JusBox

iTrader: (1)

Hey I have a good questions... how would I go about hooking up a power switch for this ps? I went to radio shack and picked up an illuminated rocker switch (pn 275-712). It's rated at 30A at 12VDC. Any ideas about how to wire it?

vtl1180ny

Get a computer power cord, 3 prong and flexible... Cut the end off that goes into the computer. Get some ring trrminals from RS and connect green to ground, white to neutral and black to hot... Best to cover the black and white with some insulating silicon and wrap with tape.... I've been shocked with 110 before, it'll knock you on your butt...

vtl1180ny

You really need to put the switch on the 110 side... If you refer to the picture I posted you'll see my junction box on top... The switch is a push on/off 110v switch. The LED is on the incoming 12v though...

JusBox

iTrader: (1)

So should I get a different type of switch then or will this work ok? The contacts on the back are Ground, Load and Power. Something tells me i'll be driving back to RS after tomorrow for an exchange.

vtl1180ny

Get yourself a project box while you're there and run everything in there... I like electrical connections to be as safe and secure as I can possibly make them...

JusBox

iTrader: (1)

Oh I have project boxes, I just need to know if i can make this switch work and how to wire it properly.

vtl1180ny

Ok digicam refuses to work again so....

I'd get a 110v switch... Here's what I did...


I screwed the box down and drilled 3 holes in one side of the box for the incoming/outgoing 110v and incoming 12v... I ran the 110 into the box and out to the connectors on the PS... I then stripped away the black plastic covering about an inch and a half of the 3 wires... Then I clipped the black, exposed enough insulation on the wire to connect to the switch... put shrink wrap in place, twisted, soldered and put the shrink wrap over... I then proceeded to black tape over the shrink wrap for good measure... That's the 110 side... Still need to solder the ring terminals on, connect, and insulate with silicone to prevent any accicental jolts... Through another side of the box, put as many binding posts as you thing you can use.... run the 12v into the box, you can fuse it if you like (I did) and connect to the respective posts... pretty much done... Dill a hole for the switch, put in a 12v LED on the 12v side if you want, close up the box and you're done...

JusBox

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the how-to. If you get your camera working, take some pics, i'm sure others would like to see too.

AE Racer

Do you have to solder the ring terminals on or do you just clamp them on with pliars. I think I'm going to put shrink wrap up to the ring of the ring terminal, cover the connections with shoe goo and probably put a lexan shield above that.

JusBox

iTrader: (1)

Solder, it's the only way to ensure a proper connection.

vtl1180ny

I had solderless ones but I soldered them anyway... Then again I solder everything... Shrinkwrapped the ends... Like I said, I've been shocked with 110v before, that was enough for me... It was actually twice that I was hit because of a faulty ground in the house, the ground was sending 110 through everything...

psbarger

iTrader: (3)

Just bought one of these! Looks like a kickbutt lil power supply. Thanks for the initial post, or I woulda prolly never heard about it.

dpaton

Not really. There's a reason the military uses crimps for really important things. A properly crimped joint is superior to soldering, and actually creates a cold weld and a metal alloy at the points of contact.

Also, crimps don't melt and flow under high current fault conditions. I always crimp my AC stuff, because if something goes wrong the last thing I want is conductive metal running out of my connectors.

-dave

JusBox

iTrader: (1)

I meant for hobby purposes, most people aren't going to be able to crimp properly to make it worth while.

dpaton

For 120V I still don't believe a solder only connection is safe. If nothing else, the crimp terminal should be crimped as best as can be approximated before being soldered and heatshrinked. If it isn't, and something goes wrong, all of a sudden you can have a bare 120V wire laying about.
I've seen it happen, and watched someone get between that conductor and ground, and I subsequently dialed 911. It may be rare, but I really don't want anyone going to the hospital.

This may just sound like an engineer telling horror stories, but I'm trying to elevate the level of the RC electronics hobbyist.

Safety first, speed second.

-dave