RSGB 160M Reading Tonight (So I Thought)! - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

HamishBoxer · 28th Dec 2014, 11:09 pm

Read the news tonight at 2130 and as always I stand up. Having got to the end I then see the rig is not lit up.

Seems my Watson 25Amp supply (still lit up) has died,the rig is an FT950 and the supply should be more than rated at enough amps and always till now has been fine.

Lesson learned don't stand up when operating. The most I heard was the fan running softly but by the feel the PSU is pretty hot. Just hope the rig is OK and the PSU has not gone overvolts etc.

Wonder has anyone else had problems with these supplies?

Biggles · 29th Dec 2014, 12:13 pm

I don't know if my linear 25A supply is a similar design to yours but one day in the shack I noticed that the LCD display on one of my rigs was flickering although everything else fed from the common 12V supply seemed to be operating as normal.

I switched off and found the supply had a lot of ripple. On investigation one of the series pass 2N3055s was found to be s/c.
I repaired the supply but installed an overvolts disconnect relay. It may be worth running more than one psu in the shack to split the risk of one failing and taking everything with it.
I now have a voltmeter visible at all times on the supply, but I have a habit of leaving the shack with everything powered up if I happen to be busy with something else so for real protection you need an automatic fail safe.

Alan.

HamishBoxer · 29th Dec 2014, 1:13 pm

Thanks Alan, further investigation today I find the PSU is back to normal, but the fan is not running hence it had gone into protection mode last night.

Mikebay · 30th Dec 2014, 4:53 pm

A thought for alternate power supply. I have built myself a twin battery power supply covering 12v (13.8v) and 24v (27.6v). The batteries came from a scrap man I know and cost a total of £22.5!! The power rating of these are on the 24v side 214Ah (being 4 off 6v 214Ah batteries in series) and the 12v currently is 110Ah to be increased when my friend gets another good 12v battery.
The charging is looked after by a dual Kingsmill PSU with the volts set to 27.6v and 13.8v, the whole set up mounted on an HD trolley.It has over temp and over voltage cut-off facilities in addition to those on the Kingsmill. Later additions (time allowing will be an adjustable output.
This gives me a really ripple free supply, very little chance of blowing anything up, as it is fully fused, and stability. It gets charged about twice a month, overnight on Economy 7 so is to run.
All good fun, have a good new year

28th Dec 2014, 11:09 pm	#1
HamishBoxer Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK. Posts: 8,935	RSGB 160M Reading Tonight (So I Thought)! Read the news tonight at 2130 and as always I stand up. Having got to the end I then see the rig is not lit up. Seems my Watson 25Amp supply (still lit up) has died,the rig is an FT950 and the supply should be more than rated at enough amps and always till now has been fine. Lesson learned don't stand up when operating. The most I heard was the fan running softly but by the feel the PSU is pretty hot. Just hope the rig is OK and the PSU has not gone overvolts etc. Wonder has anyone else had problems with these supplies? __________________ G8JET BVWS Archivist and Member V.M.A.R.S

29th Dec 2014, 12:13 pm	#2
Biggles Rest in Peace Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hexham, Northumberland, UK. Posts: 2,234	Re: RSGB 160M Reading Tonight (So I Thought)! I don't know if my linear 25A supply is a similar design to yours but one day in the shack I noticed that the LCD display on one of my rigs was flickering although everything else fed from the common 12V supply seemed to be operating as normal. I switched off and found the supply had a lot of ripple. On investigation one of the series pass 2N3055s was found to be s/c. I repaired the supply but installed an overvolts disconnect relay. It may be worth running more than one psu in the shack to split the risk of one failing and taking everything with it. I now have a voltmeter visible at all times on the supply, but I have a habit of leaving the shack with everything powered up if I happen to be busy with something else so for real protection you need an automatic fail safe. Alan.

29th Dec 2014, 1:13 pm	#3
HamishBoxer Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK. Posts: 8,935	Re: RSGB 160M Reading Tonight (So I Thought)! Thanks Alan, further investigation today I find the PSU is back to normal, but the fan is not running hence it had gone into protection mode last night. __________________ G8JET BVWS Archivist and Member V.M.A.R.S

30th Dec 2014, 4:53 pm	#4
Mikebay Rest in Peace Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Leominster, Herefordshire Posts: 174	Re: RSGB 160M Reading Tonight (So I Thought)! A thought for alternate power supply. I have built myself a twin battery power supply covering 12v (13.8v) and 24v (27.6v). The batteries came from a scrap man I know and cost a total of £22.5!! The power rating of these are on the 24v side 214Ah (being 4 off 6v 214Ah batteries in series) and the 12v currently is 110Ah to be increased when my friend gets another good 12v battery. The charging is looked after by a dual Kingsmill PSU with the volts set to 27.6v and 13.8v, the whole set up mounted on an HD trolley.It has over temp and over voltage cut-off facilities in addition to those on the Kingsmill. Later additions (time allowing will be an adjustable output. This gives me a really ripple free supply, very little chance of blowing anything up, as it is fully fused, and stability. It gets charged about twice a month, overnight on Economy 7 so is to run. All good fun, have a good new year