Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] atx power supply

Joe Vicars wrote:

> How do I jump start an ATX power supply not connected to a mother
> board? Can I do this without hurting the supply?

ATX power supplies do not have a power switch. Power on/off is
controlled by the motherboard. I think it may only be a momentary
switch closure at the motherboard, though. The power supplies are
supposed to remember their state when power is interrupted, so if
the computer was 'on' when the plug was pulled, it will power up
automatically when the plug is pushed back into the wall socket.
This is convenient if you have it plugged into an outlet strip and
want to turn everything on with one switch (like a CNC system).
So, one of the wires in the cable is power control. You might
look on the www.intel.com site, as the ATX is an Intel standard
design. I looked up their ATX motherboard info to get the mounting
hole locations for a MB, so there is a lot of detail on there. They
may detail the power control techniques. You will almost certainly
need a load on +5V, there is also +3.3V and the +12V, at least.

Jon