Author Topic: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES  (Read 330222 times)

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Offline sarel.wagner

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #800 on: March 04, 2018, 06:44:34 pm »
Hi Barbouri,

As it happened yes. I set aside some time today to have a look at them. One is from around 1970 (7043) its got the red switch for 10-20v. It was working from switch on. The calibration was slightly out as received. That was easily corrected. This one switch 0.000 (last decade) resistance is not stable, so the Zero cal drifts around a bit (last two digits) Will have to look into that. There are a few minor cosmetic issues left to deal with.

The second unit is 1972 vintage (72xx date code). This one has the silver lockout switch for 20V selection. It was not working. Did power on, but no output and the 0.000V was -0.370V. Turned out to be an easy fix, F2 (DC Fuse) was blown. This one proved to be dead on Cal. Only the 0V setting required a very minor tweak.

So over the moon with this. I have shot some video. Will assemble and post during the week.

Thank's for asking.

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #801 on: March 05, 2018, 02:06:59 am »
Nice scores, Sarel. Looking forward to seeing them.
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Offline sarel.wagner

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #802 on: March 05, 2018, 09:11:34 pm »
So a short video on the pair of PDi 2005A precision power supplies:
on Youtube https://youtu.be/BcwGd8KVZqc
On Vimeo
 
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Offline Barbouri

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #803 on: March 08, 2018, 04:42:19 pm »
Sarel, enjoyed the PDi 2005A video.
From the date codes my PD 2005A seems to be a 1969 vintage, and has the plastic handle switches for both meter and voltage range select.

The Power Designs C500 arrived this morning. I opened it up to check it out and remove some loose screws that were at one time securing the feet.
Inside it looked in good shape, but the front meter has been damaged by some type of solvent, as I had suspected from the original blurry photos.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #804 on: March 08, 2018, 06:57:31 pm »
Looks pretty OK, so far. Yeah, I noticed the cloudy meter lens. If polishing isn't sufficient, you can try hot air. It often clears up the plastic lenses on vintage panel meters. Just don't melt it. ;)

I saw a 5020 recently closed for around $100. Earlier, one sold for over $300. That's crazy.
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Offline Barbouri

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #805 on: March 09, 2018, 03:02:41 am »
The Power Designs C500 meter lens was in very poor shape, and required wet sanding with 1000 grit on a precision flat. I then moved to 1500 grit wet and then finished with Novus plastic polish #2 and #1.
I am happy with the results, and luckily the rest of the front panel just required lots of IPA to remove the 32 years of grime.
The decade voltage selection switch contacts were very dirty and gave varying results when setting voltages. A good cleaning with DeoxIT-D5 and then DeoxIT Gold fixed that problem.
Zero calibration was only slightly off (-250 uV), and at 100V it only required 1.5 mV of adjustment. Noise and ripple at 50% load was around 12 uVAC.
Once again just shows that Power Designs Inc. made some very fine equipment 30+ years ago and is still usable today with just a little care and maintenance.

 Full blog post with more pictures at https://www.barbouri.com/2018/03/09/power-designs-c500-precision-dc-source/
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 02:09:12 am by Barbouri »
 

Offline Seich

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #806 on: March 09, 2018, 03:08:18 am »
It's looking great now. Good Job!
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #807 on: March 09, 2018, 03:37:49 am »
Excellent work, Barbouri! :-+
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Offline Seich

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #808 on: March 19, 2018, 09:46:18 pm »
In a moment of weakness I bought a 5020 the other day. It was only $52 so the price was just right. It lost a banana terminal on it's way to me so I'll have to replace that. Otherwise is in pretty nice shape with only a couple of scratches and some sticker residue on it's faceplate; the dials and output are still spot on. Pretty happy about it overall. I am running of space for power supplies though. I might have a problem.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #809 on: March 19, 2018, 09:48:30 pm »
That's a great deal, Seich. Looks beautiful. I paid about $75 for one.
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Offline Barbouri

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #810 on: March 19, 2018, 10:18:32 pm »
Quote
In a moment of weakness I bought a 5020 the other day. It was only $52 so the price was just right. It lost a banana terminal on it's way to me so I'll have to replace that. Otherwise is in pretty nice shape with only a couple of scratches and some sticker residue on it's faceplate; the dials and output are still spot on. Pretty happy about it overall. I am running of space for power supplies though. I might have a problem.

Looks like a great purchase. Too bad about the broken terminal.
I understand about the running out of space. I already have 5 Power Designs supplies, but am still looking for a non-operational PD 2010 in good cosmetic condition.
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #811 on: March 19, 2018, 11:02:00 pm »
In a moment of weakness I bought a 5020 the other day. It was only $52 so the price was just right. It lost a banana terminal on it's way to me so I'll have to replace that. Otherwise is in pretty nice shape with only a couple of scratches and some sticker residue on it's faceplate; the dials and output are still spot on. Pretty happy about it overall. I am running of space for power supplies though. I might have a problem.
Decent price IMHO.  :-+

Worst case, you could just swap the GND banana terminal for the DC- signal, while you wait for a suitable replacement banana terminal.  >:D
 

Offline Seich

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #812 on: March 20, 2018, 10:57:39 pm »
That's exactly what I ended up doing  ;D . I ordered a couple of new posts so it won't stay like that for too long.
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #813 on: March 21, 2018, 12:26:07 am »
That's exactly what I ended up doing  ;D . I ordered a couple of new posts so it won't stay like that for too long.
The workload is increased a bit this way, but it's an old trick that works well IME.   >:D

Oh, and the unit you got looks great cosmetically speaking  :-+ (I really need to clean my TP343B up).
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #814 on: March 21, 2018, 12:34:47 am »
I've got cosmetic projects for mine as well, nanofrog, so you aren't alone in that department.
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Offline nanofrog

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #815 on: March 21, 2018, 12:59:17 am »
I've got cosmetic projects for mine as well, nanofrog, so you aren't alone in that department.
In my case it's my most used supply (favorite), so getting time to tear it apart hasn't been all that convenient over the years.

I acquired a GW Instek GPC-3020 from the ITT shutdown stock that ended up on eBay however, so I there's no technical reason I can't get off my butt and take care of my PD TP343B.   :o :-DD
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #816 on: March 21, 2018, 01:41:32 am »
Definitely not a technical reason. :-DD
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Offline Luckbad

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #817 on: May 01, 2018, 07:06:59 am »
Howdy! Hopefully this is a good topic to reply to rather than starting a new one.

I recently picked up a couple of Power Designs power supplies. These things are gorgeous!

I'm trying to diagnose what's up with the 5015T and figured some of you might have thoughts.

The first issue is that the fine voltage control bounces all over the place as I adjust it. Turning right sometimes increase voltage and vice versa. I'm assuming this is a potentiometer issue and have a replacement on the way.

The second issue thus far is with the meter itself. I can use the screw terminal in front to roughly calibrate it, but at 35V +, the wiper blade (:bullshit: not sure if that's what it is called) bounces side to side and never quite sets correctly. Any thoughts on what I should replace to fix that?

It's able to hold a rock solid 28.00V (what I'm primarily going to use it for) for hours. Amperes will be tested soon once I get a proper load resistor to ensure calibration there.
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #818 on: May 01, 2018, 12:39:05 pm »
Howdy! Hopefully this is a good topic to reply to rather than starting a new one.

I recently picked up a couple of Power Designs power supplies. These things are gorgeous!

I'm trying to diagnose what's up with the 5015T and figured some of you might have thoughts.

The first issue is that the fine voltage control bounces all over the place as I adjust it. Turning right sometimes increase voltage and vice versa. I'm assuming this is a potentiometer issue and have a replacement on the way.

The second issue thus far is with the meter itself. I can use the screw terminal in front to roughly calibrate it, but at 35V +, the wiper blade (:bullshit: not sure if that's what it is called) bounces side to side and never quite sets correctly. Any thoughts on what I should replace to fix that?

It's able to hold a rock solid 28.00V (what I'm primarily going to use it for) for hours. Amperes will be tested soon once I get a proper load resistor to ensure calibration there.
In regard to the fine voltage knob, it probably only needs a good cleaning. Deoxit D would do nicely.

I'm not quite sure what you're asking about on the zero point adjustment screw on the analog meter. FWIW, this is used to set the needle on zero (unit is off) before any voltage or current setting is made via any knob.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #819 on: May 01, 2018, 10:40:04 pm »
Howdy! Hopefully this is a good topic to reply to rather than starting a new one.

Sure. This is a good place to get started. If your needs get deep into details, you might start a repair thread for your particular power supply.

Quote
I recently picked up a couple of Power Designs power supplies. These things are gorgeous!

Uh, oh. You're hooked now. ;D

Quote
I'm trying to diagnose what's up with the 5015T and figured some of you might have thoughts.

The first issue is that the fine voltage control bounces all over the place as I adjust it. Turning right sometimes increase voltage and vice versa. I'm assuming this is a potentiometer issue and have a replacement on the way.

As nanofrog said, use a good cleaner such as DeoxIT and it'll probably be fine. Do that before replacing.

Quote
The second issue thus far is with the meter itself. I can use the screw terminal in front to roughly calibrate it, but at 35V +, the wiper blade (:bullshit: not sure if that's what it is called) bounces side to side and never quite sets correctly. Any thoughts on what I should replace to fix that?

It's able to hold a rock solid 28.00V (what I'm primarily going to use it for) for hours. Amperes will be tested soon once I get a proper load resistor to ensure calibration there.

You may want to check how much ripple you have at the output. It sounds like it may be quite severe. If so, then trace the circuit back until you have no ripple or end up at the bridge rectifier (i.e., before any filtering). If you don't have a clean output anywhere along the way, then the filter caps likely need replacing. They're pretty old, so it wouldn't be unusual. But definitely check before replacing. Needless rework increases the odds of something going awry (Murphy, etc.).
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Offline Barbouri

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #820 on: May 03, 2018, 02:10:44 am »
Howdy! Hopefully this is a good topic to reply to rather than starting a new one.

I recently picked up a couple of Power Designs power supplies. These things are gorgeous!

I'm trying to diagnose what's up with the 5015T and figured some of you might have thoughts.

The first issue is that the fine voltage control bounces all over the place as I adjust it. Turning right sometimes increase voltage and vice versa. I'm assuming this is a potentiometer issue and have a replacement on the way.

The second issue thus far is with the meter itself. I can use the screw terminal in front to roughly calibrate it, but at 35V +, the wiper blade (:bullshit: not sure if that's what it is called) bounces side to side and never quite sets correctly. Any thoughts on what I should replace to fix that?

It's able to hold a rock solid 28.00V (what I'm primarily going to use it for) for hours. Amperes will be tested soon once I get a proper load resistor to ensure calibration there.
Very nice set of Power Designs supplies.
Really like the TW6050D unit, and it looks to be in great cosmetic condition.

I ended up replacing the 4 big electrolytic capacitors on the rectifier board, and C8 on the back of the main control board on my 6050D.
Not that familiar with the 5015, but my recommendation is to check all the electrolytic capacitors.
Also fully agree with nanafrog and bitseeker's recomendations for cleaning the voltage control potentiometer.
 

Offline Barbouri

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #821 on: May 07, 2018, 01:44:26 am »
Well, I thought I had just the right amount of Power Designs power supplies.
Then this PD 6050C shows up on Ebay with a few minor issues, low price, and free Priority Mail shipping.
It arrives tomorrow.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #822 on: May 07, 2018, 06:56:24 am »
Gotta catch 'em all. ;D
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Offline Barbouri

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #823 on: May 08, 2018, 02:46:51 am »
Gotta catch 'em all. ;D
Unfortunately I do not have the room to  "catch 'em all". But this one did turn out to be a great catch.

I was expecting a full re-cap and maybe replacing a few other components / transistors.
Other than cleaning all that was required was some DeoxIT D5 contact cleaner in the Voltage / Current select switches, and desoldering and reinstalling one of the display sockets that wasn't installed flat.
All the calibrations were perfect, and when testing under full load+ the ripple was less than my Keithley 2015 could measure.   :-DMM
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: POWER DESIGNS PRECISION POWER SUPPLIES
« Reply #824 on: May 09, 2018, 03:14:57 am »
Wow! A great catch, indeed.
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