Bench Power Hungry - Another choice help thread but I swear, I tried search! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: soulhuntre
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2014, 05:08:16 am
content: Another Bench Supply question? Yes. There is a lot of good advice around but most of it is from years ago. Ive done the relevant searches onhttp://www.eevblog.com/and can't seem to come up with much very decisive info (aside from avoiding the Korad!). Not that there aren't some threads - but I just am not finding much in depth look at the models in my prices. Obviously any under $500 supply has compromises, and I think that makes clarity hard to come by... the folks who really use these professionally are a great choice of info, but they tend to find a lot of faults that may not matter so much on the low end.Used is not much help - Now, I know that this market is pretty stable - but still. Additionally for those of us without much experience repairing power circuitry it is risky to eBay a used / old version of an industry favourite and feel comfortable we aren't getting ripped off.So, I was looking to poll you guys and put it this way - if you had $250 to spend today, and were looking for a new product - what is your go to pick?For me? My needs are simple - I work on arduino style projects involving the microcontrollers, related gear like servos and stepper motors and small displays. Of those, the stepper motors are my biggest current draw.Voltage Needs:-------------I would like a range from 0-30V (I have a few items that need 24 on occasion) but will be doing most of my work in 0-5v, and will need decent resolution there - the difference between 3.7 and 4.0 will matter.Amp Needs:---------I rarely draw a lot in the 3.7-5v range, but the motors can use more. I would like to be able to supply at least 3, but ideally 5 at max.Features:--------It is very desirable to me to be able to "emulate" a batter, so dial in a voltage and amp max and then know if I will be OK within that range. I can of course just look at the meters to see my actual draw as well, so this is more of a convenience. As these circuits are micro-controllers, I would also really like to be able to get the current etc all dialed in before putting power to the outputs... a button / switch for this would be nice, but i can obviously just disconnect the circuit board.My Short List: (no pun intended... short, get it?)-------------In roughly the order I am considering them. Most of the links are Amazon, none of them are affiliate branded.* Hantek PPS-2320A - (http://bit.ly/1uJnRla) - $199 - Thanks to the video I found on an eevblog thread (http://bit.ly/1whbD7l) it seems like a good choice, and I don't see much bad about them.* CSI3005XIII - (http://bit.ly/1qMFS1r) - $219 - Apparently a pretty well known quantity. Lots of info, and good hackability (though I will not hack a PSU personally... I just don't knwo enough). A peoples favorite?* Hantek PPS2116A - ( hhttp://bit.ly/1pRsgOA ) - $109 - Again, they SEAM solid, and the feature set is nice.* B&K Precision 9110 (http://amzn.to/1xLYG7n) - $248 - BK have a decent rep, it is sold by Amazon directly so refund / exchange is easy and the features look ok.* B&K Precision 1550 (http://amzn.to/WXzc5Y) - $149 - obviously the lack of a rotary dial is annoying, but the extra USB form factor +5V/.5A is actually a bonus for me. OI almost always need that output, so this is a pretty effective 2 output choice for me.* KORAD KA3005P (http://amzn.to/1wh8Jzr) - $139 - I know, I know. * sigh * it's probably as likely to set me on fire as work (I can't unravel whether they have "for sure" fixed these) but the feature set looks so pretty. The memory in particular.* B&K Precision 1671A (http://amzn.to/1pRpDfJ) - $190 - Back to B&K. There are some negative reviews etc floating around but the actual feature set looks OK.Anyway, thanks for any thoughts or time!Ken