power supply question

[Apollo]

OK so I've got the Happ kiosk amp (12-18V 1.5 amp minimum) to power my arcade speakers. To power the amp I have an unregulated 13.8-18V 1.5amp power supply. I have a a question about what unregulated means and whether I can use the power supply for this amp. Help please.
Thankyou

[D_Zoot]

Unregulated means there are no electronics in the power supply to maintain a specific voltage output.  The power output of the supply could be anywhere in it's output range depending on the input voltage and the load on the supply.   The output of these units isn't very stable.

Generally  you wouldn't want to use an unregulated supply to power anything electronic.

You could use an unregulated supply to power light bulbs and things of that nature, since they are pretty forgiving.  But I wouldn't use it to run an amp.

D
 

[Ken Layton]

Actually you could use an unregulated power supply to run an amplifier for your application. Amplifiers generally don't need an exact voltage to run on, just something in the ballpark. Many of the Midway games like Rally-X picked up it's power for the sound from the unregulated side of the 12 volt power supply.

[D_Zoot]

What are you using for an amp ??  

Car audio amps usually start to heat up and flake out at around 17-18 volts.   PC speaker amps probably won't handle much more than a few volts over the rating for any period of time without heat issues.

Ken you made an excellent observation.  However,  I suspect those boards are exceptions and would not suggest using an unregulated supply unless I knew the electronics were designed for it.


D