The power path has a AC and DC side: we chose Schurter for the plugs and switches on the AC side. The Dell PSU is excellent by all accounts, for example. One thing we discussed at length was having decent quality parts in the power path. After a short while it became pretty clear that $200 was a high-side target for the project. One would think this was easier than it has been - but I suppose all projects seem to go that way, at least for me! We wanted to manage cost and still arrive at a functional, reliable, and somewhat elegant solution.

We expect to have working examples in a few weeks, and will post here as we go along. Please note this is not done at this point and is a work in progress. One can cut corners and spend less than this to get a functioning solution - once we publish the parts list and such it will be pretty evident where one can reduce cost if that's a factor. When we are done there will be all the DIY things one desires - parts list, explanations where needed, etc. We've gotten far enough along that we want to start sharing information.

Unlike most of the solutions we saw, Jim and I set out to put together a DIYable solution that is elegant, compact, reliable, and cost effective. So I'm considering this more his baby with my instigating and then trying to pitch in from the back seat. In fact, he's taken the lead on it with my helping out. Thankfully Jim ( was intrigued enough and willing to undertake this project with me. (here's an 11-year-old active thread, 300 pages deep on the RC forums!) The RC crowd has used such PSU's for years to charge LiPo batteries for various RC vehicles and planes. We found people making chargers with server power supply units (PSU), but information for the BMW application was thin. Not wanting to plunk this kind of cash down, I started to consider other solutions with Sebastian.

Bmw ista size