Unique idea w/ power question.

Hey guys,

After looking at all the MP3 players available for cars these days, I got to looking at (what I think is) the next step up: using a hard drive in your car to store all the songs. There seem to be a few brand-name systems available, but they are quite expensive.

So, long story short, I decided to do it myself. Now I am probably sure you guys hear that "So I decided to do it myself" line a lot, but don't stop reading.. I think I have a good idea. I just have run into a little (probably very easy to fix) snag.

The idea: (I have all these parts already) Using my Toshiba e335 PDA, with a USB hard drive connected to it, play MP3's through a freeware PDA application (PocketMusic) through my existing stereo via a FM modulator. It is a little more complicated than that, but that is the general jist of it.

The USB hard drive uses a normal AC adapter to power itself (PA-215), so I had to buy a power inverter to allow the adapter to plug into the car's power. The power inverter is 325 watt continious, which should be plenty for the USB hard drive considering they note it at 30 watt. But, when I have everything hooked up and the power inverter on, and turn on the hard drive, the power inverter's overload light comes on and shuts off the hard drive within a second or two of turning it on. I don't know my power stuff too well, so after a few hours of getting nowhere, I stopped being a guy about it and decided to ask for help.

Since I don't know this stuff that well, I will give you what I do know (or can read from lables). The power inverter is a Sema STP-325 ( Specs Here), and the power adapter is a PA-215 (Input: 100-240Vac, 0.6A, 50/60Hz; Output: +5v 1.5A, +12v 1.8A). Let me know if you need more info before you can figure out anything.

Any suggestions as to why such a small thing would cause a 325 watt power inverter to overload? The wiring fault light doesn't come on, so the wiring seems to be correct. Hopefully this is related to cars enough that it is at home here.

Thanks guys,

Matthew

BulletTooth: I had it connected to the cigarette lighter, so i will try the battery tomorrow. I didn't know that the cig lighter may not be able to provide the current. I'll let you know what happens.

Auex: Actually, I had the PDA already (for work) so all I had to buy was a USB hard drive enclosure (had the hard drive already), the power inverter, and an FM modulator. So the total was under $100. I haven't found any Ipods or head-units that can do that for under that amount. Plus, the hard drive I have in is a 20GB, so it holds more than a 20 CD changer would. I guess I couldn't pass up this for the price.

Matthew

Alright! You got it the first try BulletTooth. I guess the cig lighter just couldn't handle it. It seems to work fine when connected straight to the battery. Sorry about such a simple question, but thanks anyway!

Matthew

why not ditch the power inverter, your only outputs from the adapter are +12 and +5? You could do that with linear elements or be fancy and use some sort of switch mode... err linear would be easier... I mean high current standard voltage regulators by linear, they would get warm though...

You lost me at the "why ..", lol.

Matthew