ok.. i need help :-)

I was at a car show recently and it was indoors.. so they didn't allow cars to have batteries hooked up to the engines (i.e. no starting your car)

there was guys that had these boxes (not battery chargers, i checked) that converted 120v to 12v to power their systems while they were at the show

it looks like a big home receiver..

anybody know what it is called and where i can get one?

-joe

 

If it had VU meters and rotating knobs, it was simply a big regulated D.C.
Power Supply. They are mostly used in electronic shops/labs.

 

where can i get one of those?

-joe

 

In Toronto... Electrosonic is a great place.

 

And you may try Electronic 2000, Active Electronic, or even Radio Shack/Source

 

How much power do you need?

 

i've seen alot of car shows with the car running off the battery and people walking around with charges but this seems like a better idea

 

you can see it just under his front bumper

-joe

 

Actually, an inverter uses the battery direct current D.C. output to modulate it into alternative current, A.C.
It is inefficient but useful in for small electrical appliances.

 

I think I found it on ebay.. it's AC switching power supply for ham radio guys.. outputs 13.6V DC

Since I want to get one so that i can power our "team" cars during the shows, I found they have 20A, 30A, 35A, etc.. up to 50A

would a 20A 13.6volt constant power supply be able to power a modest (1 amp, 2 monitors, 1 signal processor, 4 speakers and 2 subs) system? or should I just go up to 50A and probably can use that across two cars?

-joe

 

If you normally power the equipment from a car lighter socket, 20A will be fine.

Otherwise, your powered equipment should have labels indicating how much current they draw; if so, just add them up.

Make sure that the rating of the power supply you get is continuous power if that's how you use the equipment. Often radio equipment also has a higher intermittent rating -- e.g. 20A when on for 30 seconds, off for 30 seconds -- because that's how it gets used in a conversation. A disreputable seller might quote an intermittent rating as if it were a continuous rating.

 

the equipment i want to use is basic car audio stuff that normally gets hardwire into the car.. the power supplies i looked at are all continuous rated, i checked their manufacter web site..

just a matter of getting the right amp rating.. i guess going with 50A i can't go wrong

-joe

 

Go to Radioshack, they got 12v converters, Radioshack gots eeerything