If you are talking about getting a PC Power supply to switch on (for hobby
reasons or what [ie a cheap psu]) yo uwill need to do the following:

if an ATX PSU, short pin 14 of the psu connecto to GND (one of the black
leads). YOu may also need a dummy load between the +5V (Red cable) and GND
(Black cable). Usually PC PSUs are switched mode powersupplies and require
500mA minimum loading for them to work correctly. This means you'll need
5V/.5A = 10ohms (wire wound since it'll be dissapating 2.5Watts).





"Dave." wrote in message
om...
Hi, I`m a complete electrics novice and at the moment every thing I
try doesn`t work. Even down to shorting a PC`s Power Supply Unit so
that it`ll work without being connected to the motherboard, which
concists of "simply" grounding the power wire with a paperclip,
would`nt work for me. What I realy want to know, though, is; in what
order do power supply-transformer-mains supply, go. I`m pretty sure
that the mains supply (230v) goes straight to the transformer and then
from the transformer to the powersupply (PCB with resistors, led`s
etc)and from the powersupply to the amp/radio/computer......
I have seen schematic drawings for this but I don`t understand them
and I have looked all over for a diagram or photo but can`t find one.
I am just looking for a plain english explination coupled with some
photographs. Any help apreceiated.
Thanks.
Dave.