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You can
write your own review of the Astron RS-20A.
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WA8MEA
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Rating: 0/5
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Apr 21, 2009 08:28
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Sent it back....
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hummed worse than an apple tree full of hummingbirds! Irritating as heck. Sent it back to AES. They graciously replaced it with one that hummed TWICE AS BAD!
Two strikes and your out in my book. Never again. Pyramids and Tripp-Lites have been my staple for DECADES. No problems....
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K4FX
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Rating: 2/5
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Apr 11, 2009 12:08
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Just OK at best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Well this one died on me just before the WPX SSB contest last month. I had already rebuilt my 35M Astron and have been delighted with the performance of that unit. So I had planned on changing the 20A's pass transistors eventually. I ordered a pair from Mouser and popped them in, turned it on and the 2 meter rig it runs would not come on, hmm, checking the output I saw only 2.5 volts, the LM-723 regulator! I remembered that I had purchased a regulator for the 35M that I had not used, so after diggin in the junk box I located it and the old 20A was purring again with her new LM723 and pair of 2N5302 pass transistors (50 watts more dissipation each than the stock 3771's).
Like a lot of hams I had used Astrons for years with no issues and "thought" they were bullet-proof, WRONG! When I got into RTTY and contesting, that all changed. Everyone should bookmark this page http://www.repeater-builder.com/astron/astron-index.html I assure you that when the problems hit your Astron, you will find all the info you need to rebuild your power supply in short order!
K4FX
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WB7TXG
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 24, 2009 14:18
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Still Works FB
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought this new back in 1981 or so.. I think. It has been turned on pretty much non stop for almost 30 years. I have never had an issue with this power supply and it just keeps ticking adn ticking.
I did finally buy a powper supply break out strip with multiple points of connection and also has a meter and a red LED light so that I can see that the power supply is working.
I have ran sever HF rigs that needed 12vdc with no issues. Last rig ran on it was an Icom 706 and the rig ran fine, full power and no drop in supplied power to all the other 12vdc acessories I have in the shack.
Would I buy it again? Yes, without question. I figure over 30 + years is proof enough.
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AB4ZT
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 18, 2009 10:58
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A Real Workhorse
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Nearly 20 years of service and never a single problem. A very solid piece of equipment.
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K8DK
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Rating: 5/5
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May 18, 2008 18:16
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Excellent
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Purchased 35M in 1981 and it has been on almost continuous. Great power suppply.
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WB2FTX
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Rating: 3/5
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May 18, 2008 17:41
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Not very impressed
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am going to go against most of the reviews for this power supply... I have had it three months (purchased new from HRO) in continous operation powering my Kenwood TS-450S which is running 24/7 as a Pactor MBO... It ran fine until last week when I came into the shack and found both the radio and the power supply off. First thing I did was to check the fuse... Where is it? Had to open it up to find it.. Fuse blown. Put in another fuse, blew again.. Disconnected the transformer secondaries from the bridge rectifier. Fuse held.... Diodes in the two bridges shorted out..They are using 2 25 amp bridges wired in parallel with no equalization between them... Unless they are evenly matched one is going to handle most of the load while the other one just loafs along..Found that this is a very common failure mode in Astron power supplies and could be easily cured with a component rated for this service rather than putting two together.. I have ordered a grossly overrated 1000 v PIV bridge rated at 50 amp to replace these and hope that is the end of the problem... No warning of failure and only after 3 months of service... The only reason I will keep it is that it is probably better than most of the power power supplies available and that switching supplies introduced a lot of RF hash all across the HF spectrum
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W4RIG
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 13, 2007 08:45
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Excellent Service for over 9 years
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My Astron RS-20A has been a reliable source of 13.5 V DC power for over 9 years in intermittant (not constant) service. I would recommend this power supply for any base operation for mobile rigs of various types. It is a heavyweight item and probably not highly desirable for back packing or portable use unless you don't have far to lug your equipment and have a reliable source of 110 V AC power.
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KE7DZS
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 6, 2007 16:49
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Will it ever die?
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Mine has been on since 1985 and It works as expected. It is well made and dependable. You can't go wrong with the Astron RS-20A.
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PU2TYB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 17, 2007 16:24
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EXCELLENT!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had this power supply since 1996 and besides the front led not working which I don't care it still works great.
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N6NKN
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 6, 2007 18:29
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I Forget Its There.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I guess that my forgetfullness stems from the fact that I have had it for 10 years, and it has never caused me any problems. I am currently using it to power one automatic tuner, two automatic coax switches, an SWR/Power meter, two scanners, an Icom CT-17 and an Icom IC-28A. Recently the Icom switching power supply for my venerable IC-735 developed a terminal regulation failure. My 735 is now running proudly again thanks to a shiny new Astron RS-35M.
If I ever need another power supply, you can bet it will be an Astron.
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