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Reviews For: Samlex SEC-1223

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : Samlex SEC-1223
Reviews: 157MSRP: 129.99
Description:
Switching Power Supply

Helpful RFI reduction mod by ZL2DF: http://www.n0ss.net/samlex_1223_rfi_mods_from_zl2df.pdf
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.samlexamerica.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001574.4
G0UIH Rating: 2005-08-23
Good for Traveller Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Now had my 1223 for 3 years and during this time have taken it on IOTA Dxpeditions 3 times to VK and also to Fiji.It has performed flawless in this time span and has been subjected to many hours of pile ups running my 706 Mk2G which runs slightly higher output (130w).It does get a little hot,especially in the tropical heat, but has never missed a beat.I'm not a big low band buff, but testing at home revealed a few birdies on 80/160m, but the ZL2DF mods have taken care of them. For the price, weight and reliability you can't go wrong.
73 - Steve G0UIH/VK2IAY/3D2FI
YI9VCQ Rating: 2005-08-15
Quiet and Reliable Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've used this power supply for the past 7 months. It never makes a noise and works on both 110 and 200-volts with a simple jumper setting.

Compact size has made it easy to carry in my pack all over Iraq.

Powers my Icom 706MkIIG and hardly ever gets warm. Haven't noticed any QRN from it.

Like the title said---Quiet and Reliable.

73,
Korey
YI9VCQ/KA5VCQ
Al Asad, Iraq
PE1HWO Rating: 2005-07-26
Humming choke Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got an european model, with CE mark, more filtering at in and output. It works well, apart from the anoying humming sound made by a choke in the primary line, at the front of the case. This choke is not present in the american versions.I tried another one after complaining at my friendly dealer. But does hum load too. This hum is only acoutic and irritating when using CW. Even with qrp you've a hum following your sidetone. Isolating with rubber doesn't fix it, the steel cover resonates due the magnetic field of the choke. 73 André pe1hwo
OZ1BV Rating: 2005-07-25
Great, when mods performed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi!

After performing the mod by ZL2DF(see URL on top of page) + added extra ferrit on the 230V inlet this little PSU just works fine.
Without these mods I would rate it 2 - 3, because it's very noise on lower HF-bands. But now - the noise is history :-)

Best 73 de OZ1BV, Brian
PA5COR Rating: 2005-05-09
Big performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have it for 1 year
Mind you, there are several versions out, the one i have does have the extra filtering for H.F, there are also others that miss the extra parts.

This will be why some owners have complaints and some don't.

73's

PA5COR
VA7CRH Rating: 2005-03-26
Great steady performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is the only power supply I've ever owned, so really cannot compare. To do battle with RFI in the shack I grounded to the case to RF ground. There's no noise to speak of, as mentioned as something to look for in other reviews. It has run an IC-718 since becoming a ham 1 year ago.

The fan periodically comes on, and sometimes the case feels hot.

If what you're looking for in a power supply is to forget you have it (ie. it requires little if any attention) you may wish to try this...

No problems at all.
G4KSG Rating: 2005-02-01
No issues here Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I came across this thread so went and carried out some subjective tests regarding noise. My 706 Mk2 and 1223 are upstairs and the trapped dipole is no more than 15' above me. No noise on any frequency that I can identify - and no rf feedback either on HF. Assembly does get worried with 100w on 2m to the beam on the same mast (centre support). Have been operating in these circumstances with this equipment for 5 years.
K5TUE Rating: 2005-01-27
reliable...but... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Very reliable, very quiet. I operate mostly on 3, 5 and 7 mhz. No noise into my receiver at all. But, be aware that if your transmitter pulls more than the 23 or so amps that the supply is rated at, it will 'fold back', and cause problems. This is not normally an issue, unless your HF rig has been 'turned up' to put out 150 watts or so. In other words, there is not much 'headroom' for overun on the demand for current, like there is on a linear type power supply. If your rig is putting out 100 watts, you'll be fine.

N5RNY
KE4IZA Rating: 2004-11-09
Little Power House Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have used the SEC-1223 to power my IC-718 and now my FT-897. All the power I need when I need it. I have never heard the fan start and the case top is always cool. No RF noise at all and the power supply is under my desk 18" directly under the FT-897. At $100 this is a killer power supply and highly recommended.
KG0WX Rating: 2004-10-31
OK.....IF Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I read every review in BOTH 1223 listings and then ran some tests. Here's what I found:

The Samlex SEC 1223 is an economical, powerfull & light power supply. Samlex seems to produce consistant quality. HOWEVER - this *is* a switching power supply - if you run below 8 mhz AND if your antennas are poor and/or close to your PS, you will probably pick up noise, although nothing compared to your average PC's power supply.

I hooked two 12v, 12ah SLA batteries (in parallel) to the output of my 1223. The manual says not to do this without buying an accesory from Samlex but my DVM showed the PS was only drawing 31.4ma from the battery so I figgured for these tests I was probably OK (short term). I started by shutting off my PC which dropped the noise floor significantly (below 1 mhz the noise floor went from S9+20 to S4).

I then went slooowly down from 8 mhz to 100khz and whenever I heard any carrier or buzzing, I'd switch off the 1223 and go on the batteries. The 1223 produces a buzz every 22khz or so. On 40m it's pretty weak and my antenna is not far away (40m dipole, fed w/ ladder line on the roof). On 80 with the same antenna, it was there but if my PC was on I couldn't hear it. 160 was useless. All these tests were done on the same antenna. If I had a nice 160m dipole, I suspect things would be tolerable but not great.

Then I moved down to VLF. Things got worse there but since I don't TX there, I can be on the battery just fine so the 1223 is a non issue there.

As for 80/160, I plan on installing a trap dipole 50' away. If that dosen't kill the noise from the 1223, I'll do 3 things:

1) Open the case up and make sure the case is well grounded.
2) Install a grounded, ferrited & sheilded AC line, just like Samlex suggests in the manual.
3) Sheild & ferrite the DC line, again just as suggested by Samlex.

Bottom line - if you are above 7mhz and you've got halfway decent antennas, you will probably wonder why people complain about RF hash. If you're into the low bands/VLF/weak signals and don't have a rhombic on the back 40 acres, get ready to do a few easy and simple mods or sell your PS and go to a linear PS or batteries.

I'm keeping my SEC 1223 - I'll put up better antennas (and get out better, too!) and maybe works on shielding the in/out lines. As for VLF - I'm on ultra quiet mode there - no PC, no 1223, just the whistlers, the submarines and WWVB.

Ken KG0WX