Power Supply Advice

ochmude

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So now that I've passed my General exam I figure it's about time to grow up and move beyond the HT that I've been using for the past year. First on my shopping list is a power supply. I'm looking at the MFJ-4245MV because it's got a nice amp rating and it's pretty cheap. That being said, I've heard from NUMEROUS sources that MFJ is "more f----ing junk". A couple years ago I bought a Lee Pro 1000 to get into reloading because of the low price. I use a Dillon now, so I learned my lesson about you get what you pay for. So, does anyone have a brand they can recommend? The Astron RS-35M looks nice so far. I'm wondering what the pro's and con's are for variable vs. fixed voltage.
 
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Astron is the way to go. 35M will serve you well even through bigger radios. Big enough for anything on the market now.
Plus it is a linear supply. No switching circuitry in it so no birdies on the bands. Just nice clean DC power.

But a good switching supply is the Samlex 1223. same size as most mobile radios, puts out 23A. Very clean for a switcher.
 
+1 on staying with linears. I picked up a 20A Astron at a flea market and it works fine. I don't see any need for a variable. Just give me 13.8V and a current meter.
 
Go linear with enough current for 100 watts output. The Astron rs 35 would be a good choice. If you look around at ham fest's you should be able to find something for no to much money.
 
I agree, stay away from MFJ and get a linear power supply.
Stay away from the odd brands like Pyramid because they don't have noise filtering as clean as an Astron. You probably won't notice a difference when running repeaters on FM, but when you get to HF and SSB, there's a BIG difference.
I saw a few 20A size Astrons going for $40-$50 at the last Near-Fest.
From my own testing on VHF (FM) commercial radios, an output of 100 watts takes about 20 amps. I don't like to run power supplies at full tilt, I feel it's always better to have more power supply than you need. A 35A supply running at half its rated output will run cooler and last longer.
 
I have two Astrons that I picked up from HRO used/consigned. I paid about 40 bucks shipped for a 12A and 58 dollars shipped for a 20A Metered. I've got me an HF rig and it's coming with a 35A Metered Astron as well.

IMG00102.jpg


I've got me an HF rig and it's coming with a 35A Metered Astron as well. I should have it next Tuesday...when I get it, I'll take pictures.
 
Thanks for the replies. I think Astron is what I'll go with. There are a few 35M's on ebay right now that I'm watching. We'll see how high the bidding goes.
 
Necro posting 13 year old thread here because it is on topic and I don't believe in starting new threads unnecessarily.
And besides it might be interesting to see what folks are using after 13 years of technology changes.

******

The last linear power supply I owned was an Astron 35 Amp, but it along with a lot of other equipment got taken out by lightening strike on an 80 meter dipole that literally jump from the ladder line feed to the house mains and ran wild through the house.

That was around 2008, and while I planed on buying a new Astron linear supply when insurance paid off, I bought a Alinco DM-330MVT to hold me over till I got the dough for the Astron. The Alinco DM-330MVT was a new product at that time, it was made in Japan and the price was right so, despite warnings about switching power supplies causing receive harmonics, I gave it a try. In the end it worked so well I never bought a replacement linear supply. The Alinco has been rock solid and cleanly supplying a 100W HF rig without issue (about 22 Amps needed at full power).

This is a review from that era.

Mine is still good as new. Well with one exception that I just discovered this morning as a moved it to a new location. My cat Bridget has been chewing on the voltage adj/noise offset knobs, fortunately for me I had enabled a switch on the back to disable the knob and lock in 13.8V, and actually I have never needed the noise offset. It was out of sight and I never noticed what the little cat bastard had done.

cFKyKkT.jpg


ANYWAY... Cat damage is not why I am writing this morning; it is just an amusing aside. No the reason I am writing is my new power supply that arrived from HRO yesterday and naturally I want to show it off (wouldn't be a ham otherwise).

I decided I wanted to move the Alinco supply over to exclusively power my Yaesu FTM-100D VHF/UHF rig that it currently shared with the HF rig. So I was going to need a new power supply for the Icom IC-756 Pro III HF rig.
I could have bought another Alinco but I wanted something higher amperage rated.

So I decided to go with Astron and I decided to stick with a switching design supply. The Astron SS-50M-AP which is rated at 40 Amps continuous. Front panel has two power pole and two USB outputs. The rear has a pair of screw terminals where I attached a 10 AWG wire harness with power pole termination. Wire harness is actually one of these that I cut the solar system end off and save me the trouble of dragging out my power pole crimper and making my own.
www.amazon.com/dp/B09QGD2LKL/

I have yet to put it under load as I am rearranging the rats nest that is the shack wiring. We shall see as I will probably try and get on the air for the UBA CW contest today.

VjJS6Th.jpg

k4TCYS7.jpg



So what are you folks using for power supplies? Most folks still using linear designs or have switching supplies advanced to the point where folks trust them more? And as an aside, have MFJ power supplies continued their roll of the dice slide toward QC nightmares?

🐯
 
Necro posting 13 year old thread here because it is on topic and I don't believe in starting new threads unnecessarily.
And besides it might be interesting to see what folks are using after 13 years of technology changes.

******

The last linear power supply I owned was an Astron 35 Amp, but it along with a lot of other equipment got taken out by lightening strike on an 80 meter dipole that literally jump from the ladder line feed to the house mains and ran wild through the house.

That was around 2008, and while I planed on buying a new Astron linear supply when insurance paid off, I bought a Alinco DM-330MVT to hold me over till I got the dough for the Astron. The Alinco DM-330MVT was a new product at that time, it was made in Japan and the price was right so, despite warnings about switching power supplies causing receive harmonics, I gave it a try. In the end it worked so well I never bought a replacement linear supply. The Alinco has been rock solid and cleanly supplying a 100W HF rig without issue (about 22 Amps needed at full power).

This is a review from that era.

Mine is still good as new. Well with one exception that I just discovered this morning as a moved it to a new location. My cat Bridget has been chewing on the voltage adj/noise offset knobs, fortunately for me I had enabled a switch on the back to disable the knob and lock in 13.8V, and actually I have never needed the noise offset. It was out of sight and I never noticed what the little cat bastard had done.

cFKyKkT.jpg


ANYWAY... Cat damage is not why I am writing this morning; it is just an amusing aside. No the reason I am writing is my new power supply that arrived from HRO yesterday and naturally I want to show it off (wouldn't be a ham otherwise).

I decided I wanted to move the Alinco supply over to exclusively power my Yaesu FTM-100D VHF/UHF rig that it currently shared with the HF rig. So I was going to need a new power supply for the Icom IC-756 Pro III HF rig.
I could have bought another Alinco but I wanted something higher amperage rated.

So I decided to go with Astron and I decided to stick with a switching design supply. The Astron SS-50M-AP which is rated at 40 Amps continuous. Front panel has two power pole and two USB outputs. The rear has a pair of screw terminals where I attached a 10 AWG wire harness with power pole termination. Wire harness is actually one of these that I cut the solar system end off and save me the trouble of dragging out my power pole crimper and making my own.
www.amazon.com/dp/B09QGD2LKL/

I have yet to put it under load as I am rearranging the rats nest that is the shack wiring. We shall see as I will probably try and get on the air for the UBA CW contest today.

VjJS6Th.jpg

k4TCYS7.jpg



So what are you folks using for power supplies? Most folks still using linear designs or have switching supplies advanced to the point where folks trust them more? And as an aside, have MFJ power supplies continued their roll of the dice slide toward QC nightmares?

🐯

I use both styles, I have an Astron SS35 and a VS50M. I only use the VS50M for amps and that kind of thing. I would have gotten the non adjustable RS50A or RS50M instead at the time because the reality is you sort of set it and forget it. You can change it internally anyways. I think I have my SS35 set up around 14.3 ish.

My only complaint about the SS35 is the rear connector can be easy to strip the screws in, so be careful. I broke mine trying to get too many wires into the plug (this is in the days before those high density powerpoles were a thing) In my case I just ripped those things out and tossed them and rigged some red and black DC terminal things I got at a hamfest onto it, and then I break it out from there up to a nice big powerpole bus bar strip thing that can take like 6 powerpole connections. Of course my SS35 is way older than your model.

ETA: you asked about MFJ, friend of mine has 35A linear MFJ, not a bad psu but it is dependent on a fan. A mediocre offbrand fan that burned out. Thankfully he never rode the thing hard, and I discovered the problem by noticing it was a little toasty just running his 756ProIII in idle. I just took it apart and hardwired in a quiet dc fan to replace it. I wouldnt bother with an MFJ psu over the others for the marginal cost differences. MFJs actual design on those kinds of things is OK, the problem is their quality control often sucks, not so much the parts they use. Like for example not sure if it still happens, but if you ever get an MFJ tuner, take the lid off and go hunting for cold solder joints...
 
My only complaint about the SS35 is the rear connector can be easy to strip the screws in, so be careful.

Yeah they do seem a bit delicate. I was careful to torque them without going ape on them. The plan is to use the harness on the back just for the HF rig, and the front power poles for any additional needs. Although if I did need to add anything to the back I would like you get a power pole distribution buss, that’s a smart move.

if you ever get an MFJ tuner, take the lid off and go hunting for cold solder joints...

Anything MFJ or Ameritron needs to be looked over and that is one of the reasons why I own a Palstar tuner.

🐯
 
I have been running Samlex Power supplies for awhile now. They are pretty bullet proof, compact, and quiet.

Fancier model:

I run 6 radios on my desk off the top one with no issues for years.

I then run that to a Blue Sea fuse block:
 

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I have an old Ratshack switching supply that runs a very clean 30A output as well as a Samlex 1235 SMPS. They get used occasionally when I need a lightweight portable supply but my main supply is an Astron RM-60M that runs and runs and runs. I've had it for about 25 years. Right now it's running three HF radios and a base 100w VHF/UHF radio (usually not all at once) as well as all the accessories.

I need to replace the meter lamps in it and will go with LEDs when I finally get it on the repair bench. No hurry as it resides under my radio bench for now out of sight. Eventually if I finally ever get my planned shack built out in the barn, I'll be rack mounting a bunch of stuff, including the Astron.
 
35m is a very good power supply I have been using one for years. Even a 30 or 35 no meter and less money. You really don't need the meter.
 
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