AC to DC Adapter to Plug Into Vantec Nexus Nxp-201 Fan Controller?

Can you use a AC to DC Adapter to Plug into a Vantec Nexus Nxp-201 Fan Controller?

[EDIT]Just wanted to mention that I am always updating my first post in this thread so that all you really need to read is this post for the answers to my questions and any new questions that i have.[/EDIT]

Questions Unanswered

6) What does it mean when some AC to DC adapter say they are switching and some say they are linear. Does this matter to me for what i want to do?

7) What does the Fan Controller control exactly... Amps or Voltage or Power in general?

8) I would imagine that altering the Fan Controller would alter the brightness of the UV light. (Please correct me if i am wrong)

9) What would be a good place to get a UV light. Im looking at one from Case-Mod and a dual 12 inch is only 7 bucks so ill most likely be getting it from there.

10) Are all UV lights purple?

11) I am pretty sure UV lights use molex connectors so i can just plug it into the Fan Controller but i first need to know how many Volts and Amps does it takes because if it takes more than 18 Watts i cant connect it to the Fan Controller.

Hello all i think ive been bit by the modding bug and have some good ideas in my head for an external WC box. I wanted to know if it was possible to do the following. Get and AC to DC adapter and attach it to a Vantec Nexus NXP-201 Fan Controller.



The following is information on the Fan Controller.
I marked the information i think would be useful.

Channel Fan Controller
Adjustable Fan Speed Knob
Aluminum "U" Type Housing
Blue LED Light
-->Each Channel Will Support 15 to 18 Watts <--
Fits In A Standard 5.25" Drive Bay.
No Need to Cut Wires Like Other Fan Controller. Just Plug The Cable In to the 3pin connections

I want to be able to connect 4 120mm Enermax fans to it.
Each fan has the following ratings: 12 V and .2 Amps
So using some equations i learned in physics lets try to see if what i am doing is correct.

Power is measured in Watts

Power = (Amps) (Voltage)

P = (.2) (12)

P = 2.4 Watts per 120mm Fan

2.4 Watts per 120mm Fan X 4 120mm Fans = 9.6 Watts of Total Power

Total Amps = 9.6 Watts of Total Power/12 Volts

Total Amps = .8

So in conclusion i need an adapter from AC to DC that will give me 12 volts with .8 Amps just so i can power all 4 fans. Now it has also come to my attention that i need to find out exactly how much the actual adapter draws in Volts and Amps so i can calculate this in the total. It was pointed out that it uses 5 Volts and a very small amount of amps so i was going to get a 12 Volt 1.5 or 2 Amp REGULATED Adapter to be safe.

Questions Answered

Question 1
1) If i get a 12 Volt AC to DC adapter do i have to get the exact amount of amps that i need or can i go over?

Answer
1)You can go over because a DC circuit only pulls the amount of amps it needs and it would be a better idea to get a bit more than what you need so you dont stress your adapter out as much.

Question 2
2) If i adjust my fans with a fan controller to run at a lower RPM will using the AC to DC adapter fry the fan since its not using all if the watts im feeding it.

Answer 2
2) No

Question 3
3) AC to DC adapters mention something about a positive or negative polarized tip. Does this matter to me?

Answer 3
3) Not if you cut off the head and use the wires.

Question 4
4) Where would i buy a cheap REGULATED 120V AC to 12V 1.5 or 2 Amps DC adapter?

Answer 4
4) www.bgmicro.com and www.allelectronics.com

Question 5
5) How would i connect the AC to DC Adapter to the Fan Controller? I was thinking just cut a molex connector off a old psu.

Answer 5
5) A old molex connector would work fine, just hook the 12+ from the supply to the yellow wire on the molex plug and the 12v- to the BLACK wire NEXT to the YELLOW one.

Thanks for the help everybody.
Eddie

P.S. Now dont anyone steal my idea until i finish my mod or ill beat ya upside da head. I have never seen this mod done before so im hoping i can post a an original mod when im done.

why not use your 480W PSU?

Sorry but i forgot to mention the reason... anyways.. the reason i need this is because i am doing an external WC system and i would hate the fact that i would need an extra ugly psu in the clear case im going to design.... so this is hopefully a cheaper and spacesaving alternative.
Eddie

I think i may have answered my own question but i still need some help from you guys... i looked up in my physics book "whooda thunk it...looking up extra curicular activities in my physics book for fun..) anyways i found out that the equation is
P = (I)(V)
Power = (Amps) (Voltage)
Power is measured in Watts..

So if
"Each Channel Will Support 15 to 18 Watts"
I am going to have 4 fans and im approximating each will go at 18 watts so that would be

18 watts X 4 = 72

P = I V

72 = I V

I think the voltage on these things is 12 if im not mistaking

72 = I 12

72/12 = 6 Amps...

I would imagine this is correct but... 6 amps seems like a lil to much to run 4 fans... maybe i did something wrong i dunno hey im trying... any of you electrical genius ppl out there wanna help me?
Thanks in Advance
Eddie

6 amps seems way to high for case fans. if i recall corectly most fans use 1 amp or less. Take a look at your fans, and they should say how many amps they draw. If you go to this link:
http://www.xoxide.com/quadledred80.html you'll see a 80mm fan only draws .13 amps.

Thanks for the reply matt taylor you are absolutely correct. I got a reply at another forum that told me to look on the acutal Enermax 120mm fan for info and i found it.. 120mm Enermax that im going to use are rated to run at 12 V and .2 A so lets do the math again and calculate what adapter i need.

P = I V

P = (.2) (12)

P = 2.4 Watts

2.4 Watts X 4 120mm Fans = 9.6 Watts of Total Power

Amps = 9.6 Watts of Total Power/12 Volts

Amps = .8 Total Amps...

So in conclusion i need an adapter from AC to DC that will give me 12 volts with .8 Amps anybody see any problems with this? Also will it matter if i dont use all .2 amps because i might run the fan at a lower speed? Also will it matter if i get an adapter that has a slightly higher rating for the amperage? What would be the max you could assume i could use if i cant find the .8 amps?

Thanks again in Advance.
Eddie

P.S. When i finsih the mod be sure im giving a whole tutorial on it..im finishing my semester in 5 days so ill have a good 3 weeks before summer semester starts up again..

The adapter puts out 1 amp max, it's fine if your only drawing .8 of a amp. It's wise to get a higher rated one because you won't be stressing the adapter at full load.

If you plan on having the nexus light up, your also going to need a 5V line for the LED's. We used a 5 watt resistor on the 12V line to make a 5V line when we installed a nexus in my dad's audio rack. A 1 amp 12V adapter from a old cable modem powers the nexus with 4 92mm fans with no problems.

My biggest question then is...

1) When choosing my AC-DC adapter I know it has to be at 12 Volts but how much over .8 Amps can i get before i fry the Vantec Nexus Nxp-201. Would 1 Amp be the limit or 1.5 Amps or higher?

I guess a good question would be how many amps does a PSU supply to the Vantec Nexus Nxp-201 and then that could be my limit? Am i right to assume that or does an AC to DC adapter work differently than what a PSU does?

Thanks in Advance
Eddie

Bump for a more specific question.
Now i do have 2 questions for any electronic geniuses out there..

1) Keeping the AC to DC Adpater at 12 Volts what would be the MAXIMUM amount of Amps i could or should get in an AC to DC Adapter for my project wich seems to only NEED 1 Amp?

Or another way to phrase the question would be

After putting out enough amps to power your device does it matter how many more amps your AC to DC Adapter feeds it?

Or another way to phrase the question would be

How many amps does a PSU give per Molex connector?

2) I read somewhere about AC to DC adpapters having polarized tips that are positive or negative. Now what does that mean? Does that mean that the ground is either in the tip or on the sides or Vice Versa? Does this matter to me considering the fact that i am just going to cut the the head and put a molex connector on it?

Thanks in Advance to Everyone and Anyone that has already and will reply.
Eddie

You don't want to get to big of a supply because it just a waste, but it won't hurt anything if it's higher than the 1 amp load. You could run a .2 amp 12V fan of a 1000 amp car battery and it will only draw .2 amps and run just fine. You could get a 2 or 3 amp adapter and add some CCFL's or LED's to your WC box.

Don't worry about the polarized tip, just cut it off and use a multimeter to find out the polarity of the wires.

Thank you johnny you are the man those questions have been driving me crazy... I found the answer to the amperage question on the radioshack site but you just reinforced it cuz they said it a little bit confusing. About the polarization im guessing i was right that polarity just meant what part was the ground and what part was the positive...

Now i just found out a new term while searching the plethora of adapters on the internet. The term is ...............

Regulated...

I know that it means that it just basically filters out what it outputs so the voltage and amps dont vary... that really sucks cuz the one at radioshack that i need the 12v 1.5 amp does not mention it is regulated so now i need to find one that is regulated somewhere else.. oh well ill keep searching but if anyone knows of a place where they sell 12 v 1.5 amp or 2 amp AC to DC adapters that are REGULATED please let me know

Thanks agian EVERYONE ill keep ya posted after this wednesday my semester is over and i have 2 weeks to accomplish a mod ive been thinking of for over a month.
Eddie

Just wanted to bump before i go to sleep and mention to read my first post in this thread first because i am always updating that with new questions and answers to my old questions if anyone ever has the same idea all they have to do is search the thread its all nice and neat in the first post..
Eddie

Bump for questions 4 and 5 read updated first post or here are the questions

4) Where would i buy a REGULATED 120V AC to 12V 1.5 or 2 Amps DC adapter?

5) How would i connect the AC to DC Adapter to the Fan Controller? I was thinking just cut a molex connector off a old psu.

Thanks in Advance
Eddie

http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=480&item=PS-1216&type=store

We used a few of these in displays for my brothers car audio shop. Not bad for under $10, plus it's easy to hook up a remote switch so you don't have to unplug it when not in use.

A old molex connector would work fine, just hook the 12+ from the supply to the yellow wire on the molex plug and the 12v- to the black wire next to the yellow one.

Thanks for the reply johnny5c... i looked at it and i was wondering if it had 8 wires because it has 8 pins in the head or just 2 wires? And just when you thought i had run out of questions.

I have also concocted another idea in my puny lil mind lol...
I was wondering if could connect a UV light to the fan controller

Questions

6) What does it mean when some AC to DC adapter say they are switching and some say they are linear. Does this matter to me for what i want to do?

7) What does the Fan Controller control exactly... Amps or Voltage or Power in general?

8) I would imagine that altering the Fan Controller would alter the brightness of the UV light. (Please correct me if i am wrong)

9) What would be a good place to get a UV light. Im looking at one from Case-Mod and a dual 12 inch is only 7 bucks so ill most likely be getting it from there.

10) Are all UV lights purple?

11) I am pretty sure UV lights use molex connectors so i can just plug it into the Fan Controller but i first need to know how many Volts and Amps does it takes because if it takes more than 18 Watts i cant connect it to the Fan Controller.

Thanks again for all the help guys.
Eddie

I don't remember if it has all 8 wires, but there are only 4 you need to hook up(12+, 12-, and 2 for the switching circut). If you end up getting this one I can go over to the shop and write down what each wire is.

It's not the best idea to run a CCFL of a fan controller, the inverters are made to run at 12V. You could add a second molex plug to your power supply or get a Y-adaptor to power the light.

A fan controller changes the voltage, my nexus goes from 12V down to 7.5V.