Bench Supply Recommendation?

[jch79]

Hey guys, as I'm (slowly) building up my modding equipment, I realize that I need a bench supply!

Can anyone recommend a compact bench supply that's not Chinese-made?

Anyways, I did find one company, which a search on CPF turns up nothing, but it seems like the might have what I'm looking for? - http://acopian.com

Here's a few other from my posts below:

http://www.elektroautomatik.de/en.html
http://www.hameg.com

I believe they're both made in Germany. :shrug:

And this one:

http://www.tti-test.com/products-tti/psu/psu-bench.htm - Made in England
Specifically, the EL 155 model, which is here.

If not, any other company out there?

Thanks!
john

 

[jch79]

Re: Bench Supply Recommendation - Made in USA?

I just got off the phone with Acopian, and it looks like they do make great power supplies, however they don't make constant current supplies in smaller sizes, so I'd have a problem there, as the current could fluctuate 5-10%, depending on temperature. SO... :thinking:

 

[Timson]

Re: Bench Supply Recommendation - Made in USA?

This could suit your needs.

I use a German made power supply Manson which serves very well.


Tim.

 

[jch79]

Re: Bench Supply Recommendation - Made in USA?

Thanks Tim,

Based from the Manson website, and their contact info, they look to be based out of Hong Kong, and not Germany?

As for the other one, I couldn't tell where it was made? :shrug:

john

 

[jch79]

Re: Bench Supply Recommendation

I just found these two companies:

http://www.elektroautomatik.de/en.html
http://www.hameg.com

I believe they're both made in Germany. :shrug:

And this one:

http://www.tti-test.com/products-tti/psu/psu-bench.htm - Made in England
Specifically, the EL 155 model, which is here.

Thoughts?
john

 

[jimjones3630]

I had really good deals from ebay with older analog variable voltage and current units.

First an older EMI 0-72v, 0-13A. Above 16v only put out 6A and weight 50 lb.

Then upgraded from Ebay to Motorola R-1011B, 0-40v, 0-40A. They stopped making it in the 90's but has alot of generic parts so easy to get repaired if needed so I was told. Weight 63 lb.

To get a digital reading just piggyback DMM leads to output, or to the pins of the bulb.

Jim

 

[OhMyGosh]

I have the Kaito (Tekpower) HY3005D and it works well. It is a linear supply which is generally cleaner output than a switch, but a bit larger and more expensive. Build quality is not great - it came with a bad volt meter. They sent a replacement meter.

Finding one that is not made in China may not be easy. Just because you buy something from say, an American company, doesn't mean it wasn't made in China.

http://www.bkprecision.com/power_supplies_supply_generators.htm

http://www.google.com/search?q="lin...-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

 

[brickbat]

Why not troll eBay for a decent HP lab supply?

The E3610A or E3611A are hard to beat if you want digital meters. The older versions (usually 6000 series part numbers) with analog meters are less money, very reliable, well built, and easy to fix.

 

[jch79]

Guys - all of the above suggestions are made in China - which isn't what I'm looking for. :thinking: I wish I wasn't so stubborn, but I'm stuck on getting one that's not. :shrug:

That said, of the TTI (Made in England) power supplies I mentioned above, I've narrowed it down to two choices:
EL155: 15V/5A 75 watts - Constant voltage or constant current
EL355: 35V/5A 175 watts - Constant voltage or constant current & has "Mixed-mode regulation" - ??

So I'm not sure which one would be best suited for my hobby of LED flashlights... thoughts between the two, and if the EL355 is "overboard" for what I'm going to use it for?

Thanks!
john

 

[cedarcreek]

I found an old one at Hamvention (a really big hamfest in Dayton, Ohio every year) this year. Mine is a Hewlett-Packard (HP). You might try to find some used dealer online. Sometimes they're called laboratory power supplies.

I got really lucky with mine---I paid $40. It's rack-mount sized, but it weighs maybe 45 pounds.

Maybe someone else can think of some other good search terms.

In a day or two I can post my model number.

 

[OhMyGosh]

0-15 volts should cover 99% of your needs. Of course that other 1% may drive you crazy some day

 

[jimjones3630]

Older analog EMI's, Electronic Measurements Inc. is now called Lambda.

http://www.lambda-hp.com/sales_html/history.htm

The moto unit is, here's a link.

http://www.labx.com/v2/spiderdealer2/vistaSearchDetails.cfm?LVid=3443263

Neither are made in China now or then.

Guys - all of the above suggestions are made in China - which isn't what I'm looking for. :thinking: I wish I wasn't so stubborn, but I'm stuck on getting one that's not. :shrug:

That said, of the TTI (Made in England) power supplies I mentioned above, I've narrowed it down to two choices:
EL155: 15V/5A 75 watts - Constant voltage or constant current
EL355: 35V/5A 175 watts - Constant voltage or constant current & has "Mixed-mode regulation" - ??

So I'm not sure which one would be best suited for my hobby of LED flashlights... thoughts between the two, and if the EL355 is "overboard" for what I'm going to use it for?

Thanks!
john

 

[cedarcreek]

In a day or two I can post my model number.

Mine is a Hewlett-Packard HP 6266B. It's 0-40 Volts, 0-5 Amps.

This is a link I found that includes a link with a datasheet:
http://www.valuetronics.com/Details.aspx?ProdID=6758

There seemed to be a lot of search hits for this.

 

[NA8]

Why not troll eBay for a decent HP lab supply?

The E3610A or E3611A are hard to beat if you want digital meters. The older versions (usually 6000 series part numbers) with analog meters are less money, very reliable, well built, and easy to fix.

+1 HP's instrument division made good stuff and was the foundation of HP's once lofty reputation. The instrument division was spun off in 1999 and now is called Agilent Technologies. You can find e-book manuals for old HP equipment in the binary newsgroups.

 

[Norm]

I have used a couple of Manson 40A switch mode supplies for my Ham gear and LED testing, as do many other Hams in Australia, no problems with any of the many I know to have been in service since they became popular here a few years ago. I have one supply that runs about 12 hours everyday.
Norm

 

[HCaul]

I have a stack of HP and Agilent bench supplies, mostly E3610As and a few 3611A's. Several have been powered on and under load almost 100% of the time for something like 12 years. I've never had anything go wrong with one. The 3610A is THE industry standard workhorse electronics lab DC bench supply for small circuits. The outputs float, which means you can chain them like batteries. Very stable analog CC and CV controls. You can run them into a dead short without complaint. Short of a direct lightning strike or defenestration, I can't imagine what you'd have to do to to destroy one.

Down side is they are a bit on the large and heavy side given their power output, they don't have an external digital control input for the voltage or current setting (for that you need something a bit more elaborate), and they don't have the world's most accurate built in meters (if you need high precision, hook up a high-Z DMM to it).

They aren't too expensive all things considered (ebay seems to think used ones are worth about $150, which sounds about right).

HCaul

 

[HCaul]

Also, I'm not sure why you think the HP/Agilent E361x supplies are made in China. It's possible some of them are, but of the nine that are in my field of vision at the moment six are labeled as made in Korea and three are labeled as made in Singapore. Neither of those places, last I checked, are in China.

 

[Morelite]

Also, I'm not sure why you think the HP/Agilent E361x supplies are made in China. It's possible some of them are, but of the nine that are in my field of vision at the moment six are labeled as made in Korea and three are labeled as made in Singapore. Neither of those places, last I checked, are in China.

+1 for Agilent

Both my E3644A DC power supply and 34401A multimeter where made in the US (Plate on back states "Made in the USA")
Both have worked flawlessly for many years now. They are rather pricey new but you can find decent deals on Ebay.

 

[jch79]

Thanks guys - I'll give HP/Agilent a look-see.

 

[jch79]

I am very close to pulling the trigger on a Thurlby Thandar EL183 - could you guys look it over and see if it'll fulfill my needs? It seems very compact, it's not as heavy as the Agilent's, and it looks to be quite a good unit.

Here are the specs:

EL183

Voltage Range - 0V to18V minimum
Current Range - 0A to 3.3A minimum
Power - 60 Watts

MAIN OUTPUTS

Operating Mode - Constant voltage or constant current with automatic cross-over and indication
Voltage Setting - 0V to >rated O/P by coarse and fine controls.
Current Setting - 0A to >rated O/P by single logarithmic control.
Load regulation - <0.01% of max. O/P for a 90% load change.
Line regulation - <0.01% of max. O/P for a 10% line voltage change.
Output impedance - Typically <5mW in constant voltage mode. Typically >50kW in constant current mode.
Ripple & Noise (20MHz bandwidth) - Typically <1mV rms.
Transient Response - <20µs to within 50mV of set level for 90% load change.
Temp. Coefficient - Typically <100ppm/oC.
Output Protection - Outputs will withstand forward voltages above the rated output voltage. Reverse protection by diode clamp for currents up to 3A.
Status Indication - Output ON lamps. Constant current lamps.
Output Switch - Electronic. Preset voltage and current displayed when output is off.
Output Terminals - 4mm terminals on 19mm (0.75") pitch.

METERS (main outputs)

Meter Types - Separate 3 digit meters for voltage & current with 14mm (0.56") LED displays. Reading rate 4/sec.
Meter Resolutions - 100mV, 10mA.
Meter Accuracies - Voltage 0.3% ±1 digit. Current 0.6% ±1 digit.

AUXILIARY LOW VOLTAGE OUTPUT (EL302Tv)

Voltage - Variable <1.5v to>5V by front panel control.
Meter Voltage accuracy - ±0.3% ±1 digit
Current limit - 2A minimum.
Load regulation - <3% for 90% load change.
Line regulation - <0.2% for 10% line voltage change.
Ripple & Noise (20MHz bandwidth) - Typically <5mVrms, <15mVpk-pk (CV mode).
Output Protection - Output will withstand up to 7V forward voltage. Diode clamp reverse protection for currents up to 3A.
Output Terminals - 4mm terminals on 19mm (0.75") pitch .
Status Indication - UNREG lamp.

POWER

AC Input - 230V or 115V ±10% AC, 50/60Hz, Installation Category II.

SIZE AND WEIGHT

Size - 140 x 160 x 320mm
Weight - 3.4 kg

ENVIRONMENTAL

Operating Range - +5oC to +40oC, 20% to 80% RH.
Storage Range - -40oC to + 70oC.
Environmental - Indoor use at <2000m, Pollution Degree 1.
Safety - Complies with EN61010-1.
EMC - Complies with EN61326.


Well, what do you guys think?? :shrug:

Thanks!
john