 240volt to 12v and 5v and also convert from ac to dc so they generate a lot of heat.

So the answer is you don't need to run both just ditch the mains one and buy a 12volt one.

[philster]

well...i have just been to Maplins in town and looked at those invertors, they are on a deal now, the 300w ones are 20£ instead of 40£!! but, after hearing they overheat very easily, i am a bit unsure whether to use one.

I've got the 150watt nikkai one from maplin for powering the ps2 and it is fine unless the engine is running, like i said it actually states on the manual that it shouldn't be used with the engine running.

[mini_sam]

so i am best off spending the 40£ on a propper in car one, than the 20 for an invertor?

[mini_sam]

I've got the 150watt nikkai one from maplin for powering the ps2 and it is fine unless the engine is running, like i said it actually states on the manual that it shouldn't be used with the engine running.

so does this mean that i would not be able to use the pc for music while the car is moving?

thanks!

[nag1_uk]

Just spend the £40 and get the propper one and peace of mind. Do you rearly want to risk tho pc because the power inverter failed at full load. For the sake of £20 spent now I know what I would do/did!

(this is my own opinion of course!)

Mike

[mini_sam]

so, i have my motherboard/processor/ram/hdd and i need a psu, do these little chips fit inside the pc without a fan, and do they have the little connections for adding other things?? :smartass:

[philster]

Well people i've got a little something to help spur you on, i have had everything rigged up today running through the invertor (for the time being) and it works.

Really impressed with the results and the sound aint too bad either.

[minimanshane]

Weldone this looks great what cost would you say it took for your whole kit?

[minimanshane]

OMG is your system running through mac just noticed the imovie icon and hard drive icon are these just the icons your using or are you useing mac?

[mini_sam]

that looks rather snazzy indeed, are you going to be running a propper in car psu, or sticking to the invertor?

well done!!