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Reviews For: Astron RS-35A

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : Astron RS-35A
Reviews: 103MSRP: 150.00
Description:
13.8 volt 25 amp continuous 35 amp peak rated DC Power Supply
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.astroncorp.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
121034.8
W8COP Rating: 2011-06-10
What a Beast !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my 35a for 15 years.I recently dropped it,and thought it was toast. It powered right up.What a great piece of gear !!!
K7NSW Rating: 2011-03-14
IN-RUSH DEVICE NEEDED Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have been using this one plus other Astron units for over 30 years. Very reliable and deliver as specified. BUT, my first one was their big 50 amp unit. It got to clanking due to current inrush at turn on. I should have installed an inrush delay device but did not. Wish I had done so. Now my Astron power supplies (I won't buy any other brand) have one protecting them. A good investment. Astron supplies "take a licking and keep on ticking". Just like tube type hf amplifiers.
N6WIN Rating: 2011-03-14
Old Reliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had one since 2002 and my father since the mid-90's. They are used daily. His powers his VHF/UHF radios, FT-950, band decoder, and relay box. Mine is used for a VHF/UHF radio, power meter, band decoder, and relay box.

I can't complain as each of them continues to work as expected. Both are plugged into surge protectors and also work while being plugged into a wall outlet.

Heat has not been an issue, no repairs needed.
K8CPA Rating: 2011-02-05
Best $167.76 that I ever spent! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Bought mine from R & L Electronics in Hamilton, Ohio on November 30, 2010.

The only time that I have shut it off, is when I am not in the shack...or in the unlikely event that the power does go out.

The reviews are right. It is a tank. Heavy as lead too! It powers my little Radio Shack HTX-242 just fine.

Does it get warm? When I get very long winded on 2 meters; she gets a little bit toasty. But they all do this.

These things are built by people that know what power supplies are supposed to be built like. Thinking of getting a Pyramid? Spend the extra money and get the Astron. You'll be glad you did.

Take it from an old timer, who's been a ham now since 1989. Astron IS the best.

If only they made a 100 amp version.....

73 de Chuck K8CPA
Lincoln Park, Michigan
USA

KK5JY Rating: 2010-11-15
A tank. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned, used, and probably abused several of these. They are incredibly sturdy, although they are somewhat heavy, like all linear supplies. An amateur of moderate soldering skills can repair one. I have never needed to do that, but I've seen units hit by lightning repaired with ease.

The heatsink gets very warm under near-design-limit loads. A fan would be nice, but I have also never had a failure, even with lots of transmit hours on them. So maybe my concept of warm is not actually warm to the pass transistors. They seem quite happy to operate that way.

I have done the battery-float-charge mod you can find on the web. One source is here:

http://www.repeater-builder.com/astron/astron-index.html

This worked quite well for me, but I also fuse and double fuse everything, just in case, especially around batteries.

If you buy one new, get the version with the meters. The cost is almost identical, but having the extra feedback is really nice, especially when you load one heavily.

The light compact switching supplies are nice, but if you have the space, it's hard to go wrong with one of these. You can find them used very inexpensively, especially now that reliable switching supplies are common.
KX9RJ Rating: 2010-07-25
Works great; must plug directly into the wall. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my RS-35A for about 20 years, and it works great! But here is a situation I ran into:

When I re-arranged my station, I moved the AC plug from the wall to a power strip. I got really bad reports on my audio, and could see my HF radio dimming its display every time I talked. I plugged a newer switching supply into the AC wall socket and did not have this problem. I returned back to the Astron, but plugged it into the AC wall socket like it was before, and it worked fine again.

I figured using a power strip was limiting the input power being supplied to the Astron, even though it was marked as being able to handle the current I needed. So, always plug this unit directly into the wall, and you will get decades of great service.
VE7IEF Rating: 2010-03-15
16 Years of Reliable Use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've own my RS-35A for 16 years, and never had a problem with it. Sure; there is a hum, but with soft material under the existing rubber feet, much of it will be diminished.
Great value for the price you pay for one of these power supplies!
73
de VE7 IEF
Stan
N7TML Rating: 2010-03-07
Voltage Control Problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Twice in the past three years the output voltage started varying between 12.6 and 15.5 volts. With the key down there was an additional 1.4 volt drop. During the first three years it was a rock solid unit but don't think I'll replace it with another Astron.

----------------------
Earlier 2-star review posted by N7TML on 2009-12-25

I've had mine since 12/03. Two yers later the voltage output became unstable and varied between 13.0 and 14.8 volts continuoulsy. I called Astron and they had me change a capacitor. That took care of the problem. Now the voltage varies from 12.8 to 15.6 volts and drops 1.4 volts with the key down. My FT 897 draws 22 amps. So I'll check with Astron again but this experience seems very different from most of the other posts here. Maybe I just got a bad unit.
N3ALN Rating: 2010-02-27
Love it!...Must Have! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Rock solid and I can always count on it. I would never get rid of it. Zero problems.
WA7KGX Rating: 2009-10-21
Stuck a Screwdriver in it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had mine for 25 years or so. Power light barely flickers anymore. Next time I open it up in goes a new light, maybe an LED. Given the thunk when I turn it on maybe I don't need the power light after all.

The rectifier bridge creates a bit of hash on LF even with caps added across the rectifier input.

The crowbar trips if there is too much RF in the shack.

For years the hum has driven me to distraction. Placing it on a phone book didn't help. After reading other reviews I wedged a small screwdriver under the top cover. Blissful quiet.

When I decide what to do about the crowbar I'll hopefully be able to hack the case to get rid of the resonance which makes the hum so loud.