I got a great deal on a variable power supply. (CIC ps-1930) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 11:43:41 pm
content: Hello everyone, I just managed to get an outstanding deal on a variable power supply on kijiji (like local ebay), it's a CIC PS-1930. It's a 30 volts 5 amp power supply (I believe 5 amp as I have had loads draw that with no problem for a short period, although it is fused at 4 amps.) It was a little bit off and I managed to tweak it so the voltage is more accurate, all in all I am pretty happy with it. Here's a little video about it.Sadly I can't find what these originally cost, I know that it's over 10 years old and I only saw one listing on ebay that was something like $140. Is CIC a reputable power supply company?

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 12:25:08 am
content: I personally have never heard of CIC. Based on the looks it looks like one of the many different designs that all share the same case and are of varying levels of quality (few if any are any better than OK most are rubbish or one step from it).

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 12:27:03 am
content: The input fuse only tells you the 120VAC current. It looks like a CC-CV power supply, which has an adjustable current limit. You can check its current limit by putting a short across the output (set output to a few volts to minimise arcing) and increasing the current control slowly.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 01:08:21 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on October 16, 2013, 12:27:03 amAh, cool. It's gone to 5.39, however that may have drifted, I can't really tell since my multimeter doesn't do current (just a $30 mastercraft one) but it's good enough.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 02:26:57 am
content: It's just a rebadged Chinese adjustable power supply... I guess it's acceptable for the price.Here's similar models to yours :http://www.amazon.com/Mastech-Single-Output-Power-Supply-HY3003D/dp/B004ISQ270http://www.amazon.com/Kaito-HY3003D-Single-Output-Power-Supply/dp/B00068S8ZAhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/New-HY3003D-Adjustable-Variable-DC-Power-Supply-30V-3A-/370917404485?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item565c666f45http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_301911_-1These are probably a clone of HY3003D which just replaces lcd display with led segments...http://www.dinodirect.com/supply-wyj-digital-display-adjustable-safety-universal-precision-dc-power-supply-p7885421.htmlhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Precision-Variable-Adjustable-30V-5A-DC-Power-Supply-Digital-Regulated-Lab-Grade-/280901249540?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416704ea04http://www.ebay.com/itm/30V-5A-110V-Precision-Variable-DC-Power-Supply-w-clip-Cable-Digital-Adjustable-/390430892506?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae77ea1da

author: ahnuts72
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 02:35:41 am
content: Quote from: XOIIO on October 16, 2013, 01:08:21 amYou said your meter doesn't do current measurements.Are the fuses blown in the meter because it has current ranges to measure current.10A mA uA ranges.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 04:51:10 am
content: Quote from: ahnuts72 on October 16, 2013, 02:35:41 amOh...Yup, multimeter and psu are showing the same.

author: ahnuts72
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 05:16:10 pm
content: Another thing I noticed in the video. The pots behind the display are probably for adjusting the display so it matches the output of the supply they don't change the actually output voltage.Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 08:23:04 am
content: Quote from: ahnuts72 on October 16, 2013, 05:16:10 pmThat's probably it, but at least now they match. IT does indeed go over 30 volts. I went to a local store that sells stuff like this, and a 0-30v one at only 2.5 amps was over $220

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 12:32:06 pm
content: Most power supplies I have used typically go 10% higher than rating, for example 30V-5A is capable of 33V-5.5A.