power packs

ok cb on the way aerial sorted what kind of power pack shold i look at i may run an amp also shh
I know google will help but id rather ask people in the know!

Hello Andy, exciting times when the kit is on it's way!!

What radio have you ordered and what kind of amp do you think you might use in the future? The Amperage of the power supply will depend on the current draw of the kit you intend to power with it.

Generally speaking a 25-30 amp switched mode power supply will get you sorted and future proofed. Have a look here. https://www.kcb.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d115.html

73's Gary.

HI GARY i think im going to run the ss3900 as a home base i heard there a bit better with noise not sure yet i have a alinco 135 on its way also hopefully i can add a freq counter to the 3900
cheers for the reply mate

I'm thinking of setting up my rig in my shed i have power to it be it a 16a breaker will this be enough ? or do i need to get more juice to run psu amp n cb?

Hi Andy,

Don't confuse your power requirements with your voltages.....

I presume your 16A breaker is the 240 volt mains to your shed? In which case this is going to be more than enough to run your rig PSU, lighting etc.

I won't bore you with Ohms Law

73's
Victor

thanks victor
just confussed as psu is 30a long few days

Hee No worries Andy.

I said I wouldn't bore you with Ohms Law but just briefly:-

30 amp rig PSU at 13.8 volts, (Power = Amps x Volts), 30 x 13.8 = 414 watts

16 amp breaker at 240 volts, (Power = Amps x Volts), 16 x 240 = 3840 watts

The watts make more sense as you aren't confusing voltages.
To put your mind at rest my 30 amp PSU for my rig has a 2.5 amp quick blow fuse at the mains end.

All the best,
Victor

Linear power supplies are genrally better , and less potential noise . A rf choke around power cable would help also ... but a bit advanced for a newbie .

73 , matt

Sorry Matt, I'd have to disagree that 'linear' power supplies are any better or even less 'noisy'.

I used to run everything from a traditional transformer supply back in the day, a huge monster capable of 30 amps continuous with 100 amp surge. Damn thing weighed a ton, took up a huge amount of space, sat humming away with it's 50Hz magnetic field and let out a potent transformer varnish smell on long overs.....kept the shack nice and warm too!

Been running 'switched mode' power supplies for some time now all without trouble.
My current unit is a "Sharman Multicom SM30" and I routinely push it at over 20 amps. It's ultra quiet, small, (flipping tiny compared to a linear PSU), and no RF noise on anything I run from KHz to MHz right up to GHz!

Best thing is....cost me just £70 brand new with warranty

Doesn't keep the shack warm like the old linear unit did though

73's
Victor

I have to disagree on switch mode I have a alinco 30a one and its bloody noisey thing .

Think depends on the individual kit , suck it a see approach even though costs us along the way . Bearing in mind I have choked my mains feed to any equipment in the shack , which has helped slightly .

73 , matt

No worries Matt,

Never had trouble with the Sharman kit but I haven't any experience of the Alinco.

Did prompt the old memory box of a situation with a friends 'power supply'.
He'd gone the el-cheapo route of converting a server switch mode and was having trouble with it so dropped it off to me for a look......couldn't do a damn thing with it, spewed RFI on every frequency!
No amount of ferrites or chokes would alleviate that little monster!

At least buying new means you can take it back should you have any problems.

All the best,
Victor