Patrick, you might have a hard time finding a battery suitable for delevering all required voltages.
If I look at the ATX spec (I presume you are using a standard atx motherboard) you'll have to provide next voltages: +3.3V +/- 5% (with remote sensing to compensate for voltage drops) +5.0V +/- 5% +12.0V +/- 5% -5.0V +/- 10% (needed for serial ports, sound etc.) -12.0V +/- 10% (needed for serial ports, sound etc.) power distribution for a 160W configuration would be approximate: +3.3V between 0.3 and 14A +5.0V between 1 and 18 A +12.0V between 0 and 6 A (from http://www.enhanceusa.com/documents/ATX12V.pdf) So it actually does really make sense to use a DC/DC convertor (most likely some inverter) to transform the battery voltages into what's needed for the board. Frank. On Tue, Apr 30, 2002 at 09:18:42AM -0700, Paul Winkler wrote: > On Tue, Apr 30, 2002 at 07:39:26AM -0700, Patrick Shirkey wrote: > > Another question that I'm unsure of is whether having a battery that is too >powerful for the machine is going to cause problems or is that not possible because >the machine will just run for longer? Or is that where an inverter comes in? > > > no, an inverter is if you want to generate AC from a battery. > You don't need that. > > Quick electricity primer: Voltage needs to be correct for > your devices. Too little and they won't work. Too much and they'll fry. > Current is different: the device will draw as much current as it > needs from the power source. It's determined by the formula > V = I*R, where V is voltage, I is current (amps), and R is the resistance > (ohms) of the device. So if V is right, and your power supply can > produce *at least* I, then you're fine. > > -- > > "Welcome to Muppet Labs, where the future is made - today!" -- +---- --- -- - - - - | Frank van de Pol -o) A-L-S-A | [EMAIL PROTECTED] /\\ Sounds good! | http://www.alsa-project.org _\_v | Linux - Why use Windows if we have doors available?
