Provoding audio power using car stereo amp?

[Rankenphile]

I've got a mod, of sorts, coming up pretty soon in which I will be installing a modded Xbox into an arcade cabinet. I've got just about all of the parts already, and recently came across a Jensen 200 watt car stereo amp I forgot I had.

I have a set of surround sound speakers that I will be powering with the amp, if possible, to create the sound system for the cabinet. The only problem is, I have no idea how to do this. I realize that I will have to provide 12V DC to the amp, and I think I can do this using a standard computer power supply, but would that even work? If so, how do I power it, and how do I wire the speakers to work with the system? :?

I'm including photos, below, of the amp and my speakers I will cannibalize for the project. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/amp.jpg

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/controls.jpg

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/inputs.jpg

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/pass.jpg

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/power.jpg

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/speaker.jpg

That's all the pics of the amp. Below are the speakers I have for this project.

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/small_speaker.jpg
The small speakers. I have 5 of these.

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/sub.jpg
The subwoofer. It also houses the audio in and the controller for the other speakers, below.

http://rankenphile.com/images/amp/connect.jpg
This is where I plug the small speakers into the subwoofer.

I appologize for the poor image quality, I can't find the memory card for my camera, so I had to use the still function on my digital video camera.

The speakers are from a $50 Philco POS DVD player/surround sound set I bought a while back on impulse. If I get the speakers to work for this, it wont be a total loss. The DVD player hardly works and has no audio inputs, so I can't use it with any other part of an entertainment center, and never ever worked right.

I have no idea about these sorts of things, but I'm good at following directions, pretty resourceful once I get started on something, and havea good friend who is lending me a hand with some of the more tech stuff, who is okay at soldering and basic circuitry.

Any help you can provide is a HUGE boon. Thanks in advance.

[crazybillybob]

Judgeing by those speakers I'd set the Level on the amp to min, before I started doing anything. If you have an old AT power supply you might get it to work. The thing is that Amp pulls about 20 Amps Max from the power supply.
(P=IxE 200W=Ix12V 200/12=I or I= 16.7A (now add in what is lost by amplification and your around 20A) If you run it at low it should handle it ok (over time you may kill the PSU but it will take years maybe). To run it on an ATX PSU you'll need to rig it to power on with out the mother board...There's tons of how to's out there on this....There are even Co.s that make a device that plugs in the PSU to do this for you.

Good luck keep us updated!
Crazybillybob

[GregoryJ]

that amp when rated at 200Watts running on your psu would require 16amps of 12v DC current. The calculation: Amps X Volts = Watts. 16amps is a lot of dc current to be pulling from a standard psu. This may pose a serious fire hazard. I would go down to a local Car audio store that has a bunch of amps on display that work and ask the guys there how they convert standard AC power into DC to run the amps on display from the wall outlet. That would be much safer.

[crazybillybob]

Radio Shack has a Power supply Designed for powering Car amps off of 120Vac.

It provides up to 25Amps @ 13.8V (what you have in your car when the engine is running!)

25-Amp Switching DC Power Supply (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=22-510)

Part # 22-510
Cost $99.00 US

This should help eliminate the Fire Hazard issues!

Good Luck,
Crazybillybob

[sega01]

if im not mistaken, those speakers look self powered. why not daisy chain the power cable going into the arcade mod?

[GregoryJ]

I dont think that the speakers are self powered... they are wired to RCA terminals (which is a little misleading). The manufacturer did this because of realtively low RMS wattage and for simplicity of instalation. I would personally go with a set of 6"x9" speakers made for car audio. they would have good bass and an all around good sound plus they would be compatable with the amp and much more durable than home audio speakers.

[boost1105]

I would personally go with a set of 6"x9" speakers made for car audio. they would have good bass and an all around good sound plus they would be compatable with the amp and much more durable than home audio speakers.

Yep long as you get the right wattage, type etc...
Go for a well known brand

[OvRiDe]

Having been in the car audio business in the past.. my experience has been that most AC to DC scenarios also introduce alot of noise, mainly the 60Hz hum. For demo boards the transformer they use have lots of noise isolation which equates to an expensive unit. I'm not saying the less expensive route (I hate using the term "cheaper") won't work, but they may not have as much sonic appeal as you may desire. But with all that said.. its a killer idea!! :)

[Rankenphile]

Thanks, but again, I'm not going to go this route - too much complications. I found a decent stereo amp that I will be using for my mod.

Thanks again for all of the input, however.