Bang goes the PSU....

[Realistic_build_Speed]

Fired up all my old DCC test kit this evening to refresh myself ahead of deciding on my next layout being DCC or DC, but the lights on the SPROG stayed firmly off. Turns out the PSU has turned up it’s toes and died while in storage in a dust-proof box under the bed. I checked the label and it’s some Chinese brand I’ve never heard of.
 

To avoid history repeating, can anyone recommend a reputable brand of 230V-12V DC adapter? Needs 2A rating minimum.

 

Amazon and EBay are full of the things, but like this one they’re cheap Chinese products and this one only managed about an hour of testing before it died so I’d like to stay clear of those if possible..

 

Thanks!

 

[meil]

RS Components - 175-3275

[Junctionmad]

32 minutes ago, meil said:

RS Components - 175-3275

Which is of course made in China  

[melmerby]

Unless you make it yourself, a PSU is inevitably going to be made in China. They have cornered the market.

Even products made in other countries that need a PSU will have a Chinese one.

[Realistic_build_Speed]

Thanks Meil!

[Crosland]

15 hours ago, Realistic_build_Speed said:

Fired up all my old DCC test kit this evening to refresh myself ahead of deciding on my next layout being DCC or DC, but the lights on the SPROG stayed firmly off. Turns out the PSU has turned up it’s toes and died while in storage in a dust-proof box under the bed. I checked the label and it’s some Chinese brand I’ve never heard of.
 

To avoid history repeating, can anyone recommend a reputable brand of 230V-12V DC adapter? Needs 2A rating minimum.

 

If it's a SPROG II then 1.25A is fine.

 

If it's a SPROG 3 it needs to be 2.5 A minimum.

 

We sell suitable units on our website.

 

Andrew Crosland

sprog-dcc.co.uk

[Crosland]

12 hours ago, melmerby said:

Unless you make it yourself, a PSU is inevitably going to be made in China. They have cornered the market.

Even products made in other countries that need a PSU will have a Chinese one.

 

Our PSUs are made in Cambodia

[kevinlms]

12 hours ago, melmerby said:

Unless you make it yourself, a PSU is inevitably going to be made in China. They have cornered the market.

Even products made in other countries that need a PSU will have a Chinese one.

But there is Chinese made and there is Chinese made.

 

Plenty of fake stuff out there. Here's an example.

 

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-11e-Windows-13-E-and/Warning-Fake-power-supplies/td-p/3371476

 

It is of course impossible to tell until it arrives. The example has a feedback of 99.8%, which suggests that either next to no one spotted it, or more likely the feedback score was faked too.

[sharris]

2 hours ago, Crosland said:

 

Our PSUs are made in Cambodia

Is the power rated in Angkor Watts?

 

[Harry Lime]

Had a similar problem a couple of years ago with my original SPROG 3 PSU. Contacted Mr Crosland/SPROG and one arrived promptly, which has seen good service ever since.

[Realistic_build_Speed]

5 hours ago, Crosland said:

 

If it's a SPROG II then 1.25A is fine.

 

If it's a SPROG 3 it needs to be 2.5 A minimum.

 

We sell suitable units on our website.

 

Andrew Crosland

sprog-dcc.co.uk

Thanks Andrew, sorry I’d already ordered the RS Comp one or I’d have gone back to Sprog. I always like to support hobby specialist manufacturers - just failed to occur to me this time.

 

Thanks for a great product anyway! Learned a lot from setting it up and using it with a Raspberry Pi and WiThrottle.

[melmerby]

6 hours ago, Crosland said:

 

Our PSUs are made in Cambodia

By a Chinese company?

[Crosland]

16 hours ago, melmerby said:

By a Chinese company?

 

TT Electronics, registered in the UK, under the PowerPax brand.

[melmerby]

My 1st replacement laptop PSU was made in China, as was the original. (The cable failed on the first due to my habit, since stopped, of wrapping it around the PSU)

Unlike the original which was by a Chinese company, the replacement was by a UK company (designed in UK and made in China it says), it was total rubbish, puts out enough RFI to drown out any radio in the vicinity.

It was replaced by another Chinese brand and that is superb.

[Realistic_build_Speed]

Just goes to show. Stereotypes can mislead..

 

Now that I think about it we had two batches of parts at work. One British and a far cheaper alternative later in the production run which was cheaper and Chinese-made.

 

One batch failed en mass within a year. It wasn’t the cheap ones...