I am getting tired of my 9v battery running out and I am looking to upgrade to a power supply like this one with this board. I am really paranoid about high voltages/currents and using things that plug into the wall for a non-standard use, so I was wondering if a computer power supply can output voltage/current high enough to harm a human?

I personally think that it is a overkill. A simple wall adapter would be sufficient for your experimental needs.

-Raja

This power supply is one I purchased and works great for breadboarding. They're sold on ebay (Link for one).

You can see one mounted on the board I was testing the Wii Nunchuck on in the photo below.

The PC power supply I would have to agree with Raja, would be serious overkill.

Rick

I have to agree... The PC power supply has all the power you might ever need for lots of projects but it is certainly serious overkill for these little kits. I'd stick with the wall warts. The cell phone charges that plug into the USB connectors of the phones are usually a pretty well regulated 5V power supply and easily adapted to these kits. Just make sure it is a regulated one, or you can continue using the regulator that came with the kit.

I was going to use it to power stepper motors also, but I guess I could use a separate wall wart for that too.

I had mentioned this on an other discussion, but I was googling around and found some listings for Powered Breadboards. They look really nice. One 5V and two variable 15 (- & +) V supplies.

http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17710+TE http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/9651

some have meters on board others do not (makes them cheaper)

If I buy a wall wart power supply like this from sparkfun, and snip the end off, how do I know which lead is which when I fasten them into the battery-plugin-part of the breadboard?

The best way would be to check it with a multimeter. If you don't have one (which I would recommend getting one), an alternative would be to use an LED with a 1k resistor in series. Connect your power from the adapter to your circuit. If the LED lights, then the wire connected to the Anode of the LED is positive and the one to the cathode is negative. If it doesn't light, then they are backward and you can double check by reversing them. A simple LED circuit like described makes an easy to build polarity checker.

Rick

I don't know, a lot of you guys say that PC power supply is an overkill, but I think I'd rather go with a PC then a wall plug. Because of the price.

I bought a used 150W power supply from a local computer parts store for $7! It outputs +5, +3.3, +12, and -12 volts. Inside of it there are also a short-circuit breakers, that will turn power off if the short circuit is detected.

Cheapest wall plug I could find was $20 in radio-shack, and (of course) it didn't have the short-circuit detector. Wal-mart's cell phone chargers are starting at $12, but they usually provide 1A of current max, and I had a few projects that needed 1.2A @ 5V, so the voltage from them would drop.

Thanks

Here is what i have:

i suggest keeping your eyes open while driving down the road. you may find an old computer laying on the side of the road. remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure! ;)

when i first set this up i just left the original wires hanging out the front, tinned the ends and just plugged them right into the breadboards. i cut away the ones i was not going to use and also cut away all but two of each voltage so there was not SO MANY wires hanging around. as you can see i have upgraded it over time, banana clips and LED to show power status. i have another one just like it (similar anyway) out in my garage to charge model airplane batteries.

things to keep in mind!!! when you open this thing there are some LARGE caps in there. be careful!! i am not saying they will shock you but i know caps hold charges so it is always a good thing to be safe and not sorry. also, some power supplies must have a drain to even turn on. this one did not but my other power supply has a 12 volt car break light hanging off of it to always pull power when it is turned on. if memory serves i have the light connected to the 5 volt line so it is dim but it is enough to keep the power supply in the ON state. google around for other ideas of things used to keep power supplies running.

overkill??? yes...

knowing i can run three NerdKits (mesh network), charge a 3000mah lipo battery, and run a handheld GPS all while whistling dixie..... Priceless!!!!

Welcome to the exclusive re-purposers club!

I have been re-using old junk for years, that others have no use for.

You guys haven't seen an overkill, untill you saw this!

That is definitely some serious overkill.

Rick S where do you buy those connectors on the ends of the leads that I see in your photos?

BobBolinger, since I asked Rick that same question three months ago I can answer that.

You can get them off ebay, I'll try to remember exactly what they are called.

I just order 50 of them and then ordered a new breadboard and they sent another 50 with the breadboard

so now I have them all over the place.

They really are convenient though they do get rather tangled looking if you are not careful or you use them on more than 3 -4 pins.

Ralph

thx Ralph, Frys is just up the road from me, I bet they have them...