Do-It-Yourself Solar-Powered PC: Hardware

By Tom's Hardware News Team
published

The Monitor Is A Real Energy Hog: 23 Watts When In Use

A TFT monitor normally runs off conventional A/C power, but our solar-powered rig delivers 16 Volts DC. We also had to drive the monitor from our power supply, to meet our design goal of grid independence.

The LG L1900R-BF TFT

Fortunately, there are TFT monitors available on the market that work with their own external power supplies, including some models that accept 12 Volt input (primarily for automotive use). Our solar-powered PC delivers stable power at 12 V, so we were able to connect directly to such a TFT, bypassing its own power brick completely.

We didn't need the LG monitor's power supply

The monitor PSU outputs 12 Volts

We selected the LG Flatron L1900R-BF as our TFT, with its external 12-volt power supply. We removed the power supply hookup, and replaced it with a standard Molex connector, so we could connect the monitor directly to the solar-powered PC's power supply.

Tom's Hardware News Team
Tom's Hardware News Team

Tom's Hardware's dedicated news crew consists of both freelancers and staff with decades of experience reporting on the latest developments in CPUs, GPUs, super computing, Raspberry Pis and more.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Raigedas
    i bought this M2-ATX PSU (actually to of them). but i was unable to start it.

    1. first quick question: is it possible to start (for testing purposes) the PSU without connecting it to the computer? is it enough to short circuit J8 only to start?

    2. docummentation is unclear about 10 (J6). it looks like J6 is purely for controlling stereo amplifier. but other place of the manual says "if J6 is cnnected to the motherboard". where to motherboard?

    3. how should PSU be connected?
    for testing i have taken 12V 7Ah lead acid battery fully charged.
    connected battery "-" to J4.
    battery "+" to J1.
    J3: tried to leave not connected and tried to connect battery "+".
    disconnected power switch cable from motherboard and connected it to J9.
    connected J8 with motheboard (using little cable included in the package) where power switch was originally connected.
    left J6 not connected.
    J10 not connected (P0 mode). also tried P1 mode.
    connected ATX and P4 (J2).
    pressed power on my pc but nothing happened and no voltage on MOLEX cable.

    could authors of the article (or maybe other owner of the PSU) describe how did they start the PSU?
    Reply