Power supply thoughts was: Simon and +5V in the 500 Series
2002-09-03 by J. Larry Hendry
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From: Simon <simon@...> I am a new MOTM user, putting together MOTM/Blacet/Oakley modules into a large cabinet or two. I will want to use some 500 series modules in the same cabinet as the older modules. I don't want to use multiple power supplies in my cabinet. I don't want to have a smaller number of modules in the cabinet because the modules draw too much power for the existing power supply. Please give us a nice clean/single power supply solution to power cabinets containing both old and new modules. And, an upgrade solution for owners of the older power supply to add 5V to their supply. --LH-- Simon, from a large system cabinet design as you and I are both building, I understand where you are coming from. But, even before the 500 series discussion, this has been an issue. Paul has never officially been in the "cabinet" power supply business. Heck, Paul is not in the cabinet business yet. The 900 PS is primarily for rackmount or multiple small cabinet systems. --Simon-- You should take this opportunity to make a new more powerful power supply to support similar cabinet sizes to the old power supply did, using a mix of old and new modules or just all new modules. --LH-- Basically, what has been done in the past is that Paul points those that want to DIY a little (you are DIYing if you make a cabinet) to several commercially available power supplies of larger capacity. The same is true for power supplies with or without +5 volts. Many of us cabinet builders have purchased our own supplies this way. No one size is right for anyone, since no two cabinet designs are exactly the same. Some might choose one supply per cabinet and some might choose one big honking supply like I did (5000mA). Asking Paul to stock a supply for every cabinet situation seems unreasonable to me whe we can simply order one up from any electronic catalog. And, buying direct is cheaper. --Simon-- Smaller power supply for only 500 series modules is a bad idea! --LH-- Bad for me and you perhaps, but not for everyone. This may be just perfect for the rack mount guys. The key here is that every system is different. But, my 500 module compliment may be small enough that the 500 series dedicates supply is OK. Especially if I can turn them on from the same switch. --Simon-- And, front panel power switching is important to me, it really makes the system seem more 'professional', better quality, etc. This is speaking from experience with a Roland System 700 which has front panel switching, --LH-- I agree. Here is what I would like to see (in the perfect world): 1 - Paul makes a 1U AC power remote switch like you want that will hook to any power supply. If Paul does not want to be in this business, AND there is sufficient interest, Stooge Panels, Inc will make one. We already have a 1U panel in our DIY collection that has power switch, LEDs for power indication and a headphone amp with inputs and outputs. If there is interest, I will post this graphic and people can order that panel at our next printing. I suppose we could even offer a panel with switch and wiring harness. But, I'm not keen on taking on new projects right now. 2. A spreadsheet or other web based tool at Paul's site with all the modules and their power supply data in one place so that a person could simply enter the module quantities of their system, and get a total for power required. Then, a list of currently available "cabinet" style power supplies with source and part numbers that a person could order the supply just right for them, hook it to the universal AC switch 1U front panel. Multiple supplies could be switched from the same AC panel by placing switched AC outlets on the back on the main cabinet in case later cabinets have separate supplies. This is what I am doing. Of course, it would not be reasonable to expect Paul to have such a tool that included Oakley or Blacet modules. I would be happy to host such a tool at wise guy synth. But, I have no time to develop one. Any volunteers ?? So, while I understand that Paul's off-the-shelf power supply solutions are not right for you (like they were not for me), they are right for many users. So, that does not make them bad. There simply is no one size fits all solution. Yes, I would like to see Paul in the cabinet power supply business. But, I would also like to see Paul in the sequencer business and some other things we are all looking forward to. But, there are only so many things one can do at once. Us cabinet guys are left to a little DIY for power supplies. But, we have lots of good ones to pick from. If you had a remote AC power switch panel that would switch on all supplies, it sounds to me like you would be happy. Larry