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The power supply testing is done
19 November 2019 | by  |
| Defective part |
1. I am recently retired and I was told you would slowly forget what day of the week it was, well that has not happened as of yet. I can say that with regards to ham radio contesting this retiree has mixed up what contest was on what weekend! In my last post, I had the idea of the CQWW CW contest was on this past weekend and in fact, thanks to my fellow bloggers I was informed it is next weekend. When I went back to the ham radio contest calendar site it sure was plain as day that in fact, it is next weekend. This is a good thing because my new Astron power supply will be here and I will be good to go
2. In my last post, I indicated the
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| Pass transistor testing |
Now the power supply troubleshooting is done and I have to thankfully replace only one component and again the failure of the power supply is my own fault. The power supply is an Astron RS 20M and it is rated at 16 amps continuous, this has been just fine when I was operating QRP at my previous QTH. As my readers know I am now retired and have moved to New Brunswick and my new antenna is an
Back to the final power supply troubleshooting, I checked the 2 pass transistors and they both passed. I then checked the balancing resistors connected to the emitter of each pass transistor and they were both good. There were some capacitors that I also checked and they too passed. It seems that the only component I need is a bridge rectifier along with a tube of dielectric paste for the pass transistors and a new bridge rectifier. I am very happy the repairs are minor to the power supply.
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| Positive test results |
6 Responses to “The power supply testing is done”
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Thanks for posting your failures as well as your successes, Mike. It really helps to see that others can forget basic facts and blow power supplies as well! I made a similar mistake years ago and never forgave myself, now I don’t feel so bad.
73, Colin
GM4JPZ
Astron has a reputation for being optimistic with their specs. When I got my RS20M I put a fan on the heatsink right away (run it off the Astron output). It’s been working fine for years with loads of 16-20 A (and occasional, and inadvertent brief excursions to 23A). I’m sure the fan is helping it survive — cheap insurance.
Good luck with your repair!
Hey Mike. I am glad you have it all figured out. I am having a similar type of problem here, being retired and all. I have been working on an old transmitter for a few years as I had a move from Alberta to Ontario in 2017, got a job, worked too much and still don’t have my shack operational! By the time I got back to it, I had to relearn what I had done. I forgot a lot and keep letting the smoke out of Mosfets that I have been using as control devices in an old Ranger. Today I seem to have blown a 6146 do to a screen problem.
Anyhow, you aren’t alone! We are all here to help each other.
73, Clint, VE3CMQ
Good evening Colin very nice to hear you, yes I have had a few of those moments in my life time. This has given me the chance to trouble shoot the power supply. The parts were order today and I hope it will be operational by the weekend.
Have a good week Colin
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Good evening Lenny, I had a pyramid power supply that I did the same with as it was running hot.
Have a good rest of the week
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Nice to hear from you again Clint, it sure sounds like you have your hands full with trouble shooting. I ordered the parts today from Digikey and they should arrive this week sometime.
Thanks for the reply
73
Mike
VE9KK