New 36 Amp power supply review (67.00 Shipped)

[Badland61]

I decided to add some power to my Galaxy DX959 and my pyramid only dished out 10 amps continuous and wasn't even close to the peak 34 amps I needed so I started looking for a worthy power supply for a decent price, after much research the best unit I found for the money was the new MegaWatt model # S-400-12, it puts out 10 to 13.8 DC volts by adjusting a small pot on the front and can run on either 115 or 240 volts ac. The power supply is housed in an aluminum box and is amazingly small and light for the power it supplies, I was a little sceptical until I hooked it up, using a volt meter I adjusted the voltage to 13.8 volts and hooked up 250 watts to it, the power supply worked great with minimal voltage drop at full power output with no light dimming, after awhile of operation the regulated built in fan came on and is very quite, the power supply is rated at 36 amps at 90% power and 30 amps at 100% power continuous. It came with a 3 prong power cord that you attach to the front terminals and the cord has a built in on/off switch, It also has 3 plus (+) terminals and 3 negative (-) terminals for hooking up your radio and other accessories. So far I am very impressed with the MegaWatt S-400-12, I purchased it on ebay for $67.00 and that included shipping to my door. I could not find any other power supply that was in the same ball park for under $150.00 shipped...
Pros:
A lot of bang for the buck.
High amp output with low voltage drop.
Built in fan with thermostat
Quite fan.
It's brand NEW
Newest technology
MFG Warranty
Con's:
No provisions for mounting/bolting unit down.
Being light it slides around alot.
Power cord attaches to the front of unit so the cord's sorta in the way.
I don't really like the on/off switch on the cord and would have been happier if it was built into the power supply.

Overall if your on a tight budget like me and need alot of amperage for a low cost ($67.00 to your door) this might be the ticket for you. So far I am very pleased.
****Just a note, if you look it up on ebay make sure you get the MegaWatt Model S-400-12 as the 12 mandates 12 Volt, I saw one just like it but it only put out 5 Volts. = Badland61 waving at ya from the Great Northwest=

 

[AudioShockwav]

Well - probably what you should have done was go to a swap meet and buy a good linear power supply.

Why would some one want to go to a swap meet and buy a used supply that they have no idea how it has been treated/abused when you can have a new one for about 20 bucks more?

Good review Badland.

In the end, the best power supply is still a couple of car batteries connected together.

In my opinion it is a bad idea, corrosive vapor, explosive out gassing, and Sulfuric acid sitting in the radio room are 3 good reasons not to use lead acid battery's in the shack.


73
Jeff

 

[Remo]

ive owned one of these for maybe a year now. seen mild usage running a 2 pill, and thumbs up here
voltage can be adjusted from about 9 volts up to 15.5 volts as well.

ive noticed that my fan stays on continuously now, but with it being so quiet, it doesnt bother me. unit doesnt seem to tun hot either, just the dang fan runs constantly.

like you mentioned, i wish it had an ON/OFF switch on the unit, not the cheapo cord that was included. i actually threw that thing in the garbage and replaced it with something more substantial.

and for all of you who might ask, no, i dont nor do others hear any noise coming from the unit.
id buy another one in a heartbeat.

 

[eagle1911]

Well - probably what you should have done was go to a swap meet and buy a good linear power supply.

Astron is the standard by which all other power supplies is measured and they are still a cheap power supply.

You could have picked up a 35 amp power supply for $50.00 if you were real careful and got to the swap meet early enough.
Pyramid and other cheap power supplies are not true linear power supplies and they inject noise along with power into your power wires going to your radio.
The other problem is durability - they don't last as long as a good Astron in my opinion.

In the end, the best power supply is still a couple of car batteries connected together.

Really?? I'd take a solid switcher over a linear supply any day. Lighter weight, more efficient, great regulation as long as the supply is well-designed which most of the newest offerings are.

I can't understand it when people refuse to move past the 70s.. technology has IMPROVED people. There's a host of sweet stuff out there these days, and for VERY reasonable prices. This isn't even just an issue with PSUs for me. I've been thinking about getting back into CB, but I won't do it until the people who make them move past 1974 in terms of the technology and methods involved. Every other radio service has moved on to bigger and better things.. why does CB have to exist in a world of polyester and disco shoes? It's freaking 2011, but still almost exclusively all we have are big silver-faced trucker boxes full of old designs and old manufacturing techniques. There's only a couple export radios that are even remotely close to current in terms of internal design. I just don't get it and I never have.. anyway, [/rant].


@OP: Not sure if it's the same as in the OP since there is no link, but I've been using three of these for awhile now: 36 Amp CB Radio Power Supply 10-13.8 VDC | eBay

Love them!! Every one of them is fully capable of providing 30A at 100% duty, and 36A at 90% duty.. sweet deal for that kind of amperage.

 

[unit_399]

ive noticed that my fan stays on continuously now, but with it being so quiet, it doesnt bother me. unit doesnt seem to tun hot either, just the dang fan runs constantly.

I use piggybacked switching supplies to power my 5-pill with no problems. But they pick up dust inside really fast. Maybe this is why the fan in yours runs constantly.

- 399

 

[romakdaddy]

just ordered one today to run my kenwood,helluva lot cheaper than the pyramids and such.ill just add a switch,maybe some meters and move the power connector to the rear, should add some feet as well.

 

[edfiero]

Really?? I'd take a solid switcher over a linear supply any day. Lighter weight, more efficient, great regulation as long as the supply is well-designed which most of the newest offerings are.

I can't understand it when people refuse to move past the 70s.. technology has IMPROVED people. There's a host of sweet stuff out there these days, and for VERY reasonable prices. This isn't even just an issue with PSUs for me. I've been thinking about getting back into CB, but I won't do it until the people who make them move past 1974 in terms of the technology and methods involved. Every other radio service has moved on to bigger and better things.. why does CB have to exist in a world of polyester and disco shoes? It's freaking 2011, but still almost exclusively all we have are big silver-faced trucker boxes full of old designs and old manufacturing techniques. There's only a couple export radios that are even remotely close to current in terms of internal design. I just don't get it and I never have.. anyway, [/rant].

I've often wondered the same thing. The Ranger 2950 seemed like a nice step forward in the mid 90's but most of the crap being sold today be it a Magnum , a Galaxy or whatever is the same 70's era design, with the switch needed to get the extra channels. Not going to buy one of those. And nothing has advanced from what the Range was over 15 years ago. I guess it comes down to supply and demand. There isn't enough demand for a sophisticated CB, so no one is willing to invest the time and money to build one. As long as the 'trucker boxes' are still selling, they will keep building them.

 

[cbradiomagazine.com]

I did a review on one of these a couple of months back. I wasn't sure how it would hold up but it's still running strong and it does everything it's supposed to.

It's about the size of a CD Rom in your computer which is impressive as it does better than the Pyramid 35 amp it replaced.

If it last 5 years and I have to buy another it still would end up being cheaper than the pyramid + shipping.

 

[123kid]

?

can it run a palomar 250 mosfet hd with a 2950dx together?or is that asking to much.i have one of these supplies but would like to run a palomar with it and the radio.

 

[KD2GOE]

can you get some shots from the inside and post them I want to compare them to my PSU I just fixed..


http://www.worldwidedx.com/general-...161970-meanwell-power-supply-maybe-fixed.html

 

[9C1Driver]

Yes you should be fine. The amp will draw less then 20 amps and the radio less then 5.

 

[curlyjo]

Been using mine for over 2 years with no issues ! My 2970DX like's it !

 

[Oatmeal]

Good to see someone doing using this PS for 2 pill amps as well as a radio..

Im looking at getting one of these as well and run a 2 pill w2290s in it..

 

[cbradiomagazine.com]

Just wanted to post a follow up on here - this power supply is still going strong (36 amp model).

I use it daily, turn it on and off all the time, am constantly hooking up different wires and have used it to power tons of different radios and 2 pill amplifiers.

Definitely continue to recommend these as a inexpensive PS solution. Still not sure who actually builds them, safety, or durability, but in my instance it continues to work very well.

 

[ExitThirteen]

I thought about getting the 80 amp one, it does 80 amps constant and 100 amp surge, thought about upgrading the power supply in my X-Force 2x4 box, since I just barely get by on the current supply I use now (80 amp surge). I may have to look into one of these "MegaWatt" supplies.


~Cheers~