Alinco switched-mode power supply from RSGB

[GW0ETF]

Hi all,

The enjoyment of my new K3 was being severely compromised by an old
linear power supply whose fan sounded like an old vacuum cleaner and
whose transformer buzzed loudly in time with my cw at any powers above
about 20 watts.

So I decided to take a chance on a switcher and bought the Alinco
DM-330MW on offer at the moment in RadCom for 79.95ukp (RSGB members)
until the end of February. What a difference.....the silence is
deafening! I can now hear the K3's dulcet sidetone and a quick flick
across the bands has not shown up any obvious switching noise either.

It's small size and weight makes it an ideal companion to the K3 and the
duo would make a great combo for a field day or dxpedition. I'll reserve
final judgement until I've used it a couple of weeks and had a good
check for digital nasties but it looks very good so far.....

73,

Stewart Rolfe, GW0ETF  (K3  #145)

PS - Anyone want to buy a Watson W-30AM power supply with built in
sidetone....?
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[David Woolley (E.L)]

Stewart Rolfe wrote:
>
> So I decided to take a chance on a switcher and bought the Alinco
> DM-330MW on offer at the moment in RadCom for 79.95ukp (RSGB members)

Interesting.  I was wondering about this one, although I was slightly
put off by the "review"; it looked more like it was written by the
distributor's marketing department... "we though this was so good we
just had to offer it to you".

One question I have are whether I really need one.  I have a barefoot K2
and can power it off an SLA battery, which I float on a linear supply I
built in my youth (OC16 pass transistors!). Using indoor antennas in a
flat means going to 100 watts, except in the early hours of the morning,
might not be a good idea.

Another question is whether there is any realistic alternative that
would satisfy my desire to build as much as possible myself, but without
having the electronics knowledge to produce a complete design with
safety and EMC considerations covered.

> across the bands has not shown up any obvious switching noise either.

Looking at reviews of other variants (the MW doesn't even appear on
Alinco's web site) some people seem to have severe noise problems and
some no problem at all.  It looks as though there may be some Friday
builds out there.

Any views on quality, alternatives, and whether prices are likely to
drop to the extent that just in time purchase is best, would be welcome.
>
--
David Woolley
"The Elecraft list is a forum for the discussion of topics related to
Elecraft products and more general topics related ham radio"
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[Bob Nielsen-2]

On Jan 17, 2008, at 8:16 AM, Stewart Rolfe wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> The enjoyment of my new K3 was being severely compromised by an old  
> linear power supply whose fan sounded like an old vacuum cleaner  
> and whose transformer buzzed loudly in time with my cw at any  
> powers above about 20 watts.
>
> So I decided to take a chance on a switcher and bought the Alinco  
> DM-330MW on offer at the moment in RadCom for 79.95ukp (RSGB  
> members) until the end of February. What a difference.....the  
> silence is deafening! I can now hear the K3's dulcet sidetone and a  
> quick flick across the bands has not shown up any obvious switching  
> noise either.
>
> It's small size and weight makes it an ideal companion to the K3  
> and the duo would make a great combo for a field day or dxpedition.  
> I'll reserve final judgement until I've used it a couple of weeks  
> and had a good check for digital nasties but it looks very good so  
> far.....
>

I have had my Alinco DM-330 for several years (it replaced an Astron  
linear supply) and have been quite happy using it with my K2.  The  
adjustable output makes it easy to supply sufficient voltage for  
charging the internal battery and I have never noticed any switching  
noise.  There was a review in QST which showed a much cleaner  
spectrum than most of the other supplies they tested.

Bob Nielsen
[hidden email]



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