Sh#t power supplies...

[UnknownVertigo]

Excuse the french reference but I've had it with trying to find a truly *good* supply.  IMHO the hobbyist shouldn't have to drop multiple thousands of dollars to get a well built, versatile and reliable precision supply.

As may be apparent by my post count; i'm new here.  I've greatly benefitted from all the shared wisdom, Dave's got an awesome community built up here!.  I found the blog because I was shopping for a supply.  A Siglent caught my eye and so I did some searches and up pops the episode showing rust...OMG!  I don't wanna to wonder what crap is inside if I'm spending good money.  I want to rest assured there is quality inside....Scratch Siglent.

I thought I'd just short circuit the whole process and go straight for brand name...I've got $1,200-1500 to spend on this thing so I checked out Keithley.  Well, I'll be darned if there isn't talk about rebranding crap from other manufacturers...which would be fine if the end result all checked out.  However, it appears as if the $1,200 price tag really isn't warranted for what I would get: subpar display, "wobbly" dials and menu driven functions  that should have dedicated keys....Scratch Keithley.

I don't know what to think about Rigol. They seem to be a love or hate kind of company.  I've read some really bad stuff and some really good stuff.  They show up a lot in the forum, perhaps because they are so widely owned and just cannot help but keep their one-off kinda issues out of the limelight...Considering I don't yet have a strong opinion it's hard to pull the trigger there.  I just don't know about these guys.

Having one unit with 3-4 outputs would be nice to save on bench space...I have a smallish area to work with.  This is a challenge as there are many posts about the drawbacks to having an "all-in-one" kind of supply....so I guess scratch this idea.

So now I'm thinking I should just bite the bullet and make room for a few single output units and let them work together to accomplish whatever projects might demand.  This means that the $1,200-1500 needs to be divided by 2 or 3...and what would that buy me?  Even less quality in a sub $1,000 unit...?

There's a ton of data out there...reviews, tear downs, general forum commentary etc...weeding through it all is driving me to drink.  Not a good thing to mix with electricity!

Can I get some folks ringing in on the topic?

Who really makes a quality unit - irregardless of cost (perhaps this is the only way to get quality)?
If I can't have quality, well, what's the next best quality/value tradeoff?
Which single output unit is best to select with the intent of having it play nice with another or multiple other supplies?
I love the TFT-LCD readability on the Siglent supply...anyone else putting that technology to work?

Thanks for listening to the rant and thanks in advance for the guidance!  Cheers!

[CM800]

I would say getting a used Aglent powersupply from KJDS is a good idea, he has loads of them, very good price (£110 or somthing like that) at 20v @ 5A very precise.. you really can't get much better on that style, i have two myself.

[free_electron]

lcd, tft touchscreen is all secondary spit-n-polish. if the analog section is crap the entire design is crap.

spend your money on a few used E3610A supplies. you can find these for 100..150$. with your budget you can easily buy 3 and you will be set for life.

[Rigby]

lcd, tft touchscreen is all secondary spit-n-polish. if the analog section is crap the entire design is crap.

spend your money on a few used E3610A supplies. you can find these for 100..150$. with your budget you can easily buy 3 and you will be set for life.

Yup.  Used HP or Agilent on eBay will go a loooong way for only a little money.

[PedroDaGr8]

With power supplies all of the value is on the used market.

Power Designs makes some great stuff (their precision line is bested only by the HP Precision line).
Harison Labs/HP/Agilent/Keysight make some great supplies as well. The 6614A and 6115A(part of the precision line) is an incredible power supply which can be used solo, in series, in parallel, etc. Other Agilent supplies are very solid.

Quite simple all of the LCD displays, multicolor interfaces, touch interfaces, etc. are fluff. If you want a real power supply and don't want to pay out the ass, go for something used. If you need calibration, then get that. You can easily get 4 or more supplies for your price point.

[uoficowboy]

lcd, tft touchscreen is all secondary spit-n-polish. if the analog section is crap the entire design is crap.

spend your money on a few used E3610A supplies. you can find these for 100..150$. with your budget you can easily buy 3 and you will be set for life.

I got three E3610As off of Ebay for $180 shipped. As in, $60 each. They are great power supplies, especially for the money.

Some of the older HP/PD supplies are nice too, but if you want a digital display these are probably the best value you will find.

[free_electron]

there you go.
and those are rock solid , the service manuals are available and they are easy to repair.

[senso]

You only get those prices if you are in the USA.
If the OP is not in there, think more in the lines of 200€ for the cheapest ones, IF the seller is even willing to ship them

[echen1024]

I bought my E3610A for $110 shipped. I am also now a proud owner of a 6114A which I bought for $60 shipped broken. A 2N4102 shit itself. But these are really nice, solid supplies that are easy to repair. Get a few, and spend the rest of that money on a good oscilloscope. The quality is evident when you take it apart.

[nowlan]

Without knowing where OP is from, still some concern about 120/220 input voltage.
I think dave did a tear down on an agilent box which had no transformer taps for 220v.
I know the power designs all say 110v on the back.

I cant understand why its so hard to find a reputable power supply for hobby use.

I managed during my micro controller course using a simple plug pack.
Before that had a battery eliminator. Probably a LM317 with resistor selectors inside.

[VK5RC]

As a bit of an HP nut,  I have not found any their gear made after ~1970 that is not multi voltage,  recently bought 3644 for approx 250 AUD posted,  regards

[bingo600]

I have a E3610 but also 2xTTi PL 154 , and a PL310
I regard the TTi's as being as good as the HP's.
But easier to get in EU land. They dont stack as well though.

Edit: I also have 2 x HP 6632B , if you can afford Them (kj ds) Then they are the best , but they aren't fanless as the above , and have some fannoise.
I had to get the fanless ones , to do 24x7 testing. (wifes order)

/Bingo

[Frost]

Yup.  Used HP or Agilent on eBay will go a loooong way for only a little money.

Here in the EU the available assortment on ebay often
ranges from next to nothing.
If you try to buy from the US the older PSUs
are typically designed for 110V and offered with either
no overseas shipping or extremely high shipping costs.

[mrflibble]

I got three E3610As off of Ebay for $180 shipped. As in, $60 each. They are great power supplies, especially for the money.

I bought my E3610A for $110 shipped. I am also now a proud owner of a 6114A which I bought for $60 shipped broken.

I now officially hate your gringo guts! You lucky bastard americans and your military subsidized heaps of surplus goodies.

Try finding the same in Europe on ebay ... no chance.

[nukie]

The E3610a dates back to at least early 1990, and they still work flawlessly. Its a great example of a simple analog design that withstand time. It might not have fancy memory(which is a pain when you have multiturn pot) function but it has no Flash or Nand to deteriorate. No backup battery or firmware to go wrong.

A few minor modifications was done and notes in the service manual, try that with a Chinese company... a recent example Korad psu tested by Dave, require some public media pressure for them to realise they have a flaw and prompted some redesign. That's considered a good company, other bottom chain 'company' look at this as a lost of profit. They change company names once a while or spin off a new brand.

[robrenz]

A fun exercise it to print out the specs of the 6114A/6115A and search for the same specs of Accuracy, line/load reg., stability PARD, ripple, etc in a modern supply.  You will need very deep pockets to even get close especially on ripple.

[mrflibble]

Do I even dare to ask what the ripple spec is?

[Frost]

0,04mV rms / 0,2mV peak to peak

[robrenz]

6114A/6115A manual/specs here

[bingo600]

I got three E3610As off of Ebay for $180 shipped. As in, $60 each. They are great power supplies, especially for the money.

I bought my E3610A for $110 shipped. I am also now a proud owner of a 6114A which I bought for $60 shipped broken.

I now officially hate your gringo guts! You lucky bastard americans and your military subsidized heaps of surplus goodies.

Try finding the same in Europe on ebay ... no chance.

My 3610 was 75 euro , but needed 2 caps exchanged , and a double ipa washdown (elco goo)

/Bingo

[Rigby]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-6114A-Precision-Power-Supply-020V-2A-2040V-1A-65335399-/310873020499

$10. 

4 days left, and the price is likely to go up now that I've posted it here, but this is a good supply and it's known-working at least to some degree.  Great supply.

[Jasper]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-6114A-Precision-Power-Supply-020V-2A-2040V-1A-65335399-/310873020499

$10. 

4 days left, and the price is likely to go up now that I've posted it here, but this is a good supply and it's known-working at least to some degree.  Great supply.

'ships to united states' only is pretty useless, though.

As a bit of an HP nut,  I have not found any their gear made after ~1970 that is not multi voltage,  recently bought 3644 for approx 250 AUD posted,  regards

That E3610 in echen's video doesn't seem to be 230 capable, and it certainly isn't pre-75.

[eurofox]

People in EU don't be desperate here you can buy those power supply's

http://www.woutersenwouters.be/products/power-supplies

[echen1024]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-6114A-Precision-Power-Supply-020V-2A-2040V-1A-65335399-/310873020499

$10. 

4 days left, and the price is likely to go up now that I've posted it here, but this is a good supply and it's known-working at least to some degree.  Great supply.

You worthless piece of shit  . Sorry if that's harsh, but I was intently watching that supply hoping to snag it for a good deal. Well, I have one already, better let this one find a good home.

[mrflibble]

People in EU don't be desperate here you can buy those power supply's

http://www.woutersenwouters.be/products/power-supplies

At those prices? Let the desperation continue!