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Reviews For: MEGA-WATT S-400-12

Category: Power Supplies

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Review Summary For : MEGA-WATT S-400-12
Reviews: 21MSRP: 65.00 + 5.00 SHIPPING
Description:
SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY 13.8 VOLTS DC AT 35 AMPS 80% DUTY CYCLE 30 AMPS 100% DUTY CYCLE
Product is in production
More Info: http://EBAY SELLER ELECTRONICS_5000
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15214.1
KK4RHF Rating: 2013-06-03
Would I buy more of these in the future? Absolutely! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The following is my personal experience with them.

I called Megawatt Power supplies on Tuesday and complained that regulation of the power supply that I bought in June of 2012 was getting unstable under load. (400-Watt model) We discussed the issue and decided I needed a new power supply plus an additional new one and a diode isolator. (These power supplies are smaller than a carton of cigarettes.)

The diode isolator couples the two supplies together, but they remain independent and utilize their own regulation circuits. According to the directions you must adjust the Voltage to within .1 volts of each other, it is easy to do if you have a light touch. I utilized a 300-watt dc load and adjusted one then the other. The unit under test was the only power supply running while adjusting the regulator to 13.8 volts. The prices are better than you would expect for technology these contain. The diode isolator cost less than what you could build one for. The heat sink is included and the circuits are potted in an epoxy compound. These come with the power cord and an inline rocker power switch. The new power supply and the isolator cost $105.00 U.S. Dollars shipping included.

It is Thursday and I have all of my new gear in hand. The supply that failed had a two-year warranty and they honored it without question. That, is how customer service is done to keep your customers happy. The power supply I sent back may not have been defective; it is possible that the RF power amplifier I was working on may
have been influencing the regulator circuit. Further investigation has proven to me that the power supply was not at fault. Checking all of my RF cables I found one that has a intermittent shield/ground. I repaired that before any other processes and testing began.

The new systems are hooked up functioning flawlessly. I have continued working on the same system I was working on when the other supply started drifting. So far they are rock solid and neither power supply is drifting and I now have extra available DC power when I need it.

Would I buy more of these in the future? Absolutely
KF7VXA Rating: 2013-01-10
Follow Up on 2 Defective Power Supplies Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The 2nd power supply that stopped working started working again as long as the top is not screwed down tight. I will need to look and see what the top is touching, but the supply is now working again as long as I leave the top on loose. If I screw it down as it should be, the power supply is dead, go figure.
I guess all in all, for the price, these offer quite a lot of amperage and the voltage stays rock steady.
I may not be happy about the problem, but I'm sure I can fix it and will have a good working power supply again.
Having 2 power supplies is always a very good idea, a back up is a must.
KD0RMM Rating: 2012-08-06
Good supply, but has flaw Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been using this supply with my IC-7000 as a base for 4 months now. It has powered the station **Perfectly** but I had noticed on the 75-80 meter band there has been a rather consistent noise floor issue of about S5 which the problem goes away when I switch to a 12 volt battery.
The other day I was rewiring my AH-4 remote antenna tuner when I saw a spark as I soldered a ground lug to the ground wire that was attached to the grounding terminal of the tuner. Nothing was turned on but the power supply so where was this phantom power coming from that my grounded soldering iron shorted out? I took everything offline and measured resistances and found that the chassis of this power supply is indeed tied to the +12V line along with the screw lug labelled with the AC ground symbol. (ground loop incurred through the AC ground lead of the power supply)
To resolve this issue, I mounted the power supply in an all enveloping plastic electrically insulating enclosure, removed the ac ground wire from the ground terminal and tied it to the DC ground on the power supply. Then I took a 250uf low ESR electrolytic, put the + side to the ac ground screw and tied the - to one of the dc ground screws as to make sure that any RF present on the chassis will have a definite low impedance to ground. Result? Dead quiet on 75-80 meters and **at least** 3 S units lower noise on all other bands!!!
I'm really surprised no one else has noticed this issue. Maybe my power supply was incorrectly fabricated? Anyway, I didn't have to void any warranties to fix the issue and now I get SUPER performance on the lower bands!
Another observation- Power factor on this power supply rolls in right around .65-.7 which equates it could be much better. I'm going to throw a brute force inductor in series with the ac supply to see if this addition could bring the power factor up closer to a .9
73
AD0AR Peter Dyrke (upgraded to my Extra)
KG4FET Rating: 2012-05-11
Great Value Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After 6 mo of use I have found this little power supply to be very nice. I kept an accurate Volt meter on it for the first couple months and saw less then a half volt drop under load. I could find no birdies generated on HF-2M from the Power supply. Handles my FT450AT at 100 watts FM with additional load of an auto tuner, and a couple of low current meters with no issues.

It's small size and flexible mounting make it a great power supply for a go bag/box. The "test power cord" is adequate with a inline rocker switch but a heavier cord would be better. Add a fuse on the ac lines would be good as there is no protection for surges/shorts. I don't have an issue with the small VR for adjusting voltage as this should be a 1 time adjustment.

At 67.00 shipped this could very well be the best value in in power supplies on the market right now. Do not be afraid of this power supply. Only a 4 due to it needing a better power cord and fuse.

AG6IF Rating: 2012-02-29
a great deal, solid supply Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this off of Ebay for $67 shipped. Found it to be very stable and clean...works great and cheap. I have not found any noise being generated on HF, 6m 2m or 440. Compact size. My power leads are homebrew, using 3 spades on one end and a ring on the other. Each cable is 3x16g for around 50amps of total capacity.
I had to shrink the width of the spades slightly to get them inserted under the hold down clamps.
KUUNABEACH Rating: 2012-01-26
Good, but who makes it? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this from the ebay seller and while I am pleased with the cost, there are some concerns. First, do a little googling. The genuine Mean Well supplies are well regarded and used in a lot of commercial equipment, This unit and similar from other sellers under names like Mega Watt (this seller), and M&W, MW and other variations of the MW naming look almost identical, down to the the changed fan speed lable. The unit I recieved did in fact have low ripple and the current capacity indicated, however, if you compare it to a genuine Mean Well at $150 from Mouser or others, you have to ask why the price is so much lower. I look at a lot of China products and it seems to me these may be over runs, rejects that failed QC or even knockoffs. Mean Well is a good brand. I'm not sure this product is a real Mean Well.

Further, once connected to a real live radio load, I noticed outright tones all over the AMBC band, but not on HF. Without a load, or a small load all is well.

I will update this review including my packaging efforts placing this into a nice aluminum cube PC chassis I had, including fuses, air management, powerpoles, meters and all the other gak.

I'm pleased overall, but who really makes it? and is it equal to a $150 Mean Well?

I also found the identical product on a China website for $36 each on a 5 piece buy. Not branded Mega Watt, but another variation on MW. I suspect this is some of the same stuff MFJ is selling in a package. YMMV.
KF7QLJ Rating: 2011-11-24
Very GOOD value Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been using this power supply for over 6 months to power a pair of Icom 2200H's. It has performed perfectly, just make sure you adjust the voltage when received, mine was less than 11.5 volts on start up, but adjusted right up to a solid 14V. Runs cool with a very quiet fan. I'm going to pick up another one..
KJ4ZQK Rating: 2011-10-20
Killer litte supply Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Figured what the heck and got this for $66, with free shipping. This thing is great. I plugged in two radios at once, hooked up a couple of meters and off I went into the air. Runs cooler than my others and very stable voltage and amps. The only con I could give is that it needs a real voltage adjustment knob.

I will buy another. Love the small size.
K2OWK Rating: 2011-06-19
Excellent supply after 8 months of use Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been using this supply for 8 months now with no problems. I use it to run my Yaesu FT-450AT. The voltage does not vary more then .1 volts from transmitt to receive. The only thing I added to it was a digital voltmeter I purchased on EBay for 99 cents + 2.99 shipping. It is a large readout with a bright blue backround that make it easy for me to see. I use it to monitor the DC out before I turn on my 450, just for my peace of mind, but again I have never had any problems to date with this supply.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K2OWK on 2010-11-25

I have only had this power supply for a few weeks, but so far it has provided outstanding performance connected to my Yaesu FT-450AT transceiver. The supply is very basic and industrial looking. It has an aluminum case that measures 8 1/2"X4 1/2"X 2". Its weight is 2.00 lbs. Power input voltage is 100 to 120 VAC or 200 to 240 VAC 50/60 HZ selectable by a switch recessed on the side of the case. Before connecting it to my new transceiver I gave this supply a bench test and 24 hour burn in. I observed the following. Adjustment range 9.11 volts minimum, 15.73 volts maximum. After setting the supply at 13.84 volts DC. AC Ripple was 35 mv P-P no load. 60 mv P-P with 8 amp resistive load. Change in output voltage from no load to 8 amp load 0. After connecting it to my transceiver I checked for power supply noise on all the ham bands. There was non observed. During transmitt the the 13.84 volt DC setting remained constant. I do not know how well this supply will hold up over time. The manufacturer's MTBF calls for 2334.3K hours minimum. MIL-HDBK-217F at 25 degrees C. There is no country of manufacture listed for this supply. The power supply is supplied with an AC power cord with an in line switch for testing. The supply comes with a 2 year warranty. This is a preliminary review and I will update it in the future or if any problems develope. Just a note the picture shows two power supplies one on top of the other to show both front and back view.
W4EAL Rating: 2011-06-02
A great PS @ excellent price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After 8 years my MFJ Mighty Lite PS decided it was time to retire. So I went looking for a successor. After much searching I found this unit. Being skeptical and cheap I said what the heck for $70 shipped I couldn't lose. I did not lose. I could not be happier. This no frills workhouse is a perfect supply for the shack and/or bench. Fan runs always but so little noise you have to really get close to hear it run. No noticeable hash transmitted or received. Variable DC output from about 9 volts to about 15volts. I will be ordering another for another stack of gear soon. 2 year warranty.