Hard wiring a wireless router

[sypsyche]

I've installed a wireless router into my WiFi system. The output from the supplied adapter (120/240 AC) is 12 VCD 0.5 amp. I'd like to be able to hard-wire it straight into my 12VCD (11-14.5 VCD) battery bank but I assume this would fry the router. Any suggestions? (I prefer not plug the 120/240 AC power adapter into a converter)

[goboatingnow]

your router may not be handle you battery bank voltages which can get up close to 15v( and can drop below 12V) at times. theres no easy way of knowing what the regulation range is in teh router, you could open it and have a look for the regulation stage, or just suck it and see.

DAve

[GILow]

Depends on the make and model of router, some are very tolerant, others are not. But your local electronics store (real electronics store not the sort that just sell consumer stuff) will be able to sell you a lovely little chip that will take anything up to 90V DC (from memory) and hold it down to 12v or whatever voltage you need. I use them regularly with solar tracking circuits which are themselves solar powered and get huge voltage fluctuation although the chip I use puts out 5 volts as that's what the picaxe chips I work with need.


Ask for a 12v voltage reg IC, I pay about AU$8 for the 5 volt model. The curreNt draw of your router should be less than1 amp.

[GILow]

BTW, a great idea to take the transformer out of the equation. By the time you inverted then rectified I would guess that your 10watts of power to router would be drawing from 50 to 100 watts from the battery bank!

[colemj]

Every router that I have used has internal regulation and handles nominal boat voltage just fine. If you are concerned, you can pick up DC-DC buck/boost converters on Amazon very inexpensively. They will take your nominal boat voltage and provide a constant 12V.

We use these everywhere on our boat for converting equipment to 12V usage.

Mark

[barnakiel]

Yes, some are very tolerant, others fry. If it is a cheap router just test it.

Otherwise use a 12 to 12 stabilized source. You will find then online easily.

b.

[GILow]

I find with the ADSL routers in particular, it is usually the wireless component that fails first, often with a fair bit of associated heat. I replace around 30 routers a year of varying brands, and that is the most common point of failure. Interestingly I can't even recommend one brand over the other as it varies so much from model to model. Clearly they source various components from various vendors. Although the majority of the failed routers I meet were on regulated transformers, you can still see how sensitive some parts of the circuit are.


Didn't know about the 12 to 12 stabilised voltage devices, but I suspect they would cost significantly more than the ICs I use as they are probably some kind of consumer packages. Barnakiel, can you point me at a source of some I would like to know more?

If you are comfortable soldering then I still reckon the IC might be the way to go.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by GILow

Didn't know about the 12 to 12 stabilised voltage devices, but I suspect they would cost significantly more than the ICs I use as they are probably some kind of consumer packages. Barnakiel, can you point me at a source of some I would like to know more?

If you are comfortable soldering then I still reckon the IC might be the way to go.

<$10 USD and they come in a more consumer-friendly package that is more readily installed. I don't know how that compares to what you are using.

Mark

[kmason]

Try a DC-DC power conditioner.

DC Power Onboard with Newmar&rsquo;s DC Power Conditioners. Newmar&rsquo;s power array of dc conditioners provide stabilizing voltage during engine crank, voltage stabilizers with Isolated DC-DC converters, electronic noise filters and automatic powe

[smac999]

I bet if you measure that 12v power supply it's up around 13-14v already.

I've hard wired lots of stuff like that. just make sure you get the wires correct as normally they are just both black.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by colemj

<$10 USD and they come in a more consumer-friendly package that is more readily installed. I don't know how that compares to what you are using.

Mark

That compares VERY well, given the labour involved in using the IC.

What exactly should I be googling for? I have not yet found something quite like what you describe. I am finding massive devices worth many thousands which are interesting... but clearly not the right thing.

Matt

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by GILow

(...) Barnakiel, can you point me at a source of some I would like to know more? (...)

Got ours (last link) from a friend who drives an emergency car - they have them plugged into to car's battery and the outputs are for medical equipment (mostly based on small computers so the voltages are 12, 5, and then whatever the processor asks for).

The general idea is like this:

Pololu 12V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S10V2F12

or this:

50 Watt Netbook Car Adapter - PA311

The one we have onboard came from:

Mini-Box.com - Mini-ITX | Motherboards | Power Supplies | Car PC

It is more expensive but also more powerful and delivers both regulated 12V and 5V from unregulated 5.7 to 30V plus 11V disconnect option and anti-thump (this you use if your source is the starter battery).

Cheers,
b.

[kentobin]

It's not just the battery voltage you have to worry about it's any voltage spikes and other electrical garbage that can show up.

There's a good chance at the dock using your battery charger you won't fry anything but I wouldn't recommend it.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Got ours (last link) from a friend who drives an emergency car - they have them plugged into to car's battery and the outputs are for medical equipment (mostly based on small computers so the voltages are 12, 5, and then whatever the processor asks for).

Those are some great links, thank you.

I particularly like that first chip, now... I just need to think of a project that could use one....

[GILow]

Mind you... the current is limited to 200mA, which is probably not nearly enough for a router... but... the possibilities....!