External 5V power supply needed... not computer PS

[releasedtruth]

Alright, I have an old HP pc running the cab, but it only has a 235w PS and my leds dim dramatically when connected. We're talking low power leds, maybe 50 of them. I've been running an extra spare 400w PS to power them, but would like something more trim and functional and no, the PS won't fit in the HP case.  So other than a new case, what 5v power supplies are out there? Thanks

[jimmy2x2x]

These are great value, offering a 12v and 5v supply from a pc standard molex.

Check delivery times!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120575928009&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3082wt_1137

[releasedtruth]

Looks cool. Will that give me enough juice though?

[jimmy2x2x]

Im really not sure 

Its a handy little psu even if it doesn't fit the bill

[mlalena]

Typical LEDs are only 20-30mA (milliAmps). So 50 LEDs are only 1 - 1.5 Amps total or 5-7.5 Watts. (Watts = Volts X Amps)
Even though the LEDs are closer to 2V, I am counting them as 5V because you are probably using resistors to drop the voltage and those resistors suck up power and convert it to heat.

So I am wondering if the LEDs you have are simply dim and there is no power problem. The only way to find out is to hook up a couple of them to prove that they aren't that bright. You may also have chosen a channel on the power supply that doesn't supply a lot of 5V power.

If you really need an external power supply, I would simply get a brick (think something like a cell phone charger) that was rated for 5V and more than 1.5A. Also, check the specs on your LEDs to see if they are really 20-30mA before purchasing anything.

[releasedtruth]

I just took a look and unfortunately there are 4 different lighting systems going on. There are strip lights that wrap in a circle with built in resistors, Happ wedge leds with resistors, 5000 mcd leds with 510ohm resistors and a pair of rigid strip lights that have resistors in line. Currently they're running off a few of the 5V connections on the spare PS and they are plenty bright. On the 2 spare 5V in the PC, not so much. Actually seems to hurt the system as well.

[Dr Zero]

Maybe a 5 volt wall wart ?

Or somethign like this http://www.svc.com/pa-ad-ul.html depedning on how many amps you need they have larger and smaller.

Also try hitting the flea market there is usually a pile of these where people have lost the item and have these laying around cheap.

[Necroticart]

Does your tower have drive cages if so remove the lowest one and mount the PS on the bottom of the case with the fan facing upward also this method is also useful if you want to install more than 2 high end video cards Tri SLI/ Quad SLI which is what I ended up doing. it's not really an external solution but it will hide the PS

[BobA]

Use a real arcade PS like one of these.  Provide alot more power than a wall wart.

Link to PS

[releasedtruth]

BobA, that's a very attractive option and I didn't know such were available. Definitely handy. Thanks

[mgb]

Use a real arcade PS like one of these.  Provide alot more power than a wall wart.

Link to PS

I was waiting for someone to give that answer.
why not use real arcade parts. 5volts @ 15amps.
You may also benefit by running multiple wire paths for your leds, rather than one continuos circuit.

heres a good deal on an arcade power supply. I have ordered many times from this place and have always been pleased.
http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=4

[releasedtruth]

Makes sense to use an arcade power supply. I have all 4 led systems on separate circuits rather than in one. Once I clean things up it'll be much nicer inside the cab. Cab is less than 12"w inside though so heat builds up quickly.

[releasedtruth]

I got a PS from Twisted Quarter. Not sure what the knob you can turn is used for or even what the -5V is for. Never used an arcade PS before. I'll primarily use the 12V it looks like for the leds that I have.

[knohbody]

I got a PS from Twisted Quarter. Not sure what the knob you can turn is used for or even what the -5V is for. Never used an arcade PS before. I'll primarily use the 12V it looks like for the leds that I have.

The knob on those power supplies is usually to adjust the 5 volt line. Over time, the 5v line will sometimes degrade and some boards are sensitive to how much power they're supposed to get.
The -5v line is there because some older games require -12v and -5v.

[releasedtruth]

I got a PS from Twisted Quarter. Not sure what the knob you can turn is used for or even what the -5V is for. Never used an arcade PS before. I'll primarily use the 12V it looks like for the leds that I have.

The knob on those power supplies is usually to adjust the 5 volt line. Over time, the 5v line will sometimes degrade and some boards are sensitive to how much power they're supposed to get.
The -5v line is there because some older games require -12v and -5v.

Very cool. Thanks for the heads up. Definitely a nice compact setup. Looking forward to getting it online.

[mrtuesday42]

awesome. i know what that thing in the bottom of my arcade is for. ive just had it hooked up for the monitor...wow. good luck with the twisted quarter thing. let us know how that works out for you. someone before me wired my power all crazy and i havent had a chance to sort it out, but nice to know that i can use it for leds n such.

[mgb]

Hey,
goodluck with that power supply.

awesome. i know what that thing in the bottom of my arcade is for. ive just had it hooked up for the monitor...wow. good luck with the twisted quarter thing. let us know how that works out for you. someone before me wired my power all crazy and i havent had a chance to sort it out, but nice to know that i can use it for leds n such.

The thing you describe in the bottom of your cabinet sounds like your isolation transformer for your monitor. depending on the game, there may be other taps off of it that would feed all the various voltages to a linear power supply.

[mrtuesday42]

one is definitely for the monitor its kind of squat. the other one looks just like the thing in the picture lol. since i have taken the board out i may see if what i can run from the black box.

[markronz]

I have a question regarding this power supply as well.  The one from Twisted Quarter that is.

For my system, I will have 20 of the 5v LED Lamps from Ultimarc 
http://www.ultimarc.com/ultralux.html

Then I will have one 12v LED Marquee Light bar from GGG 
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=307

Then lastly, I have one cold cathode light kit from here
http://www.koolertek.com/computer-parts/pc/Logisys-15-Sound-Activated-Cold-Cathode-Kit-Red-212p1167.htm

That's all I need powered.  I, like the OP, currently have this all running on an extra PC power supply.   I'd like to change this to an arcade power supply, like the one from twisted quarter.
http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=4


Now, like someone said before, typical LED's are in the 20-30 mA range.
Then my LED light bar is powered by 12v
And my cold cathode light kit says it is 12v, with an input current of 700mA

So I have three real questions.
1.)  Is the twisted quarter power supply powerful enough to run all my lights I've mentioned?   I think that it would be, based on the numbers I've been looking at, but I just want to confirm...

2.)  How does the power supply work exactly?  The picture is pretty small on their site, but from what I can tell, it looks like there are just different screws on the front, used for the different voltages.  So I assume it's just as simple as wiring up both the wires from the cold cathode and the LED light bar to the 12v, and then all my LED's to the 5v line?  Is that correct?

3.)  Lastly, about the ground wire.   My LED's are run through my LED-Wiz, but the LED marquee bar, and the cold cathode are not connected to the LED-Wiz at all.   So I'm looking at three separate ground wires. Could I just have one ground wire connected to the LED-Wiz, one going to the marquee light, and one to the cold cathode, and then just wire all three ground wires to the Ground connection on the power source?   I'm obviously not an electrical genius here, so I wasn't sure how that worked, and if ground was ground, and they could all be run together.


Thanks!

[releasedtruth]

I believe the PS provides 12V at 3amp and 5v at 15amp so there's plenty of led power where you need it. Looks like you have plenty of amperage to run the lights you need with this power supply.

It's just terminal posts for each voltage setting and 2 common posts so wire up to a single spade connector from terminal post or multiwrap. I'm a little sloppy so mine won't be the exemplar.

[markronz]

Ok, so it's powerful enough.  And if I'm following what you are saying correctly, I am simply connect the different 5v and 12v wires up to the spade connectors for the power sources.  Easy enough.    And I can do the same for the ground wires as well?

I do have a question about combining multiple wires into one.   Is the preferred method to use something like this terminal strip?
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103233
Or can you just simply twist the wires together to accomplish this?

I know what a spade connector is, I think terminal post is the same thing as the terminal strip, but what is a multiwrap referring to?

[releasedtruth]

Sometimes I'm lazy and just twist them together, multiwrap wires on the binding post. Can be messy, but if it's only a few, no big deal. If you have a ton coming in, easier to use a terminal strip and link them.

[mgb]

The best way is to just use spade connectors and just stack them on the terminals.

[releasedtruth]

You can definitely stack spades, but it depends on how long the wire runs are. It would be a waste of 20ft of wire in my cab to make the whole run to the PS every time

[DaOld Man]

I have a arcade power supply that came out of a cabinet I bought.
It has +5VDC at 11 amps, -5VDC at 1 amp, and +12 VDC at 2 amps.
My current project needs 5VDC at around 5 amps, so this PS should work for that. My problem is that my project also needs 24 VDC at around 0.5 amp.
I can get 17 volts by using the -5 and the +12, but I must have at least 18 volts (24 being more desired).
The PS has an adjustment on it and I can crank it up to get a little over 18 volts, but that runs my 5 volts up to above 6, which is not desirable.
Is there a similar power supply that supplies 24 VDC along with 5?
Also, there is a terminal marked FG on the power supply, what is this for? It was connected to GND, but PS seems to work fine disconnected.

[knohbody]

I have a arcade power supply that came out of a cabinet I bought.
It has +5VDC at 11 amps, -5VDC at 1 amp, and +12 VDC at 2 amps.
My current project needs 5VDC at around 5 amps, so this PS should work for that. My problem is that my project also needs 24 VDC at around 0.5 amp.
I can get 17 volts by using the -5 and the +12, but I must have at least 18 volts (24 being more desired).
The PS has an adjustment on it and I can crank it up to get a little over 18 volts, but that runs my 5 volts up to above 6, which is not desirable.
Is there a similar power supply that supplies 24 VDC along with 5?
Also, there is a terminal marked FG on the power supply, what is this for? It was connected to GND, but PS seems to work fine disconnected.

FG stands for field ground. It's for the A/C input from the wall, and should never be hooked up to the D/C ground line. As far as finding a 24 vdc power supply similar to the one you have, this one from happ should work.
http://www.happcontrols.com/powersupplies/42pp068.htm

[gryhnd]

My problem is that my project also needs 24 VDC at around 0.5 amp.

I picked up one of these for my juke project to step up my 12V PSU to 18V for a particular compenent.  I haven't got to the stage of using it yet beyond making sure it worked as expected:

http://cgi.ebay.com/12V-24V-DC-DC-Step-Up-3A-Power-Converter-Module-/220594615570?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335c76b512

    * Input: 3.5V - 40V DC
    * Output: 65V DC, 3A
    * Regulation range: 5V - 55V variable output
    * Internal oscillator: 52kHz
    * Board dimensions: 48 x 35mm (1.9 x 1.38")

[DaOld Man]

Thanks for the info guys. I THINK the FG was jumped to ground, but I could be wrong, two of the grounds may have been jumped together.
I like the arcade power supply, but it's pretty high (cheapskate alert!!).
Plus I already have one that just isnt 24 volts though.
The DC to DC converter looks pretty slick too. While I was checking it out over at ebay, I came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170431340884
And bought it. A little over 11 bucks and free shipping.
So I really liked the idea of having both power supplies in one package, but this wont be too bad, and I will have 12 VDC from the arcade one I already have, should I need it for something else.
Hopefully the two power blocks will look neater than the old computer AT power supply I was thinking of using.
Again, thanks guys!