<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Great post Richie!<div class=""><br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 31 Oct 2019, at 10:02 PM, <a href="mailto:rburnett@richieburnett.co.uk" class="">rburnett@richieburnett.co.uk</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">4. As for reliability, MTBF etc, it depends on the choice of components, layout and *cooling*. Low quality, standard temperature (85'C) electrolytics placed near to the transformer or heatsinks in a sealed enclosure with no forced-air cooling are not going to last very long at all in a SMPSU. Conversely spreading the load current between a bunch of paralleled 105'C low-EST electrolytics from a reputable source like Rubicon placed away from other heat sources with forced-air cooling can surely last 40+ years. Lifetime comes down to picking decent components and thermal management.</span></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div><div class="">Over the years, I’ve had to replace SMPSs in a Korg M1 (twice) EMU Proteus (twice) and UltraProteus (thrice). Not knowing any better, I was probably purchasing the cheap and cheerful ones. I suppose it’s a case of you get what you pay for. What manufacturers do synth-diy people trust and recommend?</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Adam</div></body></html>