A Question For All Of You Radio Techs

Ok everyone, here's a question for all of you radio techs out there. I just recently went to a local ham fest and I bought an old Ten-Tec Triton One (Triton I) 510 . First of all , it did come with a Ten-Tec Model 262M power supply , a banana mic styled Ten-Tec stock mic , and an old Ten-Tec Model 207 Ammeter . The man I bought it from explained to me that the 262 wasn't the right power supply for the radio , and then told me how to adjust the amperage output from the power supply to radio using the 207 Ammeter, which I completely understood.

But when I got home with everything , the 262 power supply won't even turn on , I have no idea why . I have the manual for the Triton , so I tried looking up the actual power supplies for the Triton I ,which are the 251 and the 261 . But I had no luck . The manual says that "the Triton I requires a supply of 12 - 14 VDC capable of supplying 9 or 18 amps" . So I was wondering , instead of knocking myself out trying to find the right "Ten-Tec Made" power supply for this radio , or a different one that needs to be turned down like this 262M needed to be . Would I be able to just buy another power supply , such as something like the Pyramid PS12KX that I'm looking at ? Which is made for powering 12 VDC devices that draw up to 10 amps .

In other words, would any power supply of 12 - 14 VDC , that's capable of supplying 9 or 18 amps work for running the Triton I without causing any damage to the radio ?

I do have a Pyramid PS21KX that I'm not using ... which is 13.8 VDC and 18 AMP Constant/20 AMP Surge . Would it be possible to use that power supply to run the Triton I ? Because the man I bought it from was very insistent that I keep it below 18 amps ... more like around 8 - 10 amps for the radio .

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BJ radionut said:

R&L ELECTRONICS RLPS30M [RLPS30M] - $109.95 : R&L Electronics, Amateur radio store

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JETSTREAM JTPS31MB2 [JTPS31MB2] - $119.95 : R&L Electronics, Amateur radio store

R&L Electronics JETSTREAM JTPS31MB2 [JTPS31MB2] - 25 AMP SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY W/DUAL METERS SWITCHING 15-40 AMPS Power Supply AC DC Adapter POWER SUPPLIES

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I always over rate power supplies...if load is 10 amps...no less than 20-amp supply...100w radio should be run off 30-amp supply!...
I run linear supplies presently...100w+ radio/+accessories =ASTRON 37 amp continuous/50 amp surge power supply...just me...(second supply is ASTRON 50=60 amp surge)
Never buy a supply that just fits the load...why have a nice radio and acces' and cheat on the supply! IMHO

Click to expand...

I do have a Pyramid PS21KX that I'm not using ... which is 13.8 VDC and 18 AMP Constant/20 AMP Surge . Would it be possible to use that power supply to run the Triton I ? Because the man I bought it from was very insistent that I keep it below 18 amps ... more like around 8 - 10 amps for the radio .

BJ radionut said:

The radio will only pull what it needs to, unless it has an issue...you can run a 5w radio on a 50 amp supply...the rig will only respond to what it needs. Running a 50+ watt radio on anything less than a 20 amp supply is silly IMHO

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Which is exactly what I thought too . But this man was VERY adamant that when I hooked the Triton I to the 262 , I first had to make sure to internally turn it's Amps back to about 8-10 using the 207 Ammeter for monitoring the proper amperage.

The Pyramid PS21KX, and an MFJ 25 amp MightyLite switching power supply are the only 2 power supplies that I have to choose from without buying a new one. I'd like to avoid doing that if I can.

Shockwave said:

People have been known to be adamantly incorrect. Unfortunately, what he said doesn't even make sense. There is no such thing as too many amps. Only not enough. Having said that, it is nice to be able to set your current limit, just above your normal operating point. This way, if anything goes wrong, the radio can't draw enough amps to kill itself. The gain that function, you don't buy a smaller power supply. You would buy one with adjustable current limit. Since you already have power supplies that produce enough amps to run this radio, just use one of those.

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Thank you Shockwave. I didn't think what he was saying made much sense to me either. But I listened carefully to his instructions just in case, and I continued to run what he had said through my head . But all of my experience with radios through the years, made me keep questioning his instructions. That's what made me decide to post my question here. To validate that l was correct in what I was thinking. I have no idea what he was trying to get me to do. But in the long run , that power supply doesn't even work ... and he was making me second guess myself about what I needed to get to replace it.
All of you were great with your answers, and very helpful . I greatly appreciate all of the information that you all gave me. Thank you all very much for all of your help.

This Triton 1 (510) has a 6 pin power lead on it. Do any of you know if there is anywhere that makes a ten tec styled universal 6 pin power lead that I could buy to use for running it with a regular power supply ? Or maybe I can build one myself.

In the manual it says that :

For AC supply installation

Pin 1 is the AC line (one side)
Pin 2 is the power supply line
Pin 3 is ground
Pin 4 is ground
Pin 5 is +12 VDC
Pin 6 is +12 VDC

Or, according to the manual, for battery hook up ... Do this.

Battery

Pin 1 is +12 VDC
Pin 2 is pins 5 & 6
Pin 3 ground
Pin 4 ground
Pin 5 is pin 2
Pin 6 is pin 2

I'm "assuming" that maybe :

Pin 1 is positive
Pin 2 ?? ... I'm not sure
Pin 3 & 4 are ground (obviously) ... paired together ?
Pin 5 & 6 ?? ... not sure again

Can I tie multiple wires together without ruining my radio ? I've never tried to wire a 6 pin to a normal power supply before, so I'm not 100% about any of this.