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Reviews For: Alinco DM-430T Switching Power Supply

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : Alinco DM-430T Switching Power Supply
Reviews: 9MSRP: 144.95
Description:
Fixed (13.8VDC) or variable (approx. 5-15VDC) 25A continuous (30A peak) power supply.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.alinco.com/Products/ps/DM-430/DM-430.pdf
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0094.1
K0VH Rating: 2021-09-03
Great quality, no HF RF hash Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got mine Aug 2020 mainly to power my IC7300 which I bought June 2020 (I'd used an older Astron SS25 temporarily). No problems powering the Icom to full output and have used in ARRL 160 & DX CW contests plus 50watt psk31 ragchews. I don't do much FT8, not my thing. I have "played" with the variable voltage but never needed it so far just nice to have. I owned the Astron 25 switcher for over 20 years but it's flat faced and the old style meter version is much more than this Alinco. NO RF HASH noticable anywhere on HF! I had a discount from DXE after buying my IC7300 plus the Alinco was on special Aug 2020 so price wise it was a good deal. Quality so far is great!
N1AOA Rating: 2021-07-20
blew up Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had it for a couple weeks (brand new). It burned up without warning, and damage my new IC-7300 radio, which really sucks. Was running FT8, and going hard/continuous, but I rarely touched 20A (usually 16-18A). I'm extra mad because I didn't even NEED to use this power supply. I got it because of the smaller footprint on my desk and digital readout. I'll probably go back to my other Alinco (DM-330MV). DXENGINEERING might help me out with a credit since the new PS damaged by relatively new (3mth old) radio.
AG7FF Rating: 2021-07-02
Wrong Pot? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Mine may have been manufactured with the wrong potentiometer. The variable voltage is extremely sensitive in the first 1/4 turn, reaches 15Volts in a third of a turn, and rises another 0.3 volts in the rest of the turn. Testing the pot shows that it is a linear taper 10k pot. I will either replace with a logarithmic taper pot, or return it, as it is unable to dial in a specific voltage.
N2AYM Rating: 2020-08-26
good supply Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Very good desk power supply with the very small footprint and large volt/amp status display. When it comes on the fan is very low noise and you can barely hear it. I use the rear higher power ring hookup to my small 4 port rigrunner panel. It powers my triband TM-742A and a couple other small radios that I used mostly just to rx. I don't let it run all the time and use it only on demand. My area gets a lot of power hits so I only use it on demand and it always works well.
WC2Y Rating: 2020-08-26
great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
great power supply and does not take any room...I use it to run the 991a and a vhf amplifier. Great display and super quiet. Will be purchasing another one shortly as a back up to my other power supplies
W4NNF Rating: 2020-07-04
Great little PS! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
In the past I have not been a big fan of switching power supplies. However, as Field Day approached, I decided I wasn't a big fan of lugging my Astron linear supplies around anymore, either, and decided to take a chance on this one as a power supply for our group's digital station.

First thing that struck me when it arrived (in just two days, virus or no virus!) from DXengineering? How tiny it was. Just a little larger and heavier than a big paperback. But I was skeptical: "This little thing is gonna run the digital station for 24 hours?!" I called one of my fellow ops and asked him to bring along a backup supply.

I tried the DM-430 out in the shack before FD, using it with the IC 7200 that is the transmitter for our usual digital station. As others have noted, it has a nice, big, bright digital voltage/current display. It's also got voltage adjust capability, or you can leave it set for 13.8v with a switch on the front panel (which disables the adjustment control). There's an on off switch, and a pair of Powerpole connectors up front (which I'd be using, but there's also a pair of binding posts on the back). As others have noted, the fan comes on at high speed when you turn the supply on, but it soon stops. The DM-430 did fine during my testing, but how would it do given the rigors of powering a Field Day digital station for the duration?

It did just fine. I was a little worried at first, but it never got even warm to the touch. The little fan would come on at a barely audible speed, but that was it. No overheating, no problems over 24 hours of powering the digital/FT8 operating position. Despite changing bands from 80 down to 10, and changing frequencies for various digital modes, I never heard any sort of RF noise in the receiver. What more could you want?

While it'll stay in its role as Field Day supply and backup power supply at my normal station, I would not hesitate to power the IC 7610 or any of the normal station rigs with it. Well worth its small price.

K5NT Rating: 2020-05-09
A great addition to my setup. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The old linear supply that this replaced made a loud "THUNK" when turned on, then hummed too loudly to suit me when operating. The DM-430T is a big improvement. The fan is whisper-quiet, and it only gets warm to the touch when powering my 100 Watt transceiver on CW. There is no switching noise on 40 or 20, my main bands. It is about the size of my Elecraft K1, while the old supply was almost as big as my HF transceiver and was 5 pounds heavier. The front panel switch that sets the output at 13.8V is a good feature, and should prevent me from making mistakes that could damage equipment. I like the display, though it is a little bright. The current reading must be taken with a steady carrier as it does not react quickly enough to follow my CW. This is not a problem, as there is ample opportunity to check voltage before tune up and current draw during that process. The main back panel connectors are large knobs that screw onto sturdy threaded posts, and are easy to connect to. The front panel Powerpole connectors make 30A power available there if needed. All in all, I like this power supply very much.
KD2JF Rating: 2019-11-28
Quiet,cool and bright... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This power supply runs my FTDX3000 all day. Upon turn-on the fan goes to full speed then goes quiet. Once I turn on the rig and start drawing 2 amps the supply will start to warm-up and the fan kicks on at low speed. The voltage matches my fluke 77 and its nice to have realtime amp readout. The supply stays cool to the touch once the fan kicks on. My one complaint is that the display is very bright. Its distracting so I installed one layer of tinted/transparent tape over the display and its perfect now. Great supply otherwise.
N2ZDB Rating: 2019-05-13
Runs great, nice and cool. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Update:

Received a replacement from HRO and now they both are running great. Case's temperature never rises and the fan is very quiet - only comes on when needed.

Yes they do make a larger PS but who wants one with a cigarette plug on the front of it - UGLY!