Home audio into the car.. not as hard as I thought
02-12-2004, 07:17 PM
#1
I just finished a little project, so I thought I'd share...
My PG EQ is having "problems" so I'm processor-less, and since I had an old EQ that I used to use in my stereo kicking around, I decided to play with making it work with a 12V power supply.
It was actually not as hard as some people have made it out to be (albeit, this is a very simple little unit) I just replaced single phase, triple tap transformer at +?V -?v 0V with a small Opamp power supply design that I found here
http://sound.westhost.com/project43.htm
Then I disconnected the grounds, and connected them to the 0V lead from the power supply (lots of grief before I discovered this since the EQ became a tone generator for some reason) Then I hooked up a 12V relay for the remote turn on (free relay from work, yay!! and they were going to throw them out)
and voila!! it works perfectly.
only about a 2.5V output, but that's lots for what I need at the moment.
I'll try to post some pics soon.
My PG EQ is having "problems" so I'm processor-less, and since I had an old EQ that I used to use in my stereo kicking around, I decided to play with making it work with a 12V power supply.
It was actually not as hard as some people have made it out to be (albeit, this is a very simple little unit) I just replaced single phase, triple tap transformer at +?V -?v 0V with a small Opamp power supply design that I found here
http://sound.westhost.com/project43.htm
Then I disconnected the grounds, and connected them to the 0V lead from the power supply (lots of grief before I discovered this since the EQ became a tone generator for some reason) Then I hooked up a 12V relay for the remote turn on (free relay from work, yay!! and they were going to throw them out)
and voila!! it works perfectly.
only about a 2.5V output, but that's lots for what I need at the moment.
I'll try to post some pics soon.
02-16-2004, 04:49 PM
#5
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 113
Well, that's certainly the more hardcore (and indisputably cooler) way of going about it...
But I just wanted to note that there are some home audio products out there - EQ's in particular (like the Alesis dual-30 EQ) - that actually run on 12v, and come with one of those little AC-DC transformer plugs that everyone is so familiar with.
In that case, running an EQ like that is as simple as feeding your 12v into the power terminal.
BTW, another side note, to anyone who might reply "why didn't you just run an inverter?"
At least in IASCA (and I believe most other competition bodies), electronic devices cannot run off of power adapters of any kind... they must run off their own native power.
I think it is RobM on CarSound who was building custom 12v DC power supplies particularly meant for the Behringer EQ's, since they are so ludicrously cheap for a very nice digital EQ...
The biggest downside to home products is their massive size - home audio format doesn't translate well into a car, ergonomically.
But I just wanted to note that there are some home audio products out there - EQ's in particular (like the Alesis dual-30 EQ) - that actually run on 12v, and come with one of those little AC-DC transformer plugs that everyone is so familiar with.
In that case, running an EQ like that is as simple as feeding your 12v into the power terminal.
BTW, another side note, to anyone who might reply "why didn't you just run an inverter?"
At least in IASCA (and I believe most other competition bodies), electronic devices cannot run off of power adapters of any kind... they must run off their own native power.
I think it is RobM on CarSound who was building custom 12v DC power supplies particularly meant for the Behringer EQ's, since they are so ludicrously cheap for a very nice digital EQ...
The biggest downside to home products is their massive size - home audio format doesn't translate well into a car, ergonomically.
02-16-2004, 05:47 PM
#6
Yes, RobM is buiding the Behringer supply's, they are stupid cheap and a caveman could convert it with his supply and the instructions he sends with them....everything is colour matched..."cut the green wire, and attach the green wire off your power supply to it" do the same with the rest of the wires......it's simple...and Rob's supply's are about 150US.
02-16-2004, 06:36 PM
#7
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 113
Well, I wouldn't call that "stupid cheap"... particularly considering both that the Behringer 8020 itself can be had for about $180 online... and that the cost of the components to build a DC supply like this are relatively nominal.
Do you mean $50? That seems more proportional, with the cost of the components required to build a DC power supply, and would be reasonable for sure.
Do you mean $50? That seems more proportional, with the cost of the components required to build a DC power supply, and would be reasonable for sure.
