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Reviews For: Radio Shack Switching 13.8 Volt 25 Amp Supply

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack Switching 13.8 Volt 25 Amp Supply
Reviews: 60MSRP: 110 on sale 60
Description:
Compact , lightweight 13.8 Volt 25 Amp Power Supply.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00603.9
NC2B Rating: 2003-02-12
very good for the money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought one a few days ago. Works fine even under full load with no hash. Yes the fan was noisey. It is a 12 volt fan running at 13.6 volts. It is running faster than it should. I put a 40 ohm resister in series with it and it sounds a lot better. It runs about 12 volts. I bought another one from the same lot number 03A01. I have had no problems with that one either. I plan to put another resistor in series with its fan also.
W5ZZQ Rating: 2003-02-09
Great little power supply!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Have not had one problem with this power supply. No noise or hash of any kind on any freq. I will purchase another one when the time comes. You can't beat the price either. I would recommend this supply to everyone needing one. Thanks.
K5TH Rating: 2003-02-09
Noisey Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this supply based on good reviews on different forums. The one I got had a noisey fan that had a high-pitched whine. It also generated spurs every 100kc or so on the bands I checked. I'm afraid my ten year old Astron RS-35M will have to keep powering the station for another ten years!
W8PAT Rating: 2003-02-06
Good deal I got two Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Such a good deal I bought two. Both are quiet and meet current and voltage specs. I have a 80 Amp 100+ NCR pound supply to run the shack but wanted something small and light to power rigs from other locations. I can't detect any hash or noise spikes coming from the supply on HF, VHF or UHF weak signal rigs.
W9JCM Rating: 2003-02-06
great deal Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
No problems with mine and run a 756Pro on it. Will use it for a bench supply. Its quite but I dont want any sound. Cant beat the astron 35. But great buy.
W6IZT Rating: 2003-02-06
So far so good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just ran a few preliminary tests on this supply powering my K2/100. Voltage regulation is excellent. The no load voltage measured 13.65v 0nly dropping 0.1v with the K2 running 100 watts cw. To check for noise and hash from the supply I sat the K2 on top of the supply and wrapped a 5 ft antenna around the power leads. I could not detect any noise coming from the supply. I needed a supply with a slim profile that would easily fit in my flight case. I can fit the PS, K2, KAT100, paddle , headphones, cables and laptop into my flight case. I'm ready for my next trip to the islands.
KA5AQP Rating: 2003-02-06
Didn't Work! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First off I found that it would not power my Icom V-8000 at full 70 watts. Circuit breaker tripped instantly upon PTT. Okay, I don't need 70 watts to hit the repeater so I cut it back. Then for a week after installing it I noticed a noise level of S8 on my HF rig that was sitting next to the power supply. I finally found the problem when I turned off the supply while the HF was still on. Noise dropped to S2. Yes, I know you are not supposed to put them that close together, but the way my shack is laid out demands it. I purchased and installed a MFJ 45 amp supply in the same spot and no noise at all. Unfortunately, I had drilled holes in the case to mount it so could not return it.
N3CJN Rating: 2003-02-06
Follow up: no more moderate fan noise Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading that others didn't have the fan "whine" that I encountered, I took mine back to RS and exchanged it. The new fan is indeed "whisper quiet", as others have noted. The first unit may have had a bad fan bearing, poor mechanical isolation of the fan or who knows?

My no-load output is 14.16V, so I may open it and tweak the voltage down a bit. Haven't decided if that is necessary or not.

Anyhow, they exchanged it without hassle, and I no longer have to cope with the whine. For the $60 sale price, I consider that a good deal.

The eHam reviews helped me decide that it was worth trying a different unit. Thanks folks!


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Earlier 3-star review posted by N3CJN on 2003-02-03

Based on your note, I ran across the street and bought the unit from my local RS. I already have the Samlex 1223 and like it a lot.

My new Radio Shack supply has the following problem: the fan runs all the time the unit is on, and makes a moderately-loud high-pitched noise.

I have not had that problem with the Samlex.
Do all of these RS units run the fan all the time?
Do others have the noise problem?

I suggest getting the salesman to let you plug it in and listen to it before you buy. Take a minute and see if that unit is quiet or not.



KF6GOM Rating: 2003-02-04
What a Deal!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
picked up this power supply at radio shack it was the last one and the manager gave me another $15.00 off the low price of $59.99....Total $44.99
came with box and manual. the fan was wisper quiet
and measured output was 13.9 V. ran it through the test even at 30 A it was working great, wish they had another one . grab one while there around
manager told me that radioshack is selling all of there inventory on powersupplies ASAP. they are made by SAMPLEX ...
KG5FTK Rating: 2003-02-04
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using this supply with an IC 718 for over a year, it works great. I don't notice the fan at all and I see no rfi that others claim they are getting. Overall, this supply is excellent.