ATX Bench Power Supply - Convert a Computer Power Supply
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Published 2019-02-02
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A power supply is an essential piece of equipment for any electronics experimenter. While you can get by with USB adapters and “wall warts” having a capable high-current source of 3.3, 5, and 12 volt DC power will take your experimenting to another level.
Commercial power supplies with these sorts of current capabilities can be very expensive, however, there is a much cheaper alternative. With some simple wiring, you can convert an ATX power supply from a desktop computer into a reliable and capable workbench power supply.
Even if you need to purchase a new ATX power supply this method is still a lot cheaper than buying a commercial workbench power supply. And chances are that you won't need to spend any money at all on the ATX power supply, I salvaged mine from an old Windows XP computer and it works just great.
There are two types of ATX power supplies commonly in use, I will show you the differences between them. Either model can be used in this project.
Here is the Table of Contents for the video:
00:00 - Introduction
04:36 - Parts used in Project
10:06 - ATX Supply pinouts
13:46 - ATX Supply Inside
16:17 - Testing ATX Supply
19:14 - Hookup Diagram
22:48 - Building the Power Supply
30:17 - Testing the Power Supply
31:59 - Adding a Power Meter
One note - there are many ways to do this and I outline a few of them in the video. Several methods (including the one I used) involve opening up the ATX power supply. If you do that BE VERY CAREFUL as some of the components in the supply can retain a high-voltage charge for hours or even days after the supply has been unplugged.
If you are unsure about opening up a power supply (or if you have a new one still under warranty) don’t do it, you can still build this project another way. I go over that at the conclusion of the video.
As always there is an article on the DroneBot Workshop website that accompanies this video.
Hope you find this video useful and if you haven’t already please subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks!
All Comments (21)
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Finally, finally, a video that actually teaches something, no noisy background music, no video only type instruction, no heavy accent, no fast talking and excellent camera angles, along with excellent diagrams and presentation. Yes, I wish I had you as my high school electronics teacher. Maybe I would of attended more classes and actually learned something. Keep up the great videos.
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I am 72 years of age, and I so wish you had been a teacher at my school way back in the 1960's. Every aspect of your youtube vid is 100% perfect, no music, clarity of annunciation is great, presentation cannot be faulted, even at my age I am still learning thanks to you. Please dont' stop. Thank you.
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It's amazing how so many of us want these type of videos yet so few produce them even though we almost always voice our opinions on the unwanted music and editing of the majority of poor quality videos. Keep up what you are doing because you are one of the few that actually care what us the viewer actually want to see and learn from.
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High Class of this kind of teaching videos. no silly music, good diction and brief explanation. Thank you
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I award you 5 stars for your videos, clear voice, no stupid music, perfectly explained, wish I could give you 1000 likes, thank you.
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I really like the clarity of your explanations and with no annoying music while you speak. I am also a late learner 76 years old. Slowly but surely.?
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Hi Bill, You have one of the most listening-friendly, patient, relaxed and slow tutorial voices I've heard. I thoroughly enjoyed this tutorial and your easy-to-follow instructions. Well done and thanks.
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Brilliant! No wobble cam, no annoying music. Well scripted, well lit and well presented. Thank you! The ATX PSU that I "rescued" from a long since redundant PC now has a new purpose in life. Keep up the excellent work.
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It's so refreshing to see someone able to keep it simple while being specific and relevant, thank you.
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Wow! Am I lucky to have just found this channel. The standards of construction and presentation are stellar! The dialogue is clear and even though I have been into electronics for decades, I am still learning.
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You are a calm, decent and respectful man. The explanation is clear and most importantly there is no background music. Thank you very much. My only objection is to adding a resistor , as it constitutes an unnecessary load to the circuit, especially since it is connected in parallel.
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I avoided this video initially due to the length of the video. Having wasted a lot of time elsewhere I came back to watch this one. I now feel comfortable, safe and confident to proceed with this project. Clear, concise and intelligible comments and well shot video with good circuit diagrams. Thank you.
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Amazing. I was literally taking a break from building the same style PS. I was researching the different 5V lines. Thank you so much for your informative videos. Now I will add the volt/amp meter. I enjoy your videos so much.
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OUTSTANDING! I have been waiting for you to do this video.. I have watch others do this but most of them are fly by the seat of your pants young fellas.. I wanted to make one for my new hobby (at 66 I am teaching myself something new!!) I like to see others ideas but only follow those men I think know what they are doing. And you are one of those men.. I really thank you for all of your hard work in making these little videos (it really shows) thay have been an immense help to me.. as I am a little slower then I was when I was a younger man.. But I an not through yet... Carry on your teaching is very much appreciated..
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Amazing video! Thank you so much. Looking at this power supply and thinking of how to turn it into a bench supply felt like a daunting process. Within 10 minutes of absorbing your knowledge, I feel confident. Very nicely thought out and explained.
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I think you are the teacher we all wish we had, I'd be an engineer if I saw this in the day. Thanks!
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Thank you so much for this informative video! I'm in need of a bench power supply, but am on (disability) a low budget. I do have a few desktop power supplies laying around so this will help me immensely.
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Thank you for such a simple explantion, informative video that anyone can easly follow. Great presentation.
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I would have to say this is one of the best tutorial video’s I’ve seen on YouTube yet. Great video, easy to follow and very informational. Fantastic job.
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I'm at 21:45 into this video and have to pause it to say I absolutely love the way your teach.
