M1-ATX: 6-24V Intelligent Automotive ATX Power Supply
M1-ATX: 6-24V Intelligent Automotive ATX Power Supply
Installation Guide
Version 1.0c
P/N M1-ATX-01
Please take a moment and read this manual before you install the M1-ATX in your
vehicle. Often times, rushing into installing the unit can result in serious damage
to your M1-ATX board, computer and probably your car’s electrical system.
The M1-ATX board has several wires that need to be installed in various places.
When installing, always double check the polarity of your wires with a voltmeter.
NEVER use the cigarette plug as a power source, often times the contacts are not
capable of delivering high current to your PC.
1.0 Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the M1-ATX power sequencer / vehicle ATX power supply.
The M1-ATX was designed to work with a wide variety of main boards such as the VIA
mini-ITX motherboards as well as low power Pentium-M or Celeron I, II and III systems.
Please note that powering full power P4 or AMD systems is not recommended due to
12V rail power limitations.
PC ATX
+ +
Reverse and Switch Logic 6-2430V ATX power
Battery forward protection PSU
- MotherBoard
GND
J6 ON/OFF switch
Ignition SW 8bit MCU
J8 Optional On/OFF switch
Amplifier
Enable J2 M1-ATX
J4 LED
http://mini-box.com, Cool Embedded PCs
NOTE: “when HARDOFF is set to “never”, the M1-ATX will automatically shut down
when battery voltage is below 11V for more than 1 minute in order to prevent ‘deep
discharge’ situations.
will still consume about 100mA on the 5V rail. All power supplies have 5VSB (5V
standby) mode so that they can issue at least a PSON signal. When the computer is in
the suspend mode, it will consume even more power, because the RAM needs to be
powered at all times. The power consumption in the suspend mode is few watts.
No matter how big your battery is, it will eventually drain your battery in a matter of days.
The M1-ATX is addressing these issues by cutting off the 5VSb rail after a pre-defined
amount of time (see jumper chart). When 5Vsb is always active (HARDOFF=Never), M1-
ATX watches the battery level. When battery level drops below 11V for more than one
minute, M1-ATX will shut down and re-activate only when the input voltage is > 11V.
Engine Cranks, under-voltage and over-voltage situations. Another very difficult task
is maintaining stable 3.3, 5, 12 and -12V power to your PC. While car batteries are rated
at 12V, they actually can provide voltages in between 7V (during engine cranks) or as
high as hundreds of volts (load dump conditions). Most of the times, your battery will stay
at 13.5V (while car is running) or 12V (when car is off), but extra precautions need to take
place in order to prevent under and over-voltage situations. M1-ATX can operate as low
as 5.7V and as high as 26V while providing strict regulation on all rails with input voltage
clamping and reverse protection.
Loud amplifier pops when PC starts. If your PC is connected to your car amplifier, you
will hear a loud pop when the computer is first started. The M1-ATX has an ‘anti-thump’
control that will keep your amp OFF while the PC starts. Simply connect J2 to your
amplifier remote control pins to activate the ‘anti-thump’ feature.
The M1-ATX performs several timing routines and takes actions as follows:
(NOTE: When all config jumpers are removed, M1-ATX will be in the “dumb PSU mode”,
no ignition timing, no HARDOFF. M1-ATX will send a gratuitous “ON” signal to the M/B
when power is applied for the first time. Do not connect J8/J6 to the M/B on/off switch if
you don’t want your PC to be started automatically)
2) Ignition=ON. M1-ATX waits for 3 seconds then turns on the 5Vsb rail. After another 1 second the MCU
sends an “ON” signal to the motherboard via the 2 wires connected to the motherboard’s ON/OFF pins.
The motherboard will turn ON and your system should start booting.
3) Ignition=ON during driving: Nothing happens. Your computer will remain ON.
4) Ignition=OFF. M1-ATX waits for “OFFDELAY” in seconds (see jumper chart on Page 2) and then it turns
the motherboard OFF by sending a signal to the motherboard’s ON/OFF switch. Your computer should
turn off gracefully (shutdown procedure). During this time, power will still be available for your PC to
perform shutdown.
5) Ignition=OFF. 5VSB will still be provided for another “HARDOFF” seconds (see jumper chart on Page2).
In the event where the shutdown process is longer than “HARDOFF”, power will be shut down hard,
turning off your computer’s power. If ignition is turned on during this step, you computer will start again. If
“HARDOFF” is set to ‘NEVER”, the PSU will always provide 5VSB, therefore the PC can also be used in
the SLEEP mode. During the HARDOFF procedure, the battery levels will be constantly monitored to
prevent deep discharge situations. When battery levels reach > 11V, the PSU will start working again.
3.0 Troubleshooting
NOTE (5V and 12V rail combined should not exceed 50Watts)
Total Max power=92Watts
When operating at 24V or extreme temperatures, de-rate to 80Watts, ventilation will be required.