Getting 12v power from pc power supply for a 5050 rgb led strip.

[werto165]

Basically I'm using an arduino for control of leds and I need 12v, I can use a ac/dc adapter but it's a bit large and cumbersome and I need to use it for my quadcopter for charging its battery ideally. I was just wondering if I could use the PSU. Max output current is 6A for the strip but I won't be using the whole of it so I was just wondering if I could get away with it. 

[comicsansms]

Any yellow wires on an ATX PSU will do. 

 

[Sakkura]

I suppose you can wire a switch to the sense pins in the 24-pin ATX connector (to turn on the PSU), then get 12V + ground from, well wherever you want really, there's 12V in the 24-pin connector, the 4+4-pin CPU connector, the PCIe connectors, Molex...

 

Just use a PSU with a modern internal design so the crossload (only pulling power on 12V, not 5V or 3.3V) doesn't affect electrical performance.

[werto165]

This is the led strip I've got atm. Thinking that I'm going to take out the ir receiver and repurpose it and have it in my arduino circuit. Do you think it's possible to use that remote and create my own logic for it? I assume I'd just open up a serial port and read whats coming in from the remote and change it as needed. Also taking apart the white box there isn't going to be a scary capacitor thats going to hurt me I assume. Also,  I need a ground there's 12 v, ground, ground and 5 volts. Does it matter which ground connection I use I assume it doesn't. 

[W-L]

10 hours ago, werto165 said:

This is the led strip I've got atm. Thinking that I'm going to take out the ir receiver and repurpose it and have it in my arduino circuit. Do you think it's possible to use that remote and create my own logic for it? I assume I'd just open up a serial port and read whats coming in from the remote and change it as needed. Also taking apart the white box there isn't going to be a scary capacitor thats going to hurt me I assume. Also,  I need a ground there's 12 v, ground, ground and 5 volts. Does it matter which ground connection I use I assume it doesn't. 

If your just requiring 12V from an ATX PSU you can get an adapter like this to power the controller for the strip.

http://www.icemodz.eu/store/#!/12v-Molex-to-DC-power-Cable-for-RGB-controllers/p/51426650

[werto165]

1 hour ago, W-L said:

If your just requiring 12V from an ATX PSU you can get an adapter like this to power the controller for the strip.

http://www.icemodz.eu/store/#!/12v-Molex-to-DC-power-Cable-for-RGB-controllers/p/51426650

Probably just going to use an n channel mosfet and then power it through that. I sort of want to take the IR receiver out of the box and re jig it as I think it will be a hell of a lot more rewarding and I can create my own lighting patterns.  

[W-L]

49 minutes ago, werto165 said:

Probably just going to use an n channel mosfet and then power it through that. I sort of want to take the IR receiver out of the box and re jig it as I think it will be a hell of a lot more rewarding and I can create my own lighting patterns.  

Are you still just using the PSU as a power source since it provides 12V and you wouldn't need an N channel mosfet for it, not to mention being less efficient. 

[werto165]

43 minutes ago, W-L said:

Are you still just using the PSU as a power source since it provides 12V and you wouldn't need an N channel mosfet for it, not to mention being less efficient. 

its for the RGB channels. 

[WEEEEEE]

Just use a molex to anything really cable, chop off the other end, and use the yellow wire.

You could also just directly chop off the connector on your psu, however this may void your warranty (I'm not sure). 

Ground is always common, it doesn't matter which one you use. 

If you want to use the IR receiver from the box, you may want to watch this video to see how to use one: