Power supply for bench testing

yes and no, i was using an old AT power supply and it worked great for testing radios but as soon as i put an amp to it and turned it up it  would clip.  i had a realy small power supply though.  if you go with a newer and bigger ATX power supply you wil be able to turn it up more but after a certain point it will start to clip again.  but for test purposes it will work fine.  you have to trick the ATX into thinking it has a load on it so it will turn on.    not tricking needed for an AT.  here is the lay out for the AT  if i can find my ATX one i will post it.  should work fine for testing as long as you are not trying to rattle the shop.

AT style motherboard, new ATX motherboards use different connector

1.      Power Good (output from PS which tells that output voltages are OK)2.      +5Vdc3.      +12Vdc4.      -12Vdc5.      Ground6.      Ground7.      Ground8.      Ground9.      -5Vdc10.     +5Vdc11.     +5Vdc12.     +5Vdc

conect the ps-on (pin 14) to any ground this turns it on.  on some atx power supplies you have to put a load on the power supply so you can do this by just putting your radio on it power for the radio is supplye by the +12v (pin 10) and any ground pin. 

because you need this regulated current available at all times when testing amps... you need a stable supply voltage to properly test power amps, ( and a battery strapped to a battery charger-to make no mention of the nasty 60 cycle hum you'll probably get -  is NOT a stable supply )       if you are just looking to rig up a cheap backyard mechanic setup then get a cheap Circuit Test 10 amp supply and be done with it......these power supplies of ours are spread over different benches, some in service, some in install....and as i mentioned, the good one aren't cheap

but if you are testing a monster PPI or PG or Alpine amp, you'll need this type of current at hand.....

a computer power supply might give you enough juice to test a low power radio without problems....