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How to Convert a Computer ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply

How to Convert a Computer ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply
Edit Article Edited by Abizarl, Krystle C., Jack Herrick, Vertent and 42 others Computer power supplies cost around US$30, but lab power supplies can run you $100 or more! By converting the cheap (free) ATX power supplies that can be found in any discarded computer, you can get a phenomenal lab power supply with huge current outputs, short circuit protection, and reasonably tight voltage regulation on the 5V line. On most power supply units (PSUs), the other lines are unregulated. Ad Steps 1Look online or at your local computer store for an ATX computer power supply, or dismantle an old computer and remove the power supply from the case.Ad 2Unplug the power cable from the power supply and turn off the switch on the back (if there is one). 13 Plug the power cable into the back of the power supply and into an AC socket. Tips You can use your power supply 12V output as a car battery charger! Warnings If you suspect the power supply is damaged, do not use it!

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Computer Power Supply to Bench Power Supply Adapter Step #13: Add Labels For Each Pair of Terminals PrevNext To help keep track of the different voltage outlets, I labeled each pair of terminals. antenna basics Antennas, to quote a friend, are one of life's eternal mysteries. "All I'm totally certain of is that any antenna is better than no antenna and the antenna should preferably erected as high and be as long as is possible or desirable". Here we will discuss the very basics of antennas including the the amazing terminated tilted folded dipole antenna. Each type of antenna will eventually have its own page. LAST MODIFIED: Sunday, 23-Jun-2013 12:55:29 PDT Please don't forget to bookmark this valuable electronics tutorial site! Authored by Ian C. Find us on Google+ What are the basics of antennas? Antennas, to quote a friend, are one of life's eternal mysteries. The basic antenna The most basic antenna is called "a quarter wave vertical", it is a quarter wavelength long and is a vertical radiator. This type of antenna relies upon an "artificial ground" of either drooping radials or a car body to act as ground. Antenna Polarisation Antenna Impedance The quarter wave vertical antenna The Yagi antenna

Raspberry Pi as an Ad Blocking Access Point This tutorial will show you how to use your Raspberry Pi as a WiFi access point that blocks ads by default for any devices using it. This is really neat in that it would work for your Android or iOS device, your Xbox 360, TiVo, laptop, and more without needing to customize any of those devices other than to use your Raspberry Pi as the access point for WiFi. Using an ad-blocker can be useful for conserving bandwidth, helping out low-power devices, or for keeping your sanity while browsing the web! I do suggest whitelisting your favorite ad-supported sites so that you can continue to support them (this tutorial shows how to do this as well). It's not easy keeping up with those wily ad serving companies so we'll also setup a way to keep your ad blocking lists up to date as part of this tutorial. I used many pages as inspiration in order to set this up, including, but not limited to:

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Free-Energy Devices, zero-point energy, and water as fuel Hard Disk Drive Magnets For Wind Turbines Obtain super strong magnets from old hard disk drives to use in wind turbine alternators home > windThe most expensive parts of a wind turbinealternator are the magnets and the enamelled magnet wire. In a previous article we have introduced cheap and easy to make PVC wind turbine blades. Hard Disk Drive Magnets 50% of the world's neodymium magnets are currently used in computer hard disk drives (HDD) with each HDD typically containing two magnets. Extracting the magnets from an old hard drive is very easy - usually just a small selection of screwdrivers is required. This can be difficult - the easiest way is to put one corner of the backing plate into a bench vice and bend the other corner of the plate using a pair of vice grips. The following short video shows the full process from opening the hard disk drive, extracting the magnets on their backing plates, to removing those backing plates to leave just the magnets ready to be used.WARNING! Neodmium Magnets in Hard Disk Drives wind

Top 10 Things You Can Upgrade with a Little Electronics Hacking it is a skill to do a good solder joint, it comes with LOTS of practice. so most people who rarely do it will ever get good at it. Bingo. Of course, part of the issue is having a soldering iron at the right temp with a properly tinned tip. Newbies aren't using soldering stations but a cheap iron they got at rat shack (You have questions? We have deer-in-the-headlights... erm... answers!). I don't expect to ever master tricky stuff like smts or even multilayer pcbs so I'm not much better then a newbie, anyway - and I totally suck at sweating pipe joints. Ah, well... SMT is actually a bit better than through-hole once you get the hang of it.

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