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Reviews For: Astron SS-30/M

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : Astron SS-30/M
Reviews: 98MSRP: 120 to $160
Description:
30 Amp Switching Power Supply (SS-30M with meters) (SS-30 no meters)
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.astroncorp.com/switching-desktop
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00984
WA9TGT Rating: 2002-03-03
FAN NOISE FIX Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased a new Astron SS-30 supply. This is the first switching power supply I have every owned. I was surprised to see how lightweight it was. The SS-30 works great but I soon took issue with its rather noisy cooling fan that cycled on and off occasionally. I recently installed a 47 Ohm 1 watt carbon resistor in series with one of the fan supply leads. This reduced the fan speed down to about 2/3 of its original speed and it dramatically reduced the fan noise. The fan still seems to cool very effectively and it does not seem to run or cycle much longer that it did before at the higher RPM.

NOTE* FIRST UN-PLUG THE AC POWER CORD BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS MODIFICATION!

A 1 watt 47 or 52 Ohm resistor is easily installed in series with one of the cooling fans supply lead. This can be done by unsoldering one of the small red wire leads going to a thermal button sensor switch located on the heat sink. Note that there are 2 thermal sensors in this unit. DO NOT USE THE THERMAL SENSOR THAT IS LOCATED ON THE HEATSINK FIN NEAR THE AC POWER CORD SIDE OF THE SUPPLY!

The correct thermal sensor button switch you want to use is located on the other heat sink fin assembly that is closest to the 13.8 volt output terminals. Unsolder one of the red wires to this sensor and then solder one end of a 47 or 52 Ohm 1-watt resistor to this sensor terminal, then re-solder the small red fan lead wire to the other end of this resistor. By doing this you are inserting this resistance in series with the cooling fans power lead. This resistor will drop the fan voltage by about 4.8 V. The cooling fan draws about 100-ma current so this would require approximately a .5 watt resistor. I suggest using a 1-watt resistor for plenty of margin. After making this modification I can barely hear the fan when it's running and the fan still has enough start up voltage to maintain a reliable start.

Donnie Garrett / WA9TGT

K3YD Rating: 2001-05-30
OK, not great. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is my first experience with a switching supply; till now I've only used linear P.S.'s. It is small, light weight, and so far, reliable. I don't like the frequent cycling of the fan during long periods of receiving. (IMHO a supply rated at 30 Amps should put out 0.7 A forever without needing forced air cooling.)
I am even more annoyed about Astron's failure to include a schematic diagram. I have several Astron linear supplies--all with a schematic--which has enabled me to do any needed maintenance.
WV4R Rating: 2001-04-25
Nice looking unit... but then I LOVE Meters! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This unit must be the 'older model' since the Output Terminals are uncolored... Amazing oversight. Power output seems stable and it is fairly quiet in RF noise and fan noise. The fan likes to come on quite frequently, especially in summer which is good that it is working but bad that it comes on during low usage... giving the perception of underbuilt. On the Positive side, it is still working without a pause for over a year and I hardly notice the fan noise anymore. There are lotza Switching Supplies on the market now so choose carefully for quietness in fan noise as well as radiated RF noise. I would imagine they are now putting at least a penny's worth of Red/Black paint on the back to make the output terminals a bit more obvious. 73 es God bless, wv4r.
K5UX Rating: 2001-04-24
Once I solved the RFI problem, the SS30 worked very well. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the SS-30, w/o the meters. The unit is apparently one from a later production run because the DC cable tie points on the back of the unit are very easy to read (red and black). The QST review indicated it was difficult to read the positive and negative terminals on the earlier units. I noticed some very heavy RFI approximately every 40 Khz above 20 Mhz. The RFI appeared to move very slowly. Didn't bother me on the lower bands, but certainly curtailed ops on the higher frequencies. I tried to contact Astron via e-mail, but every attempt came back "undeliverable", with some sort of message indicating their mail box was full(?) However, I did call Astron tech support the next day and was told they had some units that had left the factory with loose screws that hold the PC board to the chassis. Also told me to make sure the 3-prong AC power cord had a good ground, via the house wiring. Additionally, they told me to put a .01 bypass cap across the output (on the inside of the unit, rather on the outside terminals). I live in an old house with 2-wire AC power and had to run a short wire from my station ground to the SS-30 chassis. After performing all 3 suggestions, my SS-30 is working just great. I suspect it was really a combination of the .01 cap and the loose screws on the PC board/chassis. The fan is a little on the noisy side, but unlike most of the other switching supplies, doesn't stay on all the time. I also noticed that the proximity with the SS-30 with the wall behind it, really makes a difference with propagation of the fan noise. Although Astron didn't do too well with e-mail, they were very prompt with a solution to my RFI once I contacted them via telephone. I am glad I sold my RS-35M. The SS-30 has all the advantages of being smaller and generating much less heat.
KJ4GY Rating: 2001-04-22
FAN NOISY/NO SUPPORT Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My SS30M WORKS FINE,ONLY HAS ONE PROBLEM.MY FAN STARTED GETTING NOISY LIKE A BEARING GOING OUT
AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF OPERATIONS.I know the fan doesn't have a bearing!
I tried Astron's web site and sent them an e-mail
about it.The e-mail came back to me.
So not much help on support.
Wayne newby
KJ4GY
K8AC Rating: 2001-04-22
Solid performer with minor shortcomings Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Does what it's supposed to do, and has been trouble free. However...

1. While I hear no RFI on 160-10 meters, there are a number of discrete signals on the AM BC band, with a fairly strong one at 620 KHz. If you plan to listen to an AM radio in the same room with this supply, it might be a problem.

2. The fan built into the supply could be quieter. It's no louder than a typical transceiver fan, but you may find it bothersome. If you use the supply just for accessories and/or a low power rig, it may never come on.

It's a great unit for portable operation with an HF rig because it's so small and light.
N1KFC Rating: 2001-02-12
Astron quality Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have 2 of these supplies as well as some 35m's. The best that can be said about a supply is that one forgets that it is there. The ss-30 is a light (great for field ops), reliable and quiet (unlike my mfj paperweight) power supply. Good job Astron!
AA4PB Rating: 2001-01-24
Measured Dynamic Response Good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had a report of some Astron supplies having poor dynamic response so I measured my SS-30M. When switching from a 1.5A load to a 23A load, the output voltage drops by 100 mV for 10 mS.