Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Samlex SEC-1223

Category: Power Supplies

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
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
W8NLZ Rating: 2009-02-22
A good power supply for price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use two Samlex SEC1223 supplies mounted in a TransTec carrier. Use them to power a Kenwood TS-480HX and the misc. stuff in the shack. When not in use in the shack, I carry them around to campsites, motels, etc. Have owned them for several years and have not experience one problem. Incidentally, I have equipped them with pigtails and Anderson PowerPole connectors for quick disconnect. Again, no problems. Would certainly recommend these units.
KC0GLA Rating: 2009-01-10
Good Power Supply Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this guy at a hamfest 3+ years ago and works great. I have been using to run a FM 50W Kenwood mobile. Positives quiet fan, 20 Amps, reliable, lightweight, and small. Negatives no binding posts only euro style set screw connections.
KB1QBZ Rating: 2008-11-13
Good Unit Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Use it with an IC-746 and with a Yaesu 879D. Definite birdie that walks up the band in the first five minutes after it's turned on. Once it's been warmed up though, the birdie disappears and does not re-appear.

I have noticed evenly spaced birdies -- especially on 80 and 40 -- with both radios, but I'm not sure that they come from the Samlex because the same birdies sometimes appear in my K1 and in the FT-897 when I'm running them on batteries (Samlex turned off and unplugged.

Other than that, it has been reliable and I get good signal reports on transmit. The Samlex definitely drives both the 897 and the 746 at full power.

K7WCB Rating: 2008-11-09
Won't buy again! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Works fine for my Icom V-8000 2 meter rig, no problem with 75 watt rag chews. Absolutely horrible to use with any hf rig. I have had a IC-706 and FT-847 hooked up to it. The interference is awful. Birdies consistently spaced on 80, 40, and 20 meters. I went nuts trying to find the interference in my house...until I isolated the power supply.

Another funny thing happened. I have connected/disconnected the thing from power leads maybe 6 times. The ears on the compression screws failed. I didn't ever use an over abundence of tightening force. They are just weak. Guess what else I found out, the screws are hollow. Not sure why they would be but they are, which no doubt contributed to the early failure of the screwdriver "ears" on them.

I would not recommend this power supply to anyone unless it was for a one time hook-up, strickly fm vhf setup with no chance of a hf rig being within proximity.
THM Rating: 2008-09-16
Great price for value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
i have had it for about 6 weeks and it has been great, does not take up valuable space and does not get hot, consistant power
KM5TC Rating: 2008-09-12
Very Good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my Samlex over 6 yrs and has worked well. I use it with my Icom 718 and Icom V8000.
The small size is a plus, as it takes up so little space on the table next to my tuner.
I had an Astron, no problems with it, but traded
it back to a friend and still have and use the
Samlex 1223. 73's
M5TAW Rating: 2008-09-12
No problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned a Samlex 1223 for approx 5 years, it has never let me down. The construction is robust and I have never experienced any problems with RFI. Mine is CE marked and was sourced in the UK.
K7TCE Rating: 2008-09-11
Still disappointed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My 6/18/03 rating is below. I have since installed the ZL2DF modification, but the Samlex still disappoints with 75 meter hash. The mod gave a bit of improvement, but better results were noticed when I did a really heavy duty grounding of the PS and the transceiver. I still cannot recommend this unit. I'll keep my rating at a 2 because I, not the careless manufacturer, had to incur the time and expense of the low-yield modification.

WA2TCE Rating: 2/5 Jun 18, 2003 14:42 I'm dissapointed Time owned: 6 to 12 months
Nice price, size. Unfortunately, the amount of RF noise in the 80/75 meter frequency range makes me unable to recommend this to anyone. It's bad enough there are spurs every 20 hkz or so, there are others that move down in frequency, and take about 30-45 seconds to clear the frequency you are trying to listen to. A call to Samlex got me a lecture on why some noise is to be expected from switching power supplies.

G5XW Rating: 2008-09-11
7 years of trips and still 100% Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Got mine brand new 7-8 years ago for trips /p /iota etc. Its been 100% for me running my Alinco DX70. May only get an outing 3-5 times a year but its running for the whole week or 2 weeks Im away. Not as much use as some but its handled going through "carefull" airport bagage handlers, had a couple of knocks I thought would be the end, but all fine. Good runer, compact Im happy with it
KC0TDI Rating: 2008-07-24
Noisy, Short Life Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the Samlex 1223 as part of an HF package in early 2006. I run an Icom IC-718 HF rig, which won't draw more than 20A at full power. All seemed OK until two months ago. The supply began making noise which sounded like ball bearings rolling around. The noise was especially noticeable when transmitting. I checked the fan, thinking that might be the culprit, to no avail. Then, I found the N0SS modification, and was ordering material to do that. Two evenings ago, while transmitting on a net, the fuse blew. After removing the cover and finding no visible damage, I replaced the fuse last evening and powered up - briefly. There was a loud bang, sparks, a small fire, and all the smoke escaped! Not having any extra smoke on hand, I consigned this piece of junk to the trash can.

Unless you want to experience the pyrotechnics, save your money, spend the few extra shekels, and buy a linear supply. My new Astron is being shipped today.

73s, Don