| K9PLG |
Rating:  |
2019-08-27 | |
| Fan bearings failed |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| After about 8 years of pretty good service... the bearings in the fan started screaching to the point I could not stand the noise... pretty good - now if I can just source a new fan it's worth repairing... replaced with a JTPS32MAB - also has some fan noise but tolerable for now.... if they used better fans / bearings it would be worth the few extra $$ IMHO |
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| ZS5J |
Rating: |
2017-07-08 | |
| Terrific, packs a punch |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought one of these while at the Dayton Hamvention in 2011. I was so impressed with it, that when I arrived home I imported two more from R&L. I gave one to a ham friend of mine in Wales, and she is thrilled with it. It's very small and compact, quiet and has no noticeable voltage drop when drawing 20 amps from it. I have also swept all the bands with them using my Flex rigs band scope, in search of any noise generated by it...I have found no noise. Nice that it has voltage adjustment on the front panel, and a switchable volt/amp meter.
I want to buy another two - the new version with the the power pole connectors on the back, as all my DC cables have been converted to power poles. I read that they are now being made in China, I just hope they have maintained the quality that they had when they were made in Taiwan. At the price point, I'm prepared to take that chance.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by ZS5J on 2011-06-27
WOW - I was at Dayton last month, and saw this little gem at the Jetstream booth. I marveled at it's incredibly small size, and capabilities. On talking to the rep, he informed me that they had sold out of all these supplies - he didn't know of any dealer that still had stock, but informed me that they were getting a new shipment in a few weeks.
When I was back home a few weeks after Dayton, I logged into R&L, and noticed that they had new stock. I ordered one for the incredibly low price of $ 85.00. It arrived a week later, and I now have it running my new Flex 1500A transceiver.
This supply is great, incredibly small and compact, lovely V/A meters, adjustable voltage, extremely quite - I haven't heard it's fan yet, and no noise on HF. When operating the Flex 1500 (ideal rig for checking switch mode supplies) I look at the spectrum scope, and all the way up and down the bands that I have looked at, it's as clean as a whistle - no signs of birdies or hash on the waterfall display.
I have tried plenty of other switch mode supplies - I have 2 MFJ switching supplies - poor quality, the paintwork shows its age by the day. I also have a few Astron switch mode supplies with meters - these are good supplies, but noisier and larger than this Jetstream. I really don't need more supplies, but this one is so good, and so cheap, I think I will order two more.
Only thing I would prefer, would be to rather have powerpole connectors on the back. I changed all my DC connectors to powerpoles, so with this supply I have a short pigtail lead with powerpoles on the end. However, I cannot knock the supply for this, as they have put posts on the rear that would be acceptable to most users - not everyone uses powerpoles.
Great product
73
John, ZS5J |
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| W8TJM |
Rating: |
2017-07-08 | |
| Good but caution advised |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have had my supply for a week and it had a horrible acrid smell for the first few days. It smelled like a transformer frying so I opened it up and found no signs of heating. The smell must have been something left over from the manufacturing process and I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
Opening it up, it is very well made. Mine was marked as having been made in Taiwan.
The biggest problem with this supply is that when you turn it on, the output momentarily goes to 16 to 24 volts for a few milliseconds. I would caution folks using the supply to turn it on first and then connect up equipment after it has gone into regulation. I'm going to contact Jetstream and see if this is typical or if there is an issue with my supply. After seeing the volt meter peg when turning it on, and I found the transients with a scope when turning it on via the rocker switch. This could certainly cause issues with some equipment. I would be really happy with this supply if not for the turn on over-voltage. |
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| KI6SVI |
Rating: |
2017-01-27 | |
| JTPS32MA |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just received this Jetstream JTPS32MA power supply from R&L, it was a good price and free shipping, the first thing I noticed was they are now manufactured in China, my previous one, the JTPS31MB was manufactured in Taiwan. I can't say enough good things about the JTPS31MA 5 stars for sure. So buyers should know that they are no longer built in Taiwan. I will give a updated review after further use and testing. Must say was a little disapointed that they have gone Chinese on us! |
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| N4YX |
Rating: |
2017-01-27 | |
| Great Little Pwr Supply |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Mine's the JTPS32MAB model from R&L but pretty much the same unit having the Anderson Power Pole connectors on the the front and the removable capped lug posts on the rear. Also has a "shifter" knob but I haven't heard a single switching artifact from BC to 54 MHz! For the small investment this just can't be beat. |
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| WA6MOW |
Rating: |
2016-08-06 | |
| A BARGAIN |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I love this little unit. It has the quietest fan of any switching power supply that I have ever owned. ( I have owned many) It is really quiet. The birdies appear to
be almost non existent. I'm buying a second one for portable ops. |
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| K5DSQ |
Rating: |
2015-12-28 | |
| Does the Job |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I heard all the bad things about using switching power supplies for HF and VHF rigs, but so far (2+ years) this little puppy had done a great job. It is quiet (physically as well as on the air), I leave it on for weeks at a time when I operate remote and it just continues to perform. Yes the meter is not the most accurate as noted in previous reviews, it's close and once you set the voltage you can forget it. Great buy and no 60 cycle AC hum! |
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| N5STT |
Rating: |
2015-09-10 | |
| Small and efficient |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I have the MA version, which is identical to the MB except for the power pole plugs on the back. Bought new in February 2015.
There's nothing to add to previous reviews: it's small, very quiet, stable and efficient (doesn't heat up much even after intense use).
Note on the electrical noise reported in some reviews: I've never had such problems. I even checked the output with an oscilloscope, no noise at all. |
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| KK4CUL |
Rating: |
2014-10-31 | |
| Excellent size, performance, and quiet. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
**PROS:**
* Size and weight: it sits on top of my LDG-IT100 perfectly, which sits on my IC-7200 perfectly, and doesn't really get in the way of anything. Also, when I am running the IC-703+ as my only base radio (no external tuner needed!) it makes an excellent mini base that works well and takes up hardly ANY space on my desk. XYL approved. It is so portable it is very easy to throw in my backpack to take portable when my buddy brings his generator. It takes up hardly any space in my radio bag and doesn't add much weight.
* Simple and effective design: One lighted meter on the front that can easily switch between voltage and current that is controlled by a simple rocker switch, adjustable voltage on the front panel, and one set of heavy duty binding posts on the back. This keeps things simple to hook up, clutter free, and is easy to use. I suppose separate volt and amp meters could be nice, but that would require a larger power supply or smaller meters. I like how it is.
* Performance: I enjoy the variable voltage and find the front panel voltage meter is optimistic by only about 1-2% compared to my multimeter idle. With about 18 amp draw, 13.8 volts drops to around 13.5, maybe a bit less if it is a quick swing of current. It is no bench supply, but it runs my HF radio just fine. My IC-7200 is very power hungry, so I run it around 15 volts and this actually gets me about 15 more watts out (sometimes it helps). When I run the IC-703, I run it around 11.5-12 volts since the finals in those sometimes fry and are hard to find. The meter is pretty accurate other than it doesn't reflect the voltage drop under high load. One time, to test the PSU's current capacity, I hooked the IC-7200 into my MFJ-949E's dummy load setting, set the voltage to 15.5 (well within the 13.8 +/- 15%), went to 20 meters SSB and whistled into the mic. I saw a swing of 28 amps and the lights in my room dim, but the PSU didn't trip the protection circuit or turn off. I know it's not best practice (only did it once) to do that and is bad for the finals, but it shows that the PSU can work up to it's ratings, no problem!
**CONS:**
* About the only little cons I can think of are the occasional noise you can hear on 75/80/60 meters. The only time that it is audible is when the fan speed ramps up or down, seems to be PWM noise. But it is not every time the fan changes speed. Also, the inaccuracy of the voltage meter mentioned above. It reads about 1-2% optimistic idle, and probably about 3-4% optimistic under heavy load.
I would probably give it a 9/10, but since it works perfectly for my needs, I will give it a 5. I wonder if I will need another when I get my IC-38A and IC-275H hooked up? For the price, I wouldn't be too upset if I have to. |
|
| KJ6MEV |
Rating: |
2014-07-29 | |
| 3 years strong |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
reviewed this over three years ago. it's still powering my 100watt HF and now a 500 watt amp sometimes. i'm asking it to do too much now, I know, but it's hanging in there. i'll be upgrading to Jetstream 45 watt soon but will never get rid of this little guy. gonna drive it till the wheels fall off...
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KJ6MEV on 2011-03-11
just got this thing. hooked it up and it works and is quiet. it looks good too. can't hear any hash. hope it is durable and lasts a long time. 89 bucks is a nice feature. |
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