DIY power box ?

[MarkyD]

If you want small XLR plugs look up Tiny XLR by Rean.  Same as norlmal XLR but smaller.   Rapid Online sell them

https://www.rapidonline.com/tiny-xlr

[BRUN]

I think thats what i bought, cheers

Do you all put your power sockets on the side, or on the lid ?

[MarkyD]

47 minutes ago, BRUN said:

I think thats what i bought, cheers

Do you all put your power sockets on the side, or on the lid ?

I put them where I could for my Dew Controller/PS.  I used the lock screw ones from maplin as I hadn't found the Tiny XLR's then.  Pictures in this thread

 

[RayD]

2 hours ago, BRUN said:

I think thats what i bought, cheers

Do you all put your power sockets on the side, or on the lid ?

Mine are in the lid, along with the little fuse board.  No particular reason other than taking battery in and out if needed is easier, and everything is then in the lid so you only have 2 wires from there to the battery, but it really doesn't matter, whichever suits your particular box 

[BRUN]

I just think the lid would give the best position for the cable, its less likely to wrap around things, but id have to build in some kind of connection so that I can open the lid properly for access to the battery

[RayD]

1 hour ago, BRUN said:

I just think the lid would give the best position for the cable, its less likely to wrap around things, but id have to build in some kind of connection so that I can open the lid properly for access to the battery

What type of box are you using?  Normally if it's a removable lid you would just have long enough tails so that you can take it off.

[BRUN]

yea ill do that, ill have a long enough wire connection to it, ive built the box myself from plywood

[BRUN]

so far...

 

[BRUN]

Ive since painted most of it with outdoor wood paint, planning on making holes and wiring everything up tomorrow hopefully

Ive also got insulation to put around the battery to keep it warm

[Marci]

Psst - that’s not plywood... it’s general purpose OSB board - make sure you paint / thoroughly weather seal it as it isn’t moisture-proof.

EDIT: Posted simultaneously!

[SkyBound]

That's not plywood that chipboard, or fibre board, so make sure it's well waterproof, as it will swell up...!

[SkyBound]

1 minute ago, Marci said:

Psst - that’s not plywood... it’s general purpose OSB board - make sure you paint / thoroughly weather seal it as it isn’t moisture-proof.

Lol, must have posted at the same time.....  you are correct its OSB board, like the old fashioned chip board....

[BRUN]

sorry lol, yes it is OSB, ive painted it with Dulux weathershield so as long as ive done a decent job it should be ok, hopefully lol, and obviously i wont be out when its raining

[Max N]

I'm currently making a simple power box for my scope, using XLRs. In the audio world, XLR connectors are usually wired up as shown. Pin 1 is shield, pin 2 hot, pin 3 cold. Because I'm in the habit of wiring these up for audio, I was doing exactly the same, i.e. red +12V pin 2, black 0V pin3, pin 1 unused. But then I remembered that Neutrik female XLRs are built so that pin1 connects slightly before the other 2 pins, so now I am thinking I will use pin 1 for the 0V circuit. Is this what other people do?

[Stub Mandrel]

Coming to this late and I haven't read all 85 posts, but +1 for XLR because they (1) lock and don't fail out (2) decent quality ones are reliable and make good contact (they wouldn't be ubiquitous for professional music use otherwise) and (3) available in different pin outs so you can help avoid plugging the wrong thing in the wrong hole, even if you only wire up some pins.

My goto box sprouts them in all directions.

[BRUN]

 now mostly painted it, sealed it inside, added side handles, and put the insulation in around the battery

[BRUN]

I've got a voltage display panel to fit, now do I wire that on its own circuit with its own switch, or have it on the normal switch with the display showing all the time it's switched on. I can't see it drawing much power whatsoever, barely anything.

[RayD]

Generally you would fit it on a momentary switch (spring loaded so when you let go it goes off) as you won't want the voltage displayed all the time, only when you want to check how you're getting on.

[BRUN]

Cheers

When wiring this xlr, what's the outer spade for? @RayD

I was gonna use 2 of the 3 pins, 1 + and 1 -

 

[RayD]

That's to earth the casing so leave that and the middle pin clear. 

[BRUN]

Done, cheers, we have power !

 

[RayD]

Happy days 

[BRUN]

Thanks for all your help, I've tried it on the scope and it works great !