Building my Notebook PSU part II

A bit of a rush here. Since I was very busy as jobs comes in wave now, I had to buy first and think later (or on the spot). This is a very bad idea as it would incur more cost and unecessary waste of surplus parts. I roughly have an idea of how the PSU is going to be:-

1) Twin cooling fans for the PSU's actual heatsink
As these fans are Rm14.00 each, its not good to just connect them directly to 15volts. So, I would have to get a 12volt DC voltage regulator. And then, I would have to get a suitable heatsink for it too. I did not get those 80cm fans although they could do the job effectively but I chose the smaller ones so that it looks right with the PSU. Moreover, someone could be putting a finger there for no reason.........


2) Meters
OK, I want the PSU to look "busy" too. And so, I could put some meters there. The choices are:
a) AC 500v Analog meter.
Its a nice idea but then again, TNB's power levels usually do not fluctuate. . .much. So, the needle would just hang on at 230volts all the time instead of moving.

b) AC Digital Meter
The same concept applies so, its boring

c) DC Digital Meter
Well, it could be a nice idea, to see the DC output of the PSU. But again, it does not move much.

d) Digital Current Meter
This is a big question mark here as I am not sure if the current fluctuates with the PSU but if it does, I am going to go for it. However, there is another problem in that I would need to place a shunt across which, as far as I can recall, is a very big thing.

And so, at the moment, I am not putting any meters on the PSU because of one detail. All of them are too big.

I have just opened this meter and after removing its
plastic cover, I can modify it with some yellow LEDs
to light it up. Then, I can also create a special meter
scale too, from "Just nice" to "Oh no!"

But the real reason why I am not putting any meter is
because of the fact that there is very little space inside
the PSU. The only space I could use was the blank area
next to the capacitors and blue varistors. However, if I
cut a hole at the cover, there is still not enough space.
The only solution is to find a bigger enclosure and then
I can do these meter (or meters)


And so, I think the only add-on I am going to do would be the twin fans. Now all I have to do is to get the 12volt voltage regulator, a heatsink and some stripboards.

Actually, I do not need a heatsink for the voltage
regulator and moreover, the Earth and the DC
0volts are not connected and I have to isolate
them. The reason I need a heatsink is so that I
can use it as a platform for another big voltage
voltage regulator and a LED sequencing circuit.
But thats in the future. Now, I'll do the foundation

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