power supply for amp?

[Twink]

i've got an mf240 amp that draws 50A. if i get a 50A powersupply, and just run the amp at 50%, will that be ok? my tech said you should get a power supply that can do double the amps your amplifier pulls, but 1, that would be around $350 for the power supply, and i can get a 50A for around $150, and 2, i don't think i want to run full power from home anyway, for safety reasons.

so if i get that 50A power supply, and just run my 240 at half power, am I gonna be all set?

[NCMidnight]

i've got an mf240 amp that draws 50A. if i get a 50A powersupply, and just run the amp at 50%, will that be ok? my tech said you should get a power supply that can do double the amps your amplifier pulls, but 1, that would be around $350 for the power supply, and i can get a 50A for around $150, and 2, i don't think i want to run full power from home anyway, for safety reasons.

so if i get that 50A power supply, and just run my 240 at half power, am I gonna be all set?

I have a feeling you'll get a lot of different opinions on this question. From my personal experience even if it wasnt a good idea. I ran a mosfet 29, 2pill, and two PC cooling fans attached to the supply, off the same 30amp PC power supply. I turned down the power on the radio and ran the amp on low with a >200watt swing with out having one issue for over 6 months. I'd say its doable if you stay under the limits of the PSU and keep it cool.

[Twink]

did you say PC power supply, as in computer? well hell i've got a bunch of those laying around...

[NCMidnight]

did you say PC power supply, as in computer? well hell i've got a bunch of those laying around...

yes that is what I used. Lynx or someone added a great video guide and link for how to accomplish this somewhere on the site.. Might try doing a search for it.

['Doc]

How would you run your amplifier at half power? And probably more pertinent, do you really think you will be satisfied doing that all the time? Really? I seriously doubt if I would. But then that's me, not you. A power supply capable of 1.5, or 2 times your highest probably current draw is the best investment you will ever make. Sure, it'll really hurt your wallet to start with, but that pain eventually sort of disappears. Then you have all that 'extra' capability that you can make good use of. How many of them @#$ 'wall-warts' would you NOT have hanging out of every outlet? Wanna compare 10 or 15 radios side by side? You could and have a few amps left over. Good grief, you could probably weld with it! That's a bit unreasonable, but not by much . It really would be a smart (and painful) move on your part. It was one of the smartest things I ever did.
- 'Doc

[127]

i've got an mf240 amp that draws 50A. if i get a 50A powersupply, and just run the amp at 50%, will that be ok? my tech said you should get a power supply that can do double the amps your amplifier pulls, but 1, that would be around $350 for the power supply, and i can get a 50A for around $150, and 2, i don't think i want to run full power from home anyway, for safety reasons.

so if i get that 50A power supply, and just run my 240 at half power, am I gonna be all set?

You don't want to run full power from home for safety reasons??????? What the heck does that mean? I got to tell you that your posts amuse the heck out of me!!!

[Twink]

safety as in i live in an apartment and have neighbors all around me about 20 feet away from me, pushing out 500 watts is like me sending a written invitation to the fcc....

[linx]

did you say PC power supply, as in computer? well hell i've got a bunch of those laying around...

yes that is what I used. Lynx or someone added a great video guide and link for how to accomplish this somewhere on the site.. Might try doing a search for it.

Ask, and ye' shall receive.

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I would say my thoughts on the whole process are the same as they were then, lol. I used to run a ATX PSU on my desktop for a bench test power supply back in the day. They not only work great for running radios, but also work awesome for testing out computer parts...or really anything that requires 12 volts. Heck, you could probably test a car stereo from it if you needed to, lol.

[linx]

did you say PC power supply, as in computer? well hell i've got a bunch of those laying around...

yes that is what I used. Lynx or someone added a great video guide and link for how to accomplish this somewhere on the site.. Might try doing a search for it.

Ask, and ye' shall receive.

[Please login or register to view this link]

I would say my thoughts on the whole process are the same as they were then, lol. I used to run a ATX PSU on my desktop for a bench test power supply back in the day. They not only work great for running radios, but also work awesome for testing out computer parts...or really anything that requires 12 volts. Heck, you could probably test a car stereo from it if you needed to, lol.

One more thing I might add about using a ATX power supply. It has 12v leads, and has 5v leads. Some even have 3v leads. You can combine those leads to create more voltage. For example, if you wanted to run 17v, you could combine the 12v and 5v leads to create the appropriate voltage. The only problem with this though, is the higher the voltage, the less amperage and wattage you'll be able to pull from the power supply. If you take a typical 300w power supply at 12 volts, you could easily make 25 amps. Simple math. Modern day P4 and AMD 64 systems use higher wattage units like 500w power supplies. My PSU in my computer at home is a 550w (I have like 5 HDD's worth (probably 300g) of music). So at 500w, at 12v you would get a killer 41ish amps. Last time I priced a Tripplite, or Astron at 40a, it was around $125+. Pyramid is cheaper, but ya get what ya pay for. I like my power supplies to last more than a year. There's some good reading there, and you can read my last post as well on that.

[drdx]

You could always run a battery for extra amperage cushioning, but fumes, overcharging, etc comes into play. I'd also be leery of running an amp on marginal available amperage in the clean signal department. If it is starved for amperage, does it effect the pureness of the voltage and the signal you are putting out?

-drdx