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Reviews For: Samlex SEC-1235 & 1235M

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : Samlex SEC-1235 & 1235M
Reviews: 73MSRP: 139.95
Description:
Samlex 30 Amp continuous switching power supply with or without meters.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.samlexamerica.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=5
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
25734.4
KO4OWB Rating: 2023-04-03
SEC-1235M Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I own 2 of these Samlex SEC-1235M power supplies, 1 for 10 months and the other for 6. They're flawless and the infrequent times the fan runs, both of these are much quieter than my MFJ and 10 ton Pyramid power supplies. My 1st 1235M powers a Yaesu FTM-400 and the power supply's fan hardly ever runs. My 2nd 1235M powers my Yaesu FTDX10 and the fan runs just a tad more often than the other which, again, isn't that frequent. At 30 amps continuous, it's more than well suited for our 100 watts radios.
W4SJC Rating: 2023-01-06
Great Switching Unit Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I can safely say it does the job well for my needs. I have this paired with a quad-band radio and couldn’t be happy with the ease of use and quick setup! It has a bit of a hum to it as it has aged, but it is a great unit.
KC1PDR Rating: 2022-06-30
I Like the Package and Low/No DC Noise Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
1235M. I like it for the size and low/no DC noise, but at just over 1 year, with light use, the power switch flaked out - it happens. Samlex Customer Service was great - I sent them a video of the failure mode, and they shipped me a replacement power switch under warranty - it's an easy replacement . Beats sending it back to Canada at exorbitant cost. Ultimately, I decided to install a non-illuminated SPST power switch - less to go wrong -, so I have a spare OEM switch on the shelf. I will update with any additional issues.
NA6O Rating: 2022-01-15
Compact, reliable, great value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Sept 2021, an update: I finally did a formal RFI conducted emissions report, on an unmodified supply. This is among the quietest switching supplies I have ever tested. https://na6o.com/main/RFI_files/Samlex_SEC-1235M_RFI_Test_Report.pdf

I also recently received excellent customer service on the replacement of a broken output terminal.
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We have 5 of these in service at our contest station and they have worked flawlessly for years, so I got one for home. Very compact. Bought the one without meters for $121 with free shipping thru radiodan.com. Excellent build quality. Components are well-supported and adhesives are applied in many places for extra stabilization.

I upgraded the filtering per W0QE, because I can! Detailed measurements with my spectrum analyzer show that the switching freq is 35 kHz. Spikes on the output are 6 uV at 2 MHz and decay quickly above that. This is a very quiet supply to begin with, and a bit of added filtering assures it will be undetectable.

Another big improvement is to replace the fan with an ultra-quiet model. Any standard 60mm 12V fan will fit. An excellent choice is a Nanoxia NDS60-2000. It is absolutely inaudible. I set it up with 200 ohms to the negative output so that it runs at half-speed continuously, as suggested by AD5X. I also glued on air conditioner filter material over the side vents to prevent it from inhaling dust in my very dirty woodshop/shack. Ultra-quiet fans and filters are my standard upgrade on ALL equipment and it really pays off.
N4EEB Rating: 2021-11-23
Going Strong after Five Years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've taken this supply to Puerto Rico twice for remote contesting powering an IC-7600. I used it last December with a Kenwood TS-590S for the 10-Meter Contest. I've used it countless times for portable operations in between. NEVER any hash on any band or frequency. Simply a solid and dependable supply. I dropped it and broke one of the crystals over a meter. The company sent me a replacement for free. Great folks and great service. I would recommend this power supply without hesitation.
W5DFD Rating: 2021-04-13
Dependable and Clean power Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had 2 Samlex 1235M supplies over the last 13 years. They have both been very reliable. If I need any additional power in the future it will be supplied by a Samlex. They simply do what they are supposed to do and you can't beat that.
VE7REN Rating: 2020-12-25
excellent-this is the one you want Time Owned: more than 12 months.
update dec 25/2020. still going strong. these supplies plug along. the one in my shop is in the cold lots,and i use it every other day for a few hrs at a time. these supplies are accurate,clean power on hf,and great on the pocketbook. i bought one more from dx engineering last week. they are that good.

ive been using the newer version 1235m with the white letteing saying samlex power. mine is 2 years old and has been excellent powering a rigrunner with numerous radios and goodies attached to it. yes,the fan comes on periodically,as do many other brands. no louder then the rest.and the meters do seem to be a tad off,but im overall real happy with this supply. I ordered another one to power another station I have in the shop. got rid of all my linear astrons to aquire more space,and get efficient power in times of increasing power bills. my suppy gets plenty of use.... 5 stars
W3KKO Rating: 2020-08-10
Very good value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When I bought my first rig in 2016 and asked the salesman for guidance, he handed me the 1235M (white lettering) and said "you want this one". Since then I've had no issues with it powering various HF and VHF/UHF rigs. As the shack grew, I bought a second 1235M to split the load around. Both work very well, with no noticeable hash. I plan to try the fan upgrade from a prior post. The connectors could be better as screw terminals, but oh well. I added the factory supplied pins to 10 gauge wires and connect the wires into a Rig Runner. Good value switching supply IMHO.
M6RLR Rating: 2020-07-25
Good PSU Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
So far so good
Quiet no interference!
Hopefully it will last me a few years
73
Rod
2E0RLR
KE4IZA Rating: 2020-07-10
Very Nice Power Supply Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this Samlex sec-1235m to replace a badly humming Astron 35M. Runs cool, meters appear accurate and the foot print is perfect. Being cheaper than a equivalent Astron and nowhere as heavy was also a big plus. Have found no RFI yet. I have owned several Samlex power supplies over the years and never had an issue.

My only gripe is the way you are required to connect to this power supply. I ended up finding 2 1" threaded rods, 2 nuts, 2 washers and 2 wing nuts.. Inserted the rods into the positive and negative terminals and tightened the set screw. Washer is up against plastic terminal and held in place with nut. Wing nut holds wire in place against nut. Not as sturdy as if the power supply was made with solid studs but does the job. Now I have a way to attach my radio which I crimped on ring connectors. Power supply should solid terminals with nuts. I guess I could have also have just stripped the wire and inserted it into terminals and tightened the set screws, however this way I can attach more than one device to power supply easily. Minor issue as power supply works as intended ..... at least so far.