Atten powersupplies? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: SupremeFX
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 03:10:28 am
content: Hi,I was recently looking for a cheap dc power supply for beginners.Ranging from 5v(arduino) to 12v with current limitation and some short-cut protection.Anyway i don't think i need a lot of power for what i do, basically I'm more into General stuff (No need to power Dc Motors).I came across 2 :Attenhttp://www.attenelectronics.com/products/dc_power/tpr3003t_05t.htmOr Mastechhttp://www.mastechpowersupply.com/dc-power-supply/linear-power-supply/mastech-regulated-variable-dc-power-supply-hy1503d-15v-3a/prod_64.htmlI can get the Atten for 150$ locally, but i have yet never heard of this brand before so i wonder if some of you had experiences about them.There the Mastech which seems very low priced, didn't read if it had protection though.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 11:15:01 am
content: I've had the Mastech 3003 for just short of a year now, and put it through some heavy uses, its quite good. THe difference is the max voltage of the model you linked is 15V vs 30V for mine.Like anything made in China that is so cheap, I took it apart to check for build quality issues, and found none. Also, those models are used by the RCgroup forum for many years, and you can read about how its held up to their abuse.The output is stable to at minimum 10 mV for all adjustments, meaning you can dial in 1.010 and 10 mV will stay put, but it can be stable down to 1mV, it depends on the voltage, the higher the better. You can adjust it down to less than 1V without a problem. It has current limiting, and CC and CV. The ripple is better than the spec sheet, I think its under 0.1mV at max load, 3A.On the downside, the cooling fan is loud. The pots are not multiturn but you can adjust it finely, FYI a multiturn pot by bournes is about $30, over half the cost of the whole unit! There is one user on eevblog who had a broken jack on receipt, but he was able to exchange it for a new one ... but it took a lot of email to get it done. You must email Sean directly, as sometimes what is listed as instock is not really instock, and the shipping cost is high, near $20 due to the weight.You can find many posts about the Mastech in the archives.Quote from: SupremeFX on July 21, 2011, 03:10:28 am

author: SupremeFX
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 22, 2011, 09:27:51 pm
content: Well Mastech shipping goes sky-rocketing to 59,99$ for where i liveso it ends up with 150$But still it's always close to 150,00$ this is why i was wondering if Atten was a decent company with at least good reputation.But i guess it can't be that bad, anyway i don't need something like Fluke for what i am doing

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 23, 2011, 12:10:18 am
content: There's another thread about an Atten programmable power supply on this forum which I believe isn't too positive. I wouldn't call Atten's reputation good, but they're not completely unknown either.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2011, 12:21:14 pm
content: I'm not sure where you live, but the Mastech's are found worldwide, many of them are rebranded. I'd look at local vendors in your area rather than buying it from the USA, and see something that 'looks' like it and begin to explore its specs and users manual. If it doesn't turn out to your liking, you can easily return it.As alm says, there is an Atten PSU eevblog thread for one model, and it looks poorly made, and because it has digital controls its requires more work on your part to to get it to function acceptably.The analog models, OTAH, are easy to repair and give very good specs at low cost, up to 3A that is, that's a reason to strongly consider it.Quote from: SupremeFX on July 22, 2011, 09:27:51 pm

author: SupremeFX
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 23, 2011, 02:27:57 pm
content: Quote from: saturation on July 23, 2011, 12:21:14 pmI searched a bit inCanada.Even on eBay there almost no bench top power supplies from Canada.I can understand some products to be rare but to that point is like if they were banned from the country.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2011, 02:57:22 pm
content: Canada? A1 electronics is very popular in the East and they are an institution in electronics circles. Plus, they sell all these itemsretail, if you are in Toronto or nearby, I'd drive there and visit their store, its heaven for parts. There are also many stores with websites that are in downtown Toronto in Queens/Kings street area. I just don't know their names, many are run by very resourceful Chinese who escaped China in 1999 and are very willing to deal for prices lower than advertised.http://www.a1parts.com/tequipment/power.htmHere's their version of Mastech:

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2011, 03:08:56 pm
content: Here's a list of suppliers in Toronto:http://www3.sympatico.ca/alduncan/ham/parts_stores.htm