how to wire car amp in arcade machine?

[Sephroth57]

I have an extra car amp i think its around 200W and a bunch of car speakers that would sound great in my cabinet plus i already have them so its free =)  how would i wire my amp to be able to be plugged into the wall? could i use a PC power supply or something?

[Edgedamage]

I think a pc power supply might work but I would feel more  
comfortable using something like this.

[Homebrew]

You have to make sure you use a power supply that can handle a large amp load.  I'm using a tripplite 60A power supply for the jukebox i'm working on.  It is an expesive power supply, but at 60A it leaves me some headroom.    Most car amps powerfull enough to power subs draw 20A or more.  You figure if you throw in another amp for highs, you could easily have a 30A or higher load.  I suggest finding out what the current draw rating on your amp(s) and using that to decide how big a power supply you need.  Needless to say a PC powersupply won't cut it unless you're using a very low power amp.  Even then i'd probably be a little leary since amplifiers current draw spikes throughout a song and can put a sudden high load on the power supply.  Just my $.02.  

-Kevin

[Sephroth57]

thanks for the info, so is there a special name for those type of converters?

[Zakk]

http://www.mameworld.net/massive/How-to/Amp_Install/amp_install.html

That was a submission, but I've had positive feedback on it, so I think it is a functional solution!  Hope it helps!

[Homebrew]

No special name, your just looking for a 12v DC power supply.  Sometimes they might be labeled 13.4(i think, its 13. something) because when you're car is running thats how much the alternator puts out.  Thats fine too as long  as you're using normal car audio equipment.  Thats what my tripplite puts out as a matter of fact.  A quick note for anyone considering using a high amp DC powersupply, if you have your power supply plugged into a powerstrip/surge protector,  turn the powerstrip/sure protetor on first, then the powersupply.  Don't leave the powersupply on and then use the powerstrip to power up.  The suddent current draw tends to blow household fuses or trip breakers.  I learned the hard way after blowing the same fuse in my house 3 times before realizing the problem.  This really hurts my plans for a 1 button startup.  I guess a two button startup isn't too bad.  This has been my experience with my 60A tripplite.  It may or may not happen with say a 40A supply.  I do believe its still better for the power supply to be turned on by its own switch though instead of being activated by the application of AC power.  Zakk, any idea what the Amp rating is on your amp?  How long have you been running that setup?  Lastly how high are your amp's gains turned up.  I've heard of very few people having success with PC powersupplies powering amps.  

-Kevin

[SS427]

fyiy,

I have two 8" car speakers and two 4" car speakers connected to a car amp with no problems at all.  They are powered by a 550watt computer power supply off ebay for $20.  Sounds great for what I want the arcade to sound like and the music playing in the background.  Have less in the entire speaker, amp and power supply systems than typically what you can purchase one of those dedicated ps for.  

ss

[ashardin]

Homebrew,

I've got a setup that is very similiar to yours (I've got a Pyramid 60 amp supply though) and haven't had any problems with a one button startup on the power strip, but will keep an eye out for it.  I think I've been running it this way for about a year.  Might just be your (or my, however you want to look at it) home wiring.

Sephroth57

You really should use a supply like Edgedamage shows.  I did this the first time I set up a car amp in my cab.  I believe I used a 12V, 12 amp tripplite I got off of ebay for about $25.  PC power supplies can give you problems, especially if you try to get any sort of real current draw off of it.  I'm up to 3 amps in my cab now so I went to the bigger power supply.  Although it looks like ss427's setup worked for him.  There is no way that would begin to power my cab's system.  For $25, getting a used regulated power supply is the way I would go.  FYI, my 60 amp supply cost me $120 shipped (new).  I figured it was a good investment for the sound I wanted.  My cab doubles as a MP3 jukebox, a normal arcade only cab will not need anything near that much sound.

[Wade]

I tried using a PC power supply with a small car amp (about 100 watts) and it sounded fine but if I turned it up much at all it would trip the power supply.  Turning it off and back on would get it working again but it obviously wasn't a real solution.

I ended up gutting a $39 set of PC speakers w/sub that I had, it sounded much better, was shielded, and of course didn't need another power supply or anything.

Wade

[Chris]

I couldn't get a 40 watt amp running off my PC power supply without killing the power to the PC.

I have an old arcade power supply... I wonder how much power that puts out...

--Chris