Power converter for base station

[WSDX985]

He everyone,

I am wanting to use my Kenwood TK-880-1 as a base station in my house but not sure what a good power converter is to look for or use. Any pointers will help. I was looking at one by BTech but will a cheaper one work the same?

[WRYZ926]

Most of the least expensive power supplies all seem to be made by one or two manufacturers so don't get hung up on a brand name as long as they get good reviews. The E-Ham website is a great place to read real world reviews.

I will use a different analogy here. There is no need to spend the extra money on premium high octane gas for your vehicle if it runs and performs perfectly fine on regular gas.

I will say that some of the cheap power supplies from Amazon or Alibaba are not going to match the quality of the better known brands. Those super cheap power supplies might also be electrically noisy too.

One thing to look at is the actual RMS or continuous power rating. Most power supplies are marked and advertised by the peak amperage. They are not meant to run at the peak all of the time. Most 30 amp power supplies are only rated between 22 and 25 amps continuous. IF you are only connecting one radio (up to 50 watts) to the power supply then any 30 amp supply will work.

I have several power supplies; an old Astron 30 Amp, two R&L Electronics brand 30 Amp supplies, and a Tek-Power 50 amp supply from Amazon. All have worked just fine for my needs. I run my Icom IC-2730 and Wouxun KG-1000G from one of the R&L 30 amp power supplies with no issue. The Tek-Power 50 amp runs my Yaesu FTDX10 and LDG AT-1000 Pro II auto tuner.

Now if you want one of the best power supplies then stick with the more expensive linear units. If you want to save money then a decent switching power supply will work just fine.

[SteveShannon]

As wryz926 said, power supplies are rated according to the current they can source.  Many of the cheap power supplies are rated according to the peak, but not the continuous current they are able to provide.  It’s important, especially with GMRS where the radios are limited to 50 watts output, to understand that these power supplies are voltage sources.  They will provide 13.8 volts, DC, holding that voltage while varying the current to match the requirements of the radios you have connected.

A 50 watt radio should never even come close to drawing 20 amps, much less 30 amps.  My 100 watt base ham radios requires 23 amps at its greatest draw.

Also, the quality of a power supply is important.  A power supply that suddenly provides higher than acceptable voltage will coax the magic smoke out of your radio.  A power supply that generates a lot of electrical noise may affect other devices in your house, even if your radio works just fine. The comments above about linear versus switch mode are especially important.  There are good quality switch mode power supplies.  I have a 35 amp switching Samlex that is quiet except when the fan kicks on.  A friend has a 50 amp linear Astron that could be used to anchor a small frigate, but it’s quiet all the time.

Most of us change radios from time to time, but we tend to use the same power supply until it breaks.  Get a good one.

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, WSDX985 said:I was looking at one by BTech but will a cheaper one work the same?

Yes it will.  It puts out 13.8v  at 30amps or there about.   The question is how long will it work?  Do you leave your radio on all the time? Talk on it a lot?  Need something for shtf Demario where you need it to work?

 
your running a kenwood so it would be like buying a Cadillac and putting the cheapest set of tires on it you could find.  Will it work? Sure.   

[nokones]

I would look into at least a quality 30 amp power supply with adjustable voltage output in case you want to power two radios or other DC devices. Astron is a great product and probably would last forever.

I bought a Powerwerx 30 Amp Unit a couple years ago. The continuous power rating is 25 amps. Surprisingly, the unit is very light. I've been very happy with it. I would buy one aUnit.

 https://powerwerx.com/variable-power-supply-digital-meters-30amp

Too bad there are no radio shacks around like yesteryear. I have a 10 Amp Radio Shack power supply that is approx. 50 years old and works very well but it's very heavy for a 10 Amp unit.

Be very careful with unknown brand products that are sold by discounted sellers. If it is cheap, there is a very good reason why it is cheap.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

 

A 50 watt radio should never even come close to drawing 20 amps, much less 30 amps.  My 100 watt base ham radios requires 23 amps at its greatest draw

Ummmm.  My 40amp radios pull 27amps  and my 100w radios pull 43 amps so this is not always true.  
 

[SteveShannon]

2 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

Ummmm.  My 40amp radios pull 27amps  and my 100w radios pull 43 amps so this is not always true.  
 

Interesting. All the ham radios I’ve seen run about the same. 14-15 amps for 50 watts and 23 amps for 100 watts. 
43 amps at 13.8 volts is 593.4 watts input. At 100 watts RF output that’s 493.4 watts of heat and light that’s not going out the antenna. That’s really inefficient. 

[AdmiralCochrane]

I have converted several computer server 12v power supplies.  Lots of power, budget price.  Some hams have worried about rf noise, but no one has demonstrated problems with the server power supplies in practice.  You do have to remove a resistor, find a particular potentiometer and tweek the output voltage to 13.7 and put some kind of connector lug on the output terminals.

[nokones]

3 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

Ummmm.  My 40amp radios pull 27amps  and my 100w radios pull 43 amps so this is not always true.  
 

40 amp radio? I'm assuming you mean 40 watt radio. In anycase, 27 amps with a 40 watt radio and 43 amps with a 100 watt radio? Are you running a vintage radio with tubes or do you have an external RF Amplifier running concurrently with the radio. That is a lot of power draw even if it was an old Micor.

[dosw]

4 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

Ummmm.  My 40amp radios pull 27amps  and my 100w radios pull 43 amps so this is not always true.  
 

What equipment is used in testing that current draw? 

[WRYZ926]

2 hours ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

I have converted several computer server 12v power supplies.  Lots of power, budget price.  Some hams have worried about rf noise, but no one has demonstrated problems with the server power supplies in practice.  You do have to remove a resistor, find a particular potentiometer and tweek the output voltage to 13.7 and put some kind of connector lug on the output terminals.

Yes server power supplies are popular. As mentioned, they do need some slight modifications first so that you get a good 13.8 volts out of them.

Now a standard ATX power supply is a different story. They can be very noisy when it comes to RF. I had to deal with that when I used an old ATX power supply to run accessories on my model train layout. I was getting some noise/interference from the power supply with my DCC command station and my DCC equipped locomotives.

I will say that all of the power supplies I own (mentioned above) have not given me any fits with my model train layout and DCC system.

@WSDX985 stick with a known brand that we have mentioned and you will be fine. A 30 amp power supply will run a 50 watt radio without any issues. A 30 amp power supply will handle two 50 watt radios transmitting at the same time as long as you are running low or medium power on both radios. Trying to transmit on high power with two radios can very well be too much for a 30 watt power supply.

[BoxCar]

Personally, I use Mean Well (AKA Meanwell) power supplies I buy off Amazon. The Mean Wells are rated for medical use which translates to no measurable RF noise and constant output. Many public safety agencies also use the Mean Well supplies in their repeater sites.

[AdmiralCochrane]

9 hours ago, BoxCar said:

Personally, I use Mean Well (AKA Meanwell) power supplies I buy off Amazon. The Mean Wells are rated for medical use which translates to no measurable RF noise and constant output. Many public safety agencies also use the Mean Well supplies in their repeater sites.

Never heard of that brand, but I looked them up and it looks like they have a lot of good product.  Limited amount of 13.8v product though.

[BoxCar]

@AdmiralCochrane Many of their 12V supplies are adjustable to 13+ volts. Most of mine go to 13.6.