Hi,
Considering buying this through Aliexpress
(bought several times by them without problems)
4Ps Display 220V/110V Digital Control 30V 5A DC Voltage Regulated Power Supply DPS-305BM for Laptop Repair with 37 free Plugs
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/4Ps-Display-220V-110V-Digital-Control-30V-5A-DC-Voltage-Regulated-Power-Supply-DPS-305BM-for/810905735.html
and 104.49 U.S. including delivered to Norway is a good price.
Are new to the flashlight/mod game …. but feel very… VERY… strongly that a’’ box’’ like this, I only must have …. 
one can never get enough of ‘’tools’’ … agree …
I do not know yet how to use a box like this …. but it will I learn eventually … I think …??
Have any of you have thought, regarding this Chinese power supply?
Are grateful for feedback
thanks
Keypad control is nice when you need a specific voltage, but if you wish to adjust the voltage when checking something, you need a rotary knob, preferably multiturn (It is fairly easy to replace a single turn with a multi turn knob).
Usual I would prefer one digit more on the voltmeter, but without a rotary knob I doubt you will ever need it.
To give you another option or idea, I have a few Astrons for various jobs around the house. 100% Duty Cycle gets me all amped up. :bigsmile:
http://www.astroncorp.com/linear.shtml
http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1124
Pick your needed size. I also use a MFJ—1124 with Anderson Power Poles & Binding posts so I can plug stuff in easily. Endless options.
VS-20M is nice. I also use the RM-60M for another project of mine. It can be daisy chained & has adjustable voltage via inside. Great quality. Bit on the high end price, but when duty calls, the Astron answers.
EDIT: Before I had any spare money I did this:
Oops, didn't update it here, but I wound up getting this 10A, low cost model last month: http://www.circuitspecialists.com/i-182253.html
If you have the time to read forums, watch tons videos, you will see that many of these Chinese power supplies have their issues happening on random pattern, some may overshoot (you don not want that).
I suggest looking into these Agilents.
Super resolution in this one:
Avoid power supplies where you can only set the voltage/current setting from a keyboard. You want to be able to smoothly adjust the voltage up or down by turning a knob.
I have one very similar, an XTronic 6000 Series I bought off ebay. Looks exactly the same but with a black face. Been happy with it so far. the fan, if it comes on, is not too loud.
If I need more than 5A, which is rare, I have a computer PSU converted to a desktop power supply. Someone else linked to instructions for this. It is fixed 5 or 12V but can put out a lot of amps.
Thanks everyone,
I am now tired in the head, has now spent two days with read / search about this electricity stuff box …
As I mentioned, I did not have so much knowledge of, …… has not made things easier for me …
And after Probably 100 cups of coffee,
I think I’ll just make it simple now:
Closing my eyes and press the Pay button
and ordering a KORAD KA3005D, which TexasToasted noted,
it has the rotary knob and is in the same price level I want.
The model is quite a lot of info. about, here are some:
Fan noise fix:
and again, thank you all
This is a $1700+ power supply if bought new :). But you can get some really good ones at under $400 costing new over $1500, check Ebay guys. I already posted some quick finds from Agilent.
The first time you turn it on, you may be surprised that you have no output. Unless you read the owners manual first, but who does that?
You have to press the Output button just above the positive lead terminal. This lets you turn on the supply, set your current limit and output voltage, then enable the output to the terminals. Very handy little button.
Do these put out the same amps at all voltages? That is, same max #A at any voltage.
Linear power supplies nearly always has constant max. ampere.
My big power supply in the photo above has variable max. current, up to 2x20A below 20 volt and "only" 2*7A at 60V
I finally settled for this EA lineair powersupply, max. 16V, 20A, bought at conrad.nl. (posted about that already in the wygt thread) A bit more expensive than I wanted (450euro :-( ) but it does almost precisely what I want.
Do y’all feel like they’re really that helpful at the bench? I’ve been remiss in that I don’t usually test the build. I put everything together, assemble it, load a cell and use tweezers for that first connection, ready to break if I see the sparks that tell me something’s gone wrong. If all is well, I then go measure it for power and output.
Is it so much better then to have a power supply, to be able to test the build along the way?
I do not usually use my power supply during a flashlight build, the main use is testing new leds, and I have a coverted solder iron as a reflow hotplate that I feed with a power supply.
That lets me off the hook! Whew! Just saved enough money to buy the new Solarforce M7! :bigsmile:
I just bought an Extech 382280 (40V, 5A) for $250 on Ebay which is programmable to 1mA resolution which can be nice. This is reguarly a $675 supply. Even if it the output is not accurate to 1mA, I check with a calibrated meter in series and offset to compensate. It has doesn’t have knobs for adjustment (all adjustment is done from front number pad), but I’ve noticed that supplies with knobs sometimes don’t have great resolution and if you’re a perfectionist you’ll go crazy trying to get exactly the output you want.
On another note, I noticed some people recommending Mastech supplies. My experience with these supplies at a previous job was that they were unreliable and quirky. It was almost an art to get them to work. They are cheap and will do in a pinch, but definitely not my preference. I’ve also noticed other supplies with almost the same design. Mastech seems to have a signature grill and interface, and I tend to stay away form those as well as I figure there the same cheap supply with a different brand slapped on them.
So you sort of get what you pay for? Amazing! If you read thru the post most people make do with a paper clip;)
Right now one could be very useful to me as I am re-writing the code in the STAR 1.1 firmware to change the functionality of the low voltage ramp down and critical voltage cut off. Having a precise adjustable power supply would be very useful for testing if my new code works.