I’ve decided to increase the general nerd factor of my life equation by re-kindling an old hobby I use to enjoy with dad, flying RC Aircraft. For starters I just wanted something quick and easy to get going and start practicing again. After a little research I decided the Electrify Lancair ES EP would be my guinea pig. I should probably apologize to this little model kit in the event that I do something stupid and ruin it on it’s maiden voyage.

The kit comes with pretty much everything you need, minus some important things you can’t fly it without. One of those items is a 12v DC power source for the included NiMH power pack charger. Rather than spend extra money on a dedicated battery/AC converter or just plain opening up the car hood and hooking it up this seems like a great opportunity to re-use one of the old PSUs that I still have lying around. Fortunately the web comes pre-packaged with useful information on the subject. If you’ve ever tinkered with the insides of your computer (and I know you have) you’ll know the PSU doesn’t generally stay on unless it’s hooked into some fashion of motherboard. So I was particularly interested in knowing about the inner workings of this mechanism. I came across this interesting video that explains not just the wiring itself, but the mechanism behind the familiar click when you hit the the power switch.

There are various other tutorials on actually doing the wiring, all relatively basic and strikingly similar. This article on wikiHow seems to be the granddaddy of them all.