BK Precision 1550 bench power supply?

[ivan747]

Is the BK Precision 1550 bench power supply a good deal? I know it's a good brand name but sometimes good brands can fail miserably too. What do you think about the digital controls? It is a switching power supply, so is noise a concern?

I like it because is small, fits my budget and will fit nicely in my desk. Also it's got a handy USB port for charging stuff.

I think the voltage / current will suit my needs.

Here's a link to the official site: http://www.bkprecision.com/products/model/1550/switching-dc-bench-power-supply-with-usb-charger-output-1-36v-0-3a.html

[alm]

Never seen this model before, so my opinion is based just on their website. Seems a bit gimmicky to me. Wonder if this is their own design or badge engineering. I prefer a mediocre linear supply to a mediocre switcher, linear supplies are harder to screw up.

Controls seem clumsy to me, most designs either use analog pots or digital rotary encoders, which are much nicer for adjusting voltage/current. What's the point of digital control if it doesn't support a computer interface or programming? Noise specs are not great, as expected for a cheap switcher. 1-36V seems weird to me, was it so hard to do a proper 0-36V? What if you want to simulate an almost empty AA cell? Some 0.9V logic?

Not impressed by the documentation.

[ivan747]

Never seen this model before, so my opinion is based just on their website. Seems a bit gimmicky to me. Wonder if this is their own design or badge engineering. I prefer a mediocre linear supply to a mediocre switcher, linear supplies are harder to screw up.

Controls seem clumsy to me, most designs either use analog pots or digital rotary encoders, which are much nicer for adjusting voltage/current. What's the point of digital control if it doesn't support a computer interface or programming? Noise specs are not great, as expected for a cheap switcher. 1-36V seems weird to me, was it so hard to do a proper 0-36V? What if you want to simulate an almost empty AA cell? Some 0.9V logic?

Not impressed by the documentation.

That was the kind of feedback I wanted to listen: real, critical feedback. Thanks.
Any suggestions? I can't afford anything more than a $150 supply. Free shipping would be great, saves big bucks on those heavy transformers.

[slburris]

How about this supply from Circuit Specialists for $119:

http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/18

It's probably a relabeled Atten supply of some sort.

Scott

[ivan747]

How about this supply from Circuit Specialists for $119:

http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/18

It's probably a relabeled Atten supply of some sort.

Scott

Multi-turn pots... I'm starting to like this.
I will take look at the manual.

UPDATE: seems to be a little heavy. I hope I don't get nasty surprises with the shipping fees. And by the way, the manual is useless, I can't imagine how the printed one looks like.

What I want to do is to get for under $350:
*A Hakko FX-888 soldering station
*An Extech multimeter, one of those $60 ones with 12 functions and a non-contact voltage probe
*If possible the $50 Amprobe meter Dave reviewed on the $50 shootout.
*If possible (more priority than the second meter) a bench power supply of at least 2 amps and 20V
*A good set of jumper wires (I really need some)

[Smoking]

Hi ivaneduardo747, are you living in the Dominican Republic?
I like to help you with your quest. We can send a ATTEN APS3005S 30V 5A and a solder station ATTEN AT938D to the Dominican Republic rigistered TNT post.
http://www.atten.eu/
ATTEN power supply and the solderstation for €130,- togetter = $190,- USD. The shipping cost will be $90,- USD so a total of $280,- USD.  You can always send us a email.
http://www.atten.eu/contacts/

[saturation]

Here is another source, I bought one of their supplies and they have a reputation among the RC crowd, see archive eevblog posts.

http://www.mastechpowersupply.com/

There are two similarly named URL, above is the most recent.

http://www.mastechpowersupplies.com/variable-regulated-power-supply3.html

Consider the above a catalog then email Sean directly and get a direct quote and inventory check if you order, the listing on the website may not be accurate; its a guide to what they have.

Since you are having it shipped to DR? I think the final cost, including shipping and taxes, to you would be important on whom you choose.

For the name brand Hakko, Extech or Amprobe stuff go to tequipment.net

[ivan747]

Hi ivaneduardo747, are you living in the Dominican Republic?
I like to help you with your quest. We can send a ATTEN APS3005S 30V 5A and a solder station ATTEN AT938D to the Dominican Republic rigistered TNT post.
http://www.atten.eu/
ATTEN power supply and the solderstation for €130,- togetter = $190,- USD. The shipping cost will be $90,- USD so a total of $280,- USD.  You can always send us a email.
http://www.atten.eu/contacts/

For clarification: I use a service in the US that provides me an address in Miami, anything that arrives there with my name on it is then shipped to me at a considerable cost. Usually it is cheaper than having things delivered directly from China. Some sites even ship for free to the US but  charge dozens of dollars for having them shipped by mail to the DR. Even worst: the State's postal service is useless here, things get lost and forget about tracking or warrantees. That's why most people use the kind of service I use.

@Smoking: I have looked at that supply before. I want the 3A model. It is quite heavy so I will try to ship it from the US. I will try to find a supplier on the US for cheaper shipping costs. As you can see I am almost in the middle of nowhere:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Dominican_Republic_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/500px-Dominican_Republic_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png

Courtesy of Wikipedia

[Smoking]

@Smoking: I have looked at that supply before. I want the 3A model. It is quite heavy so I will try to ship it from the US. I will try to find a supplier on the US for cheaper shipping costs. As you can see I am almost in the middle of nowhere:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Dominican_Republic_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/500px-Dominican_Republic_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Hi ivaneduardo747

I have been in Punta cana 15 years ago. Got robbed the first night I was there. 
But had a great vacation anyway.
I agree with you that shipping to the US is better. Before you order let us know what you pay in total maybe we can do better.

[ivan747]

Ah... Sorry for that. It's a shame that they pick tourists for robbering. 

[Joy at MCS]

B&K don't specialize in power supplies so although they make good products I  personally don't know that I'd buy one of their power supplies.

Do you need GPIB or RS232 connectivity? If you don't need any of that then there are plenty of reasonably costs quality alternatives.

[ivan747]

I just need a basic adjustable power supply with current limiting. I've tried designing my own, but the board layout ended up being too poor. I have a 12V-0V-12V @4A transformer at home, as well as some beefy capacitors so I have some of the most expensive stuff at home. If you know of a DIY power supply that can work well with this transformer, please tell me. If not, just recommend a power supply as light as possible, international shipping is expensive.