Saturday 3 April 2010

The Old PC PSU to Bench Supply Hack.



Yep, a million and one Instructables on the internet on this old hack so i thought i'd add mine to the pool. Started with a cast off Aopen FSP300-60PN power supply and...

  • 5 Amp Terminal block from a pound shop (cheapskate!).
  • A 10 Ohm 10 Watt Wire Round Resistor (for Load which 'may' be optional).
  • HeatShrink Sleeving to insulate exposed solder joints.
  • Switch.
  • Couple of cable ties.

Then just followed the instructions . Note the hole above the switch...Measure Twice, Cut Once!, i knew the fan had some depth but didn't check it properly when i drilled the first hole. I've kept the Grey PWR_OK wire for possible inclusion of an LED later (Imho the fan spinning round is a pretty good indicator it's on).It's main use is for low current electronics and it has built in short circuit protection so i've omitted any fuses on the outputs which some other hacks use. The label was quickly knocked up with Inkscape.
TO DO... some mesh over the fan, it's just begging for some tiny bit's of wire cut off to be 'sucked' in.





DISCLAIMER bit, you've read them elsewhere, here's mine...
The voltages inside a PSU are potentially lethal and the power capacitors can have quite a kick EVEN AFTER THE MAINS HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED AND THE UNIT SWITCHED OFF!. Do not attempt this hack unless you know what you are doing. I'll take no responsibilty for anything.