how to make a quick and easy 5v and 12v power supply.

A good power supply is a must if you do hobby electronics. However a low end variable voltage power supply (like the one pictured to the left) can cost  more than $100. most of the time, electronics need 3.3v, 5v or 12v. so in this tutorial, ill show you how to make a bad ass 12v and 5v power supply.

12v line: 198 watts, 12v@16.5amp
5v line: 5 watts, 5v@1amp

Video tutorial:

Ok, so i actually opened that brick up and soldering a wire to bridge the power_ok and the +5v. However having an actual 3 rail 12v power supply that does not have a power switch, i decided that a switch would be awesome.
I didn't have any switches laying around, so i pulled a single throw / double pole switch from a dead computer power supply, however a normal STSP switch will do just fine. Because the xbox motherboard is what sends voltage back to the power_ok, there is a connection to it in the power cord, thus you don't even need to open the brick for this mod!

text how to:

• cut the cable that goes to the xbox about 1ft from the brick, then strip the plastic and metal wrapping off.
• next, separate and strip all the wires. twist all the yellow wires together and connect them to one wire. now do the same with the black wires.
• now you need to add a switch between the red and blue wires. I used a double pole switch, but you can use a normal single pole switch.

 

• if you are using a single poll switch, wire it like this:

after you have the switch wired, just tape over everything to keep it neat and organized, additionally, you can put this in a large project box and make it look professional.
remember, if you short the 12v, cycling the switch will get the power flowing again, but if you short the 5v line, you have to unplug the brick and wait for the light to turn off, then plug it back in.

have fun and happy hacking :)