recommended switching supply

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recommended switching supply

Jim Danehy-3
I want to purchase a switching supply for use with my K2/100. I used a small Astron SS (7amp) before I upgraded with the 100 watt amplifier. I never had any noise problems with the Astron.

I have heard a lot of favorable recommendations on others but would appreciate any comments (negative or positive . . . . no pun intended) about the various ones that are available.

The MFJ and Alinco look nice too me. MFJ always seems to have a stigma about their products. I see they advertise that they (MFJ) do not have any hash problems in the ham bands.

TIA

W9VNE
Jim Danehy
Cincinnati, Ohio
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Re: recommended switching supply

Bob Nielsen
On Sat, Sep 25, 2004 at 10:25:19AM -0400, jim danehy wrote:

> I want to purchase a switching supply for use with my K2/100. I used a
> small Astron SS (7amp) before I upgraded with the 100 watt amplifier.
> I never had any noise problems with the Astron.
>
> I have heard a lot of favorable recommendations on others but would
> appreciate any comments (negative or positive . . . . no pun intended)
> about the various ones that are available.
>
> The MFJ and Alinco look nice too me. MFJ always seems to have a stigma
> about their products. I see they advertise that they (MFJ) do not have
> any hash problems in the ham bands.

I have been using an Alinco DM-330MVT for over 4 years and have been
very satisfied.  It has a control to vary the switching frequency in
order to shift the noise, but I have never noticed any noise so I have
not needed to use it.

Bob, N7XY

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Re: recommended switching supply

Don Brown-4
In reply to this post by Jim Danehy-3
Hi

I have 3 MFJ power supplies and an Astron SS25M. They all work great with the K2/100 or any other radio I have used with them. I use a MFJ 4225MV on my work bench to power radios that I am working on or aligning. I use a MFJ 4245MV in my shack powering a K2/100 with 3 transverters and a Kenwood TR-D700 VHF/UHF FM radio. I use a MFJ 4125 and/or the SS25M for portable work like field day when I am not using solar power. I have never had any problem with hash on any of these supplies. I like the MFJ 42xx supplies because of the lighted meters, front panel voltage adjustment and cigar lighter socket on the front panel for easy connecting of accessories or a HT in addition to the normal 5 way banana sockets. The MFJ 4125 does not have any meters and has an internal voltage adjustment but it is the smallest lightest and quietest of them all. It has a 25 amp output on the front panel and a 5 amp connector on the rear for accessories. The astron has meters although not lighted and the voltage adjust is internal. All of the supplies have over current shut down. I have adapted the output of these power supplies to PowerPole connectors so I can plug in a RigRunner 405 or 408

Don Brown


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: jim danehy<mailto:[hidden email]>
  To: [hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>
  Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2004 9:25 AM
  Subject: [Elecraft] recommended switching supply


  I want to purchase a switching supply for use with my K2/100. I used a small Astron SS (7amp) before I upgraded with the 100 watt amplifier. I never had any noise problems with the Astron.

  I have heard a lot of favorable recommendations on others but would appreciate any comments (negative or positive . . . . no pun intended) about the various ones that are available.

  The MFJ and Alinco look nice too me. MFJ always seems to have a stigma about their products. I see they advertise that they (MFJ) do not have any hash problems in the ham bands.

  TIA

  W9VNE
  Jim Danehy
  Cincinnati, Ohio
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Re: recommended switching supply

brianboschma
In reply to this post by Jim Danehy-3
Jim,

I now own an astron ss25 (20a continuous) supply. It works well. Here is
my expereince.
I have borrowed a low cost supply that is sold through HRO, 20 amp
rated. I was going to Fiji on  a surfing+DXpedition and needed light
weight. I tested the supply at my home in San Jose on the frequencies I
would be using. All was well but I really only paid attention to the
noise prior to transmitting a few times. There seemed to be no
appreciable noise.

When I got to Fiji and set up the station on a very remote island with
no electrical devices there was no noise. As I began to operate I
noticed "hash" would drift through my receive frequency as the power
supply heated under the transmission load. With heating the PS internal
oscillator was drifting a bit and harmonics of the swithch frequency
would drift through the rcvr passband. This noise level was very low but
very noticeable in such a quiet environment. I was working large pile
ups and when the hash would land on the freq. I would have to work the
loud sigs until it passed.

The astron does this as well but the level is quite a bit lower than the
cheaper model. Also, the astron noise is not noticeable when my ambient
noise around the house/city is at normal levels.  I am not sure I would
even have noticed the noise on 40 meters ever at my house.

I have reduced the noise on the astron my adding a couple by pass caps,
getting a solid ground separate from teh power leads, and using ferrites
in the 12 volt leads to force the rf currents into the ground wire to
the rig.

My conclusion: If you are really worried about weak signals use a linear
supply with a good old heavy transfomer, or a marine battery. If you
must use the switcher expect to spend a bit of time cleaning it up if
you are in real low noise environments. For casual opearation in most
circumstances I find the Astron to work fine. Even the cheaper model
probably would be OK but you might have to do a bit of
filtering/bypassing to really clean it up.

Brian / n6iz / 3d2izjim danehy wrote:


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Re: recommended switching supply

dlajr
In reply to this post by Jim Danehy-3
Jim,

I bought an Alinco DM-330MVT when it first came on the market.  It must have
been one of the very first ever sold.  I have used it with several rigs (MFJ
QRP Cub, Icom 706, PSK-20), as well as with my K2.  I have been extremely
pleased with it.

I have never heard any noise at all from it, and I have tried hard to find a
noise signature.  However, if it ever does cause a noise problem, it has a
control to vary the switching frequency to eliminate (or move) the problem.

What I like about it the most is that it is extremely small and light
weight.  About like a very large paper-back book.

I think you would be happy with it.

Dan Allen
KB4ZVM
K2 S/N 1757

----- Original Message -----
From: "jim danehy" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2004 10:25 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] recommended switching supply


I want to purchase a switching supply for use with my K2/100.

The MFJ and Alinco look nice too me.

W9VNE
Jim Danehy
Cincinnati, Ohio
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Re: recommended switching supply

Earl W Cunningham
In reply to this post by Jim Danehy-3
Jim, W9VNE wrote:

"I want to purchase a switching supply for use with my K2/100.  The MFJ
and Alinco look nice too me."
==========
Be aware that all switching supplies generate noise/hash, no matter how
much filtering they have.  This is especially noticeable if the antenna
is closeby, such as a random wire coming into a tuner in the shack.

If you're worried about noise/hash from a switcher, then buy a linear
(heavy) power supply.

Only if weight was a consideration would I ever buy a switcher.

In either case, I recommend Astron.

73, de Earl, K6SE
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Re: recommended switching supply

Tim O'Rourke
In reply to this post by Jim Danehy-3
I have both the Alinco and MFJ switcher and they both work FB, I have not been bothered by hash with either. The Alinco is nice with meter and adjustable output. Tim W4YN

Tim O'Rourke
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Re: Re: recommended switching supply

DYARNES
In reply to this post by Jim Danehy-3
Like others, I have been using the Alinco 330 switching supply for a couple  
of years now, and no detectible RF interference.
 
Dave W7AQK
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Re: Re: recommended switching supply

paul hendershott
I have used the Alinco 330MV for a few years in my shack with no detectable noise until last year. Operating portable with the 330 sitting on top of my K2/100, I did get a little hash on 17m and 20m. It wasn't bad, but with a twist of the "noise offset" knob, it was shifted away. Also, if I moved the 330 a few feet away from the K2, I had no detectable noise. Don't hear the noise with the 330 on top of my 706MKIIG, but the K2 has much better ears! :-)
Paul w9bbr

[hidden email] wrote:
Like others, I have been using the Alinco 330 switching supply for a couple
of years now, and no detectible RF interference.

Dave W7AQK
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