I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the ubiquitous (and often thrown-away) 3Com 3C16470b network switch contains a decent 3.3V switch-mode power supply, and the rack-mount case can serve as a good project box for lots of 3.3V processor-based projects.
Does anyone else have examples of similar devices?
Edit: Actually the main PCB has a couple of LDO voltage regulators (AME8816 BEDVADJ), so maybe the separate PSU is not ideal and will also need an extra regulator.
What about some old routers and modems?
I have a couple of "obsolete" DELL servers at work. The PSUs on those things are rated up to 1000W each. I have yet to figure out how to turn it ON when not connected to the server chassis. I believe there is an I2C bus to "talk" to the PSUs
A single LiFePO4 cell is nominally 3.2V and tends to be about 3.6V fully charged, making a pretty good
match to 3.3V circuitry. I've a bunch of CR123 sized LiFePO4 cells and CR123 PCB-mount holders...
michalpuk:
What about some old routers and modems?
Possibly! Although the ones I've opened have never had a self-contained power supply like this switch has.
hzrnbgy:
I have a couple of "obsolete" DELL servers at work. The PSUs on those things are rated up to 1000W each. I have yet to figure out how to turn it ON when not connected to the server chassis. I believe there is an I2C bus to "talk" to the PSUs
Cool! Although possibly overkill in terms of power for most 3.3V microprocessors.
MarkT:
A single LiFePO4 cell is nominally 3.2V and tends to be about 3.6V fully charged, making a pretty good
match to 3.3V circuitry. I've a bunch of CR123 sized LiFePO4 cells and CR123 PCB-mount holders...
Yes, LiFePO batteries are definitely useful for autonomous power.
For this thread I was thinking it would be useful to compile a list of common cheap devices that can easily be cannibalised to provide both an enclosure and a PSU for microprocessor projects.
You can purchase very inexpensive buck converters (step down) to get your 3.3v from 5-40v power supplies ≈ $2.00
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