Hi!I just wanted to know how your EPIC systems are powered and what you can recommend to do/not to do?thanks!Steve---------------------------------------------------------------------Do you know the A320 Flightdeck Project? Visit www.a320flightdeck.com

I'm currently using individual 12v dc wall-plug power supplies that came with my EPIC. I plan to move to a single power supply that came from an old personal computer since it has ample 5 and 12v dc power.

Steve,I use several 12V DC stabilized power supplies, one for the USB EPIC and one for each module. That works fine.The thought of using only one big power supply had crossed my mind, but I'm not sure if that is ok (danger of shortcuts between the modules??) - I'm not an electrician...Hans

Hi!>The thought of using only one big power supply had crossed my>mind, but I'm not sure if that is ok (danger of shortcuts>between the modules??) - I'm not an electrician...I have the same thought and I am also not sure if this would work. I wish I would know a little bit more about electricity.. :-)I've also heard that you can use a PC power supply. It will supply 12VDC and 5VDC and I think enough current also.regards,steve---------------------------------------------------------------------Do you know the A320 Flightdeck Project? Visit www.a320flightdeck.com

A PC power supply has more short-circuit protection than the small individual wall-mounted power supplies. The small wall-style plugs will keep getting hot until a part insides melts if it's positive and negative wires are shorted. With the PC supply, it will shut down and some even have a circuit breaker or fuse for protection.You do need to be careful wiring up power connections, even with low voltages like 5 and 12 volts. But if you're wiring an EPIC system, you need to be careful anyway since the lamp connections to the EPIC 32 Point Output module must be tied directly to the plus side of the 12v power supply anyway.I'm using AGT cockpit panels which are designed for backlighting during night flying. To light these, I plan to have individual 12 volt lamps mounted behind each of my panels. Again, the PC power supply can easily supply the power for these.One other advantage of the single PC supply is you will have less 120 volt power cords running through your cockpit. Runing my 12 volts is a lot safer than running 120 volts so that's why I chose this route - plus I have an old PC power supply left over from a PC upgrade.Good luck.

So you put all EPIC cards that need power in paralel? That easy?Hans

Yes. As a matter of fact, I just built a power distribution box for my cockpit. I use some readily available parts to allow me to connect and disconnect all EPIC modules (EPIC, 32 Point Output, ABA, 12vdc for Output module, etc) to a 12vdc power source. Since none of my hardware is installed in my Pit, I'm keeping everything moduler i.e., I have plugs on booth sides of all my cables.When I get home, I'll see if I can attach a picture or two so you can see how I did it.

The attached photo shows my 12vdc power distribution box. This is not very sophisticated, it's only job is to allow me to connect and disconnect the power to EPIC modules that need 12 volt power.As you can see, it consist of a small circuit card that I find easy to use to connect electronic parts (I buy them at Radio Shack in the US). I attached 2-pole male conectors that are soldered to the circuit board. You can see one of the female connectors to the right of the distribution box. Above this connector is the polarized connector I use to connect to power supplies. Also seen here under the wall-mounted power supply is the male connector that connects to EPIC modules.

This is a close-up of the circuit card. On the opposite of this card is copper that allows easy sodering. I solder the 2-pole male connectors that you can see sticking up. To mate to these 2-pole male connectors, I use a small 2 position female connectors I get from Mouser.com (a good place for everthing electronic) and attached to the other end of the cable is the EPIC type connector shown in my last post.Last, I solder to the circuit card a cable that has the polarized connector for the power supplies. Now all of my EPIC modules are tied to my power supply and they can be disconnected whenerver I need to remove them from my cockpit.

Hi,I wondered why FlightLink supply 12VDC adapters with the EPIC while microcockpit in France supply 9VDC adapters.I think they have more brains in France, because on the EPIC, and also on other 'expansion cards' there are L7805 Voltage Regulators soldered on them.. (output 5vdc)which means that they have to get rid of 7volts.. Now you know why there are such large heat sinks on the 32output cards..I wonder if it wouldnt be better to use the 5VDC from an ATX power supply... since all the epic (and expansion) boards run internal on 5VDC anyway.Does anyone have comments on this ?Greetingz,Highvolt

To answer your question: if the EPIC has an on-board 5vdc voltage regulator, you really should have at least 1-2 volts above the 5vdc as the supply, otherwise you're abusing the voltage regulator and I believe it will eventually fail. You see, the voltage regulator has diodes in the circuit and there's a voltage drop across each diode. I did a little research on "voltage regulator" on the internet (it's been 20 years since I studied EE in college), and I confirmed that most regulators have a couple of diodes (a transitor and a Zenier) in the curcuit. I agree the 7volt drop sounds like a lot, but when you consider that it's all driven by 120 volts AC I wouldn't worry about it.My philosphy is to use whatever is convenient. Also, I want a single power supply for all my EPIC needs (EPIC modules, and cockpit lighting, etc.).

I use a 12vdc and a 5vdc dual supply. it's surplus, like most all my gear. It's a LAMBRA supply, $15.00 us. I use the 12vdc for all 6 of my epic cards and drive the relays for throttles. the 5vdc is used to drive the LEDs and analog pots. On my comm radio pannels, I use both thru a relay so the lamps are lighted with 5vdc when inactive and at 12vdc when active. this is done thru the relay for each button. also a larger supply will supply more current and that is the concern. if you don't have enough current to run the epic bd, then voltage does not matter.