DimaA
Member level 3
Hacking cmputer's PSU
I am planning to put a PC in my car to view DVD and listen music,and my concern is the Power supply.I don't want to use inverters to get 220V,too gangerous and expensive,so I thought about redesigning the PSU,so it should work from car's 12V. The idea is to use PWM controler like SG3595 and use modified transformer to get the needed voltages.
Anyone have done something similar or has an ideas how to do it?
I am planning to put a PC in my car to view DVD and listen music,and my concern is the Power supply.I don't want to use inverters to get 220V,too gangerous and expensive,so I thought about redesigning the PSU,so it should work from car's 12V. The idea is to use PWM controler like SG3595 and use modified transformer to get the needed voltages.
Anyone have done something similar or has an ideas how to do it?
. First would be the size, a laptop is smaller. Second, most of the extension boards inside a pc are connected using slots (pci or isa) which are not designed to work in automotive environment. The same problem stands for coolers in the pc, both cpu and power supply. Also, the harddrive is not designed to work in automotive environment. The effect is that in time, you system will most proably crash because of its components. Also the temperature is a problem, especialy when it has rapid variations. This in combination with high humidity will form condens inside the pc. This is a good cause to kill your system. Maybe the most important thing is the cd/dvd unit, which is also not designed for such an environment. Vibrations ca seriously affect the functionality of a descktop pc cd/dvd drive, because the primary reading system is purely mechanical. For example, a portable audio cd player is designed with a very high ammount of buffer memory, to compensate reading errors due to vibrations (both, for cars and pedestrians). An audio cd player for home use does not have the buffer memory. Slap it during play, and it will interrupt the audio signal. About the extensions, you can connect an external sound card, I think if you do some search on the web you will find audio cards with pcmcia connection or usb. Also, the gps receiver outputs the data in serial format, rs232 or usb. A laptop have both. And one other issue: a gps system is designed for navigation, so the most gps tools will have serial, usb or maybe pcmcia connection. I really do not think there are GPS isa or pci cards available. Who needs gps for a desktop pc ?!? What for ? WIFI connection is available also for pcmcia or usb. Dima, this is just an opinion, they are you tools, do what you want. Good luck. 
