Alltronix Power Supply issues

[mike_va 0]

Picked up a AL600ULPD8CB (new, via ebay) to power the "cheap" cams (CNB etc), to make it look a little more finished than my HP linear supply.

 

Now have faint wavy lines in the picture...

 

And the supply can only be adjusted down to 12.6V.

 

Did not hook up a battery, I would not think that was related.

 

Gotta admit, I'm not that impressed with the construction either. Some of the devices are not even screwed to the heatsink, just stuck on with sticky material. The one device that is firmly attached is via a rivet...

 

I'm sure I can add resistors to the circuit to get the voltage right, but these wavy lines suck.

Any ideas appreciated.

[thewireguys 3]

Maybe their is a reason it was forsale on EBAY

[jeromephone 6]

Ground Loop? I have purchased a whole lot of altronix and have had no problems. Supplier stands behiind them if a return is necessary. Could be someone used a alstonix box and put a cheap/defective power supply and threw it out on ebay.?

[mike_va 0]

Maybe...this thing is a POS. Here's a scope shot at 1.5A. I thought this was a good brand. It is clear that it is new and never used.

 

edit: scope shot is out of the system on the bench, resistive load.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Guest

[mike_va 0]

Ground Loop? I have purchased a whole lot of altronix and have had no problems. Supplier stands behiind them if a return is necessary. Could be someone used a alstonix box and put a cheap/defective power supply and threw it out on ebay.?

Nah, there's to many details that are correct charger connection, 12/24V select, status relays etc. I suppose could be a bad supply, but I don't think the guy would do that - perfect feedback. I'll give Altronix a call tomorrow and see how much ripple this puppy is supposed to have.

[thewireguys 3]

Could you post a couple of images of the can and board inside?

[mike_va 0]

Could you post a couple of images of the can and board inside?

Not until tomorrow after work, but will do then. The PWB does say altronix on it. Thanks, Mike

[SEANHAWG 1]

Yeah I bet its just a fluke bad PSU. We still have alot of used Altronix power supplies from Walmart and even the used ones are solid as heck.

[mike_va 0]

Talked to Altronix today - they said the ripple is a typical amount, and that their supplies MUST be used with cameras that have isolated supplies. He said that it will not adjust down to 12V even though it is a 12V supply because it is the battery backup version.

 

He also said if I used one of their "CCTV" supplies it would have the same ripple amount.

 

Really, if a camera has isolated supplies it can be run off of 24VAC...

 

So, it is operating as it is supposed to. In the pic you can see the devices that are not even bolted to the heatsink - just stuck with adhesive material. The one that is attached is with a rivet.

 

This is not a good long term reliable solution. At least it has a UL listing which is more than most of the inexpensive supplies out there have.

 

May post a video later of me taking a 40lb sledge to this thing. Luckily there is enough room inside for a good linear like power-one or acopian. This thing is not even in that league. I've never seen a switcher this noisy.

[mike_va 0]

And here is the revamped supply with a 4A Lambda linear reg sub'd in. MUCH better build quality and components than the Alltronix, and dead quiet.

 

The box did not even have some of the punch outs done right, stamped but could not be knocked out. Had to get out a Greenlee, haven't done that in a while...

[hardwired 0]

I see a big gel cell on the side of one of the pictures, you could have tried the Altronix with the battery on it to see if cut the ripple much (pretty low ESR on those, like a big filter cap).

[mike_va 0]

I could have, but they said this was normal operation and I was not happy with the construction. In my mind took some unacceptable shortcuts with the adhesive attachment of the power devices to the heatsinks. Works fine now but after thermal cycling and absorbing some humidity they just don't hold up. There are also some solder splashes remaining from the original assembly.

 

With some of the cameras on there I really don't want to have to replace them if something goes bad. Hard to beat Lambda linear supplies for quiet and rock solid reliability.

 

Pretty expensive new, that came from work where they sometimes fill the dumpster with perfectly good stuff...also how I ended up with ten HP and Tek scopes in my lab...