drmbogo
April 13th, 2007, 07:47 PM
Recently, my father-in-law gave me a fairly new HP Pavillion a630n desktop that he wasn't using.
It was nearly complete: nice flatscreen, speakers, mouse, keyboard, even a power strip!
BUT, he forgot one thing! The monitor power supply!!
'No Problem', I thought, 'I'll just run to RadioShack and pick one up.'
No dice. RS didn't have anything even close. The tag on the back said something to the effect of "Input: 12v 3a".
Now I know I 'could have' ordered one online (fairly cheap, too), and waited for it to come, but I have this 'Instant Gratification' issue! :D
So....
I thought about it....
Hey, computer power supplies have a 12v rail don't they? And how much current could everything REALLY draw, assuming I could run everything, full-bore, allatonce?
Thus, an Idea was born.
Rummaged through my bin of junk computer parts, that I just can't bear to part with, and found an old HD power extension, snipped off the unneeded end, soldered on a 5.5/2.1mm power connector and....shazam! :guitar:
So, should I patent this idea?
I'm surprised to find that comp manufacturers haven't begun to do something like this, with flatscreens getting cheaper everyday, and power supplies getting cheaper and more robust/powerful. I have three flatscreens, all different makes, all 12v, and roughly 2.5 to 3.5a.
So far, there are two benefits:
When the comp is off, the monitor is REALLY off, i.e. not drawing power in standby mode.
It frees up an outlet in an already way to crowded environment.
Comments?
It was nearly complete: nice flatscreen, speakers, mouse, keyboard, even a power strip!
BUT, he forgot one thing! The monitor power supply!!
'No Problem', I thought, 'I'll just run to RadioShack and pick one up.'
No dice. RS didn't have anything even close. The tag on the back said something to the effect of "Input: 12v 3a".
Now I know I 'could have' ordered one online (fairly cheap, too), and waited for it to come, but I have this 'Instant Gratification' issue! :D
So....
I thought about it....
Hey, computer power supplies have a 12v rail don't they? And how much current could everything REALLY draw, assuming I could run everything, full-bore, allatonce?
Thus, an Idea was born.
Rummaged through my bin of junk computer parts, that I just can't bear to part with, and found an old HD power extension, snipped off the unneeded end, soldered on a 5.5/2.1mm power connector and....shazam! :guitar:
So, should I patent this idea?
I'm surprised to find that comp manufacturers haven't begun to do something like this, with flatscreens getting cheaper everyday, and power supplies getting cheaper and more robust/powerful. I have three flatscreens, all different makes, all 12v, and roughly 2.5 to 3.5a.
So far, there are two benefits:
When the comp is off, the monitor is REALLY off, i.e. not drawing power in standby mode.
It frees up an outlet in an already way to crowded environment.
Comments?