I am setting up a motorhome and using a 6 TB my cloud drive for my storage. The motorhome supplies 12 V DC power. How can I tap directly in to a 10 amp DC power line directly to their my cloud drive? Can I just cut the wires leading from the brick and directly tapped them into the power and ground circuits of my motorhome? How do I tell which part of the cord is a hot cord? (I suppose I could just use my multimeter to trace the connectivity.) Any help would be appreciated. If I go to Frys while they have a power cord that could connect to the drive? What size is the power cord connector?
Correct…
Measure it? Or take the PSU along to the store and find a connector that has the same external and internal diameters.
But I’d advise caution on your plan.
Automotive batteries are nominally 12V, but actually operate at a higher voltage than that, especially when the alternator is charging (normally ~14V). The MyCloud may not like that. Also, automotive systems often have large spikes, due to the large inductive loads placed on them. The MyCloud may not like them; it’s unlikely to be protected against automotive spikes. Automotive transient voltage suppression devices are pretty sturdy:
So I would not advise running a MyCloud directly off an automotive battery (even a second leisure battery may cause problems). I’d look at an automotive-protected DC-DC converter. Maybe that’s what your ‘10 amp DC power line’ is…
Oh, and you’ll want a fuse, too, to prevent fire in the case of a short circuit fault.
The other issue is vibration; I’m not sure it would be a great idea to have the MyCloud running whilst you’re driving, so it would need to be shut down and turned off, and shutdown/startup isn’t fast on MyCloud.
Do you really need a MyCloud for a motorhome, or would a large HDD suffice? Or are you wishing to use it as a media server?
Rather than cutting and splicing. If the motorhome already has 12v power drops/outlets (like those for a cigarette lighter) one can use an 12v power inverter and simply plug in the My Cloud power plug into the inverter power plug receptacle.
For example something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-400-Watt-12-Volt-120-Volt-Inverter/dp/B001RNOHBC
There are lower cost versions. I have a cheap inverter for a cigarette lighter aux power plug in my car for running my laptop. Sort of like this one without the USB adapter port.
Beware cheap inverters; the o/p is often a very crude approximation to a sine wave, and some circuits won’t like it.
Having an inverter is a good way of running a number of low-power devices. Just don’t try a fan heater or hair dryer (unless you have a high power inverter and suitable 12V battery and cables…)
