Thread: Inverters, DC, and AC, oh my!

Alrighty- oh- folks, here's the lowdown.

For reasons unknown, and somewhat illegal if put in the wrong context, I need my PC to draw under 150 watts of power (and, yes, this might be because I'm trying to have my 15 inch flat panel display flash random cuss words at others out of my rear window- but then, it might not). Anyway, My current power supply takes 115 V at 5A AC and outputs 200W DC, which, as my calculation go, is a skabillion watts of power; and the DC-AC inverter needs to be clipped to the battery for more than 150 Watts, so I ask thee; do I need to buy another low-end power supply as to avoid laying wire through my car, or would simply disconnecting all unnessecery devices to lower the power draw work?

Bear in mind, I'm not an electronics guru, and when I was 5, I stuck tweezers in a wall outlet and went to the hospital.

Originally posted by Vicious
im confused and yet i laugh....

So your wanting to plug your computer into your cars cigaret lighter through a converter?

Inverter, not converter, and I need to know if the draw from a standard AT power supply is constant, or if it changes, depending on how much output power is needed.

> My current power supply takes 115 V at 5A AC and outputs 200W DC
Look carefully, it should say 200W MAX

It means it will supply what you need up to that maximum. If you only draw 10W, then that's all you'll get.

> or would simply disconnecting all unnessecery devices to lower the power draw work?
Sounds good to me

I'm not sure, but by the sounds of it you must be overseas, i'm in america so i'm not sure. As far as them keeping a constant voltage, there is two types of power supplies, just plain ole normal ones, and switching power supplies. Normal ones are constant and the switching ones change. But if you're overseas, that might differ.

Originally posted by Sebastiani
DC to AC inverter can be purchased at Radio Shack for about $70 dollars here in Texas. You plug your laptop into it just as you would a wall socket...

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. My

problem is that if you have over 150 watts draw to an inverter, then you have to patch the inverter directly to the car battery because the low gauge wiring in the cigarette lighter can't handle any more, and fuses would blow. I've done the calculations, and I can get the power consumption of the PC down to 95 watts, hence, no blown fuses, and no need to lay high gague through the car. What I need to know is if most AT power supplys are switching, or if I should go out and buy a low end 100-150W power supply to guarantee that it isn't drawing more power than it exceeds (on a 300W inverter.)


As for $70 inverters at radio shack, K-Mart has em for $45.