ICT Power Supply

[Seven-Delta-FortyOne]

I see that a lot of Commercial stuff uses ICT power supplies.

I use Samlex for my Ham stuff, and I'm happy with it, and I know they are used for Commercial stuff too, but I was wondering what the Pro's opinion on other, commercial-grade power supplies are.

I am setting up a base station that will be on 24/7/365, so I'd like to get something that will hold up, and that doesn't have a fan running non-stop.



Delta

 

[mmckenna]

I've got an Astron switching unit, SS18, that's been running nonstop since February of 2003.

For about 10 years it sat in a dispatch center running a couple of mobile radios that were used for monitoring local agencies. After that, I put it into service running a Motorola CDM750 as a base station. Both installation it's been powered up 24x7 with only a few weeks off in the middle.

I think when I moved it from the dispatch center to the base station, I opened it up and hosed it out with some compressed air.

No issues in 15 years. It does have a fan that runs all the time, but other than the little bit of dust that go in there, I've had no issues. The fan is very quiet.

 

[Seven-Delta-FortyOne]

Thanks for the info on that. I always assumed Astron was hammy type stuff.

I learn somethin' new every time I come on here.



Delta

 

[ElroyJetson]

I've seen all three brands fail prematurely. Astron, Samlex, and ICT.

They're ALL bargain brands and I would not recommend any of them for mission critical applications.

What WOULD I recommend for powering equipment that HAS to work?

Acopian. Or Lambda. Neither is inexpensive, but both brands make HIGHLY reliable, trustworthy power supplies.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for the info on that. I always assumed Astron was hammy type stuff.

I might agree with that. All I know is that it's worked fine for all these years without a failure.

As for Elroy's comment, yes, we use higher end power supplies for our dispatch center and repeater sites. We've had good luck with some of the NewMar units we have for both 12 volt and 48 volt applications, although I predominately use Alpha systems at the majority of my sites that run 48 volts. Much more useful to have modular rectifier units that can be hot swapped.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I have two Astron SS30M's. They are low RF noise and the fan only runs when under significant load. I might use something different for repeater 100% duty cycle use , but for a base station or control station duty cycle they are excellent.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[Seven-Delta-FortyOne]

Thanks for info, guys. It's always fascinating to learn a little about what the pro's are using, as radio is not my trade.

Fortunately, my system will be active all the time, but not mission critical. No one's life will be at stake.

Thanks for help.


Delta

 

[bharvey2]

I've been using a variety of Lambda power supplies over the years. I can only recall one failure. By and larger they're pretty tough and reliable.

 

[N4GIX]

I've always run GE Master II power supplies. Granted they weigh 85 lbs, but they are bulletproof and very well filtered.

 

[cmdrwill]

Biggest problem with ICT power supplies is getting circuit diagrams to repair them. ICT12012-20BC.