Trying to find a 110 volt power supply to power a 12 volt car radio for installation and sound testing. Looked on-line and need a recomendation as to what to use/buy.

Thanks,

Greg

I bought a 12v 5 amp power supply at Radio Shack many years ago. Works great for stuff like that.
Also check out ham radio outlet.

+1 on the Radio Shack one.

Ummmm.....a 12v Battery charger.

Don't think you will get a "clean" sound by powering with a standard Battery charger. They tend not filter out the AC to well.

Other than a more expensive filtered power supply, a fully charged 12 volt battery with NO charger on it is the best way to get the cleanest power source (only DC, with no stray AC sine) your radio will sound just like it does in the car.

JMO

The radio shack and ham radio 12v power supplies are regulated and highly filtered to remove AC hum from the radio.

I found a 110>12VDC power supply on line a couple of years ago. Comes in handy.

Use the battery out of your car

Well excuse me.....who gives a flying fuch

The OP said he want's to test the system in his car...you know that thing that makes all kinds of loud aircooled type noises when it is actually running.

He didn't say anything about wanting audiophile quality sound out of the thing.
AND if he does want audiophile quality sound what da fuch is he doing fuching with a car stereo for?



BTW a buddy of mine has powered the same old pioneer deck off of his battery charger for the last 30 years in his little one car garage.
Works just fine, no hum, at least not enough to worry about in a garage.

Computer power supply has 12v rail. I use one from our crane games. I will post picture tomorrow. I can test 12v,24v and 48 volt with the set up.

Yes, you can use that as well, the LED strip lights I use in my blasting cabinet I run on an old power supply.
I hit all my friends for their old PC's, just to rob the power supplies out of them. Same with wall warts. BTW they also give you 3 and 5V
I like free

Too funny!!! You Canadians are awefully sensitive up there.

Ditto on the online power supply. Mine is a Pyramid PS8KX. Only 6 amp 12v output but was less than $40. Thats 72 watts of high end 12v power!!!

2- 6v lantern batteries.

No need to get stirred up......OP asks "Trying to find a 110 volt power supply to power a 12 volt car radio for installation and sound testing."

The buzzing from a standard 12 volt battery charger will not give a true representation of what the radio will sound like when it is ultimately mounted in the car.

I would definitely not recommend powering a vintage Blaupunkt radio with this battery charger set up. But people will do what they do.

Cheap is OK sometimes, but very often you get what you pay for.

I use a standard battery charger for things like that, but what do I know, I'm just an electrical engineer.....
If worried about overvoltage or noise, put a battery on it at the same time.

I Also use PC power supplies, but when using them out of the PC case, you will need to short (temporarily) the blue wire to the chassis to get it to turn on.

I found some aviation quality adjustable DC power supplies at a salvage yard & bought two for $40. (they are worth about $1200 ea.)

Thanks Stu
Been working on aircooled cars since I was a teen, to troubleshoot all electrical you can power everything by using a battery charger.
You do need to pull the power wire off the coil or you will fry the points and some aftermarket pickups like the pertronix.


Or just twist it onto a ground wire


BTW I wasn't being pissy, just I see no reason to tell someone to go spend money when they likely have something that does the job right in front of them.

I use my cheap Harbor Freight portable power pack for 12V radio or amplifier bench testing.

Thanks for the feedback. My stereo install isn't an audiophile setup but more than the standard 2 speaker in the stock location setup. I'm testing secondary speaker and hidden satellite antenna locations for a second car.

I was also hoping to find a power supply to mimic a fully charged battery to power my chassis harness for testing of all components while installing it (turn signals, headlight motors, fans, etc.). I found many 110VAC to 12VDC power supplies on-line but wasn't sure they would suit my needs as I didn't want to blow up my chassis harness during testing. I'm a network and software engineer, not an electrical engineer so I'm out of my element with power.

Here is the unit I found: http://www.ebay.com/itm/282264455526?_trks...K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Greg

That one looks good. I had to check because some LED drivers are constant current.
This one appears to be constant voltage (current varies to whatever up to 10A), so it should work perfectly.

Thank you!

The fan is more than 10a just by itself.

If jumper cables from the car with a battery won't work, spurge for a jump box. I went with the 1000a minus the crap air compressor for work, but this one is currently on saleStanley 'FatMax' 700-Amp Peak Jump Starter. It's my battery substitute for all the project cars.

A battery charger, specially the newer ones, are expecting a battery, not the variable demands of an operating car.

Older charges will also introduce a hum to the speakers, specially with an amp.

Yeah, sorry I was talking about just the radio or any component by itself.
It likely wont run the whole car (at once) for testing.

Jameco Power Supply

These guys have a lot of options. This one would work nicely and is pretty cheap

That's a nice, inexpensive 12V option with good output. FWIW, I find having a 12V supply that can put out at least 5A invaluable for testing most anything electrical from a car. A supply like this one is nice because it beats lugging a battery around, provides clean 12V with minimal ripple, and can be easily put in a drawer when not in use.

FYI, if someone out there buys this supply, it probably doesn't come with a power cord, get one or cut up an extension cord to use with it.

I use those cheap Mean Well switching power supplies all of the time. They work great, especially for the price if you don't need instrumentation grade power. The dual or triple output units are really convenient too. As Brad said you will need a power cord. All you get is the power supply.

Why not just use a fully charged battery?

I could but my radio testing for speaker placement could take several hours. I was looking for something I could get clean power from for a long period of time and not worry about having to recharge a battery once I'm done. Plus, having a bench top power supply allows be to easily test electrical components pre assembly.

A battery and charger would still work, but you will likely find a use for the that cheap PS.

The computer power supply is a good easy alternative and it's real easy to modify.
Many youtube videos, some are how to make a real nice PS, but you can just marette things together in minutes if you just want 12V.