CS7000 Power supply problems

[DesertMan82]

I work on the Marine base in 29 Palms. Part of my job is maintaining the PA system for the rifle range. They are using handhelds to talk to a pair of Harris CS7000s that then go out over the PA speakers. The CS7000s were purchased in 2014 but not put into use until 2017. They're in a sealed, air-conditioned rack inside of a small shack. Temperatures in the rack stay around 70 degrees.

The problem I'm running into (since I originally posted in 2019) is that the power supplies in use on these radios are very unreliable. I'm having a hard time sourcing replacement power supplies. Out of 4 vendors, only two answered the phones and were able to provide quotes. The cheapest being $530.

What I'm looking for now is to find out what external options there are available that would actually be reliable. Between 2 radios, I'm on 3 bad power supplies in less than 4 years.

 

[cmdrwill]

a pair of Harris CS7000s

These radios only receive? And the audio is passed to a PA amplifier? Does the PA amp run off the power supply?

 

[DesertMan82]

These radios only receive? And the audio is passed to a PA amplifier? Does the PA amp run off the power supply?

The radios are only being used to receive and then talk over the PA speakers. The PA runs through its own amps and power supply.

The Harris power supplies are internal to the radios and power only the radios.

 

[mmckenna]

The internal power supply is 15 volt DC 400 watts. It probably would run just fine off a 12 volt DC power supply. You can usually bring the voltage on those up easily if you wanted.
If it was me, I'd probably get a rack mount 12 volt supply big enough to run both radios. Make sure it's got a good cooling fan.

I'd probably also look closely at the AC feed and make sure it's in spec. In an air conditioned enclosure, and running radios in RX only, I'd suspect there is something external that is causing this.

 

[DesertMan82]

The internal power supply is 15 volt DC 400 watts. It probably would run just fine off a 12 volt DC power supply. You can usually bring the voltage on those up easily if you wanted.
If it was me, I'd probably get a rack mount 12 volt supply big enough to run both radios. Make sure it's got a good cooling fan.

I'd probably also look closely at the AC feed and make sure it's in spec. In an air conditioned enclosure, and running radios in RX only, I'd suspect there is something external that is causing this.

The power coming in is somewhat unreliable. The enclosure has a big UPS that everything but the AC runs off of. That should be filtering the powering, at least somewhat, but we have had issues with the power coming into that area in the past. Generally it's been random outages.

Do you have any recommendations on a power supply? My training is more in general electronics repair and computers, so radio repair/modification is still somewhat new to me.

 

[mmckenna]

Newmar makes some 12 volt DC 40 amp rack mount power supplies that would work. They have a connection on the back for your load, as well as the option to add a battery backup.

12V DC, 24V DC and 48V DC Rack Mount DC Power Module Power System Series | 10 Amps to 80 Amps | 560 Watts to 2000 WattsPower Module Series | Newmar Powering the Network

Power Module Series by Newmar Powering the Network is 12V DC, 24V DC and 48V DC, 560 Watts to 2000 Watts, 10 amps to 80 Amps, Rackmount DC Power Systems. These versatile Rectifier Modules function as either power supplies or battery chargers for 12, 24 or 48 volt systems; positive, negative or...

www.poweringthenetwork.com

I've got 6 of them at a site running 5 repeaters. Been running non-stop since 2011 without any issues. I've got a couple more of the 48 volt versions running at another site for longer than that. I purchased spares, but I've never even cracked open the boxes.

40 amps would be overkill for two control stations running RX only, but just in case anyone ever keyed them up at the same time, you'd be covered.

 

[cmdrwill]

The radios are only being used to receive

So run the radios of a 12 volt power supply and or battery. You can also get PA amplifiers that will run off battery.
Then a battery charger that is made for stand by batteries.

 

[DisasterGuy]

The CS7000 PSUs are turds. They replaced them with a new OEM around 2018 or so. I can't tell you how many we have replaced.

 

[rescue161]

Same here. Talk to your ELMR rep to find out if they renewed the warranty on the WRI radios. ERI did, so we just send ours back to L3Harris.

 

[merlin]

Look up Magnatek. One I have is GE P/N 19B01020P4. 0 to 24V, 15A continuous, 40A peak pulse.
Same size as the CS7000 supply. At the moment running a Ranger remote base I am refurbing.
Putting out 30 watts VHF . The supply went into service in '93 and still going strong. (wow,29 years)
Same supplies are all over ebay, Amazon, and Magnatek proper.
That will run your radio.
Truth told, I can't remember when or where I got this supply, A junk box perhaps.

 

[improbable]

Many CS7000s came with an external power connector, on the back. That might get you buy. Astron makes some compact rack mount Switchers that are clean and reliable, 25A model would be fine even if one of the radios goes into transmit.

Any supply that'll fit inside the case can work. The originals were over priced and unreliable.

Astrodyne make alot of units that could work. I usually peruse their site when I have a one off need.



13.8VDC will work fine.

I work on the Marine base in 29 Palms. Part of my job is maintaining the PA system for the rifle range. They are using handhelds to talk to a pair of Harris CS7000s that then go out over the PA speakers. The CS7000s were purchased in 2014 but not put into use until 2017. They're in a sealed, air-conditioned rack inside of a small shack. Temperatures in the rack stay around 70 degrees.

The problem I'm running into (since I originally posted in 2019) is that the power supplies in use on these radios are very unreliable. I'm having a hard time sourcing replacement power supplies. Out of 4 vendors, only two answered the phones and were able to provide quotes. The cheapest being $530.

What I'm looking for now is to find out what external options there are available that would actually be reliable. Between 2 radios, I'm on 3 bad power supplies in less than 4 years.