Electrical Engineering - power supply question

Author

power supply question

lou

2008-01-27, 9:25 am

Hi!
Would appreciate some help.

Was thinking of using a car radio at home. Specs read current
consumption 1.5A (at .5W).
The fuse is 5A.

DC power supply should be at least 1.5A but can I go up to 4A without
harming the radio?
Not sure if I would gain any improvement in sound.

Thanks!

Please cc: my email address if possible.

Louis
Lou707@msn.com

Palindrome

2008-01-27, 9:25 am

lou wrote:
> Hi!
> Would appreciate some help.
>
> Was thinking of using a car radio at home. Specs read current
> consumption 1.5A (at .5W).
> The fuse is 5A.
>
> DC power supply should be at least 1.5A but can I go up to 4A without
> harming the radio?
> Not sure if I would gain any improvement in sound.

Yep. A 4A power supply, or even a 400A power supply isn't going to
damage the radio. I assume that you intend to get a supply intended to
be used to power in-car equipment from the mains.

Yep. If you like loud music, a 4A power supply, or greater, is a must.
If you live in a cell in a monastery, then a 1.5A supply will be fine.

In car equipment has to be designed to cope with low supply voltage,
so the radio isn't going to be damaged if you overload the supply - but
the supply could be.

Unless the power supply that you get is itself protected against
overload, it is better to get one with a higher rating than the fuse in
the unit. In this case, your unit is fused at 5A, so a 6A supply would
be ideal. That way, generally the fuse(cheap) will blow before the power
supply (expensive). To be on the safe side, if you use a 4A supply, then
change the fuse to a 3A one.

However, if you get a power supply intended to be used to power car
equipment from the mains, then the odds are that it will be very well
protected against overload, so no worries about changing the fuse.

--
Sue

Roy

2008-01-27, 9:25 am

Why you would you want to use a car stereo at home is beyond me., but
you can buy a wall wart rated as close to the specs you gave & be done
with it....fuse or no fuse I don't think it'll last much., maybe several
game nights

2-3 nights if you & the gang drinks heavily.

Can't you get an inexpensive system at your local thrift store ?

I use a Global Specialties triple output 0-30vdc variable power supply
to test car stereos & other dc equipment., but I wouldn't recommend it
for exended use.

Good Luck !

Roy Q.T. ~ US/NCU ~ E.E. Technician
[have tools, will travel]

Stuart

2008-01-27, 1:25 pm

In article
<cfa454fe-60fe-47bb-855a-e9cbe0905b8e@v17g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
lou <Lou717@gmail.com> wrote:

> Was thinking of using a car radio at home. Specs read current
> consumption 1.5A (at .5W). The fuse is 5A.

Gosh that takes me back!

I recall about 30 or more years ago replacing the radio in my car with a
better one and rigging the old one up in a box with speaker and power
supply for use wherever I was workimg. I remember taking it away on
holiday (vacation to you yanks) with us.

I can't remember what the power supply rating was though now. I think the
maximum audio output was something around 6W so it probably had something
like a 1-2A power supply.

--
Stuart Winsor

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