Converting an ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply, Part 2

Now for the fun part; ripping the power supply apart to begin the process of converting it to a Lab Power Supply.


First I chopped off the connectors to the peripherals using a pair of side cutters.


Then I inspected the motherboard connector and, there is indeed a green wire peeking out of the back.


I lopped off the connector with the side cutters as well.


I organized the wires by color.


I then soldered the green wire to the switch I bought along with a black wire.


I soldered the orange wires together and set that aside.


The "Load circuit" involves soldering a red wire to the 10 Ohm, 10 Watt resister and clamping it to the case as a heat sink. Note I put a rubber grommet around the wire bundle where it goes through the case. This is to prevent cutting through the wire insulation and causing a short.

At this point I had to stop because I couldn't mount the terminals to the power supply. Instead I'll begin construction of the Test Control Panel so I can finish the power supply assembly.

Lab Projects Articles

Related: Converting a Computer ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply, Part 3
Next: Constructing a Test Control Panel
Previous: Making a Lab Power Supply from an ATX Computer Power Supply, Part 1