Power supply?

[Kevin Lightner]

..and I was hoping for the Gene and Don boxing fight of the century!!!!

Here's my .04 cents worth-

Switchers- I use them when high current and small space is needed. They
make excellent replacement supplies for Chromas, Polymoogs and other
ancient warriors. I have OFTEN replaced whining or failed Yamaha TX-816
supplies with a better model switcher. (This is a great deal too. Yamaha
charges 450 wholesale for their supply!! I put in a better supply on all
counts than their stock unit and it only cost 23.00 from Marlin P. Jones
company (A Florida based surplus place similar to All electronics in Los
Angeles). 816's are known to whine. The clients are usually VERY grateful
for the new supply!

Switchers can have many problems for new designs and I generally avoid
them. They ARE way more efficient though. Nothing can beat a switcher for
current vs size, but they can whine, have multiple grounds and problems
with hi freq noise both on the lines and audibly, they can often take a
second longer to power up. Regulation used to be a consideration as well,
but the specs I've seen lately for load and line regulation can meet or
exceed a linear unit.

One plus also is that many switchers will auto switch for their AC input
supply- give it 100,110,220,240... whatever. Newer units are often made to
do that. You of course, better check first! ;-)
Switcher reliability seems to be worse than linears though. The high
frequency nature and high current, small traces (little solder) seems to
cause failures more often.

Linears- Every modular I've ever built has had a linear installed in it.
Usually an International Power unit.
Condor, Power One and others make the same supplies as well. Usually, I
replace the V-trims with multiturn trimmers before installation though.
They also allow remote sensing which can be an aid in larger installations.
New linears are more expensive usually, but worth it and when one does
fail, it is a straight forward repair.


-Kevin

http://www.synthfool.com