Hi all,

I'm looking for a reasonable power supply for my workbench to test stuff with. It will be mainly used to test individual components such as buzzers, vtx's etc but to get the best usage out of it I would like to be able to spin up motors. Pretty much use it in place of a LiPo battery for when setting up things in BF.

Obviously I would not be going max power but at least 10% power so I am thinking a 15amp output would do the job or should I just go a step higher and get a 25amp DC output current one like this?

https://www.jaycar.com.au/compact-switch...c/p/MP3802

What do you reckon the minimum DC current rating I would need allowing for a little bit of heavy handedness?

Any recommendations on a particular brand/model would be great as well.

I'm actually using a 3A output power supply and it's been enough for me. You can easily spin motors (without props of course) with less than 3A on low speed, which is enough to test the correct spinning direction etc. I'm using a smoke stopper between the bench supply and the quad anyway, so it won't allow more amps to pass.

The actual supply is this one https://www.sra-solder.com/korad-ka6003p...-lab-grade I think. It looks the same, but not sure if the brand is the same (I'm not at home now to check).

Of course having some headroom in the output power is probably good.

Thanks that's exactly what I needed to know re DC output current and drops a good amount of money cost wise

This one looks similar so i'll get that.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/0-to-30vdc-0-t...y/p/MP3840

You may have already pull the trigger on the PSU up there, but in case someone else finds this thread looking for a PSU, I made my DIY unit three years ago and it is still running fine: https://oscarliang.com/diy-psu-lipo-charger-workbench/.

It gives me 3.3, 5, 12V and is good up to 6A (12V current depends on the actual PSU used for the mod, mine was an old 'defective' unit). If you don't need fancy stuff like precise regulated voltage or current limiting, that should cover your needs.

I wouldnt limit myself to 5 amps

I use this one in my mini quad builds https://www.amazon.com/Dr-meter-Variable...B086YS8921.

Another cheap option could be the iSDT Q series changers. They have a built-in adjustable DC power supply. The smaller one Q6 nano supports 2-30V up to 5A while the bigger Q8 capable up to 10A. Oscar reviewed the the Q6 nano:

https://oscarliang.com/isdt-q6-nano/

Drone Mesh has a video about the Q8:

https://youtu.be/N5vZ-37w8kY?t=178

For my current power supply I have an IBM 675W server PSU, it's easy to turn on and can take over 50A of output. I got a 12-24v step up from ebay and taped to the top of it to run my TS-100. Cost me $15USD.

I have built but just need to solder connections onto my new PSU, which is 2x HP 1200W server PSU's in series. I had to remove the grounding on one so that it is "floating", this way I get 24v, 2400W, 100A of output. Cost me $35USD. The plan is to be able to charge up to 50 x 1500mah 4s lipos at around 1C at a single time. Not because I need to (although burning 8 at a time on my hex I may need it) but because I can...

I'm also using a converted PC power supply, a Thermaltake TR2 430watt ATX that I pulled out of an old work computer. It provides enough power to charge my R/C racing car LiPO's at 3C, which translates to 12 to 15 amps.

I use a battery charger hooked up to my winter car battery in the summer or the motorcycle battery in the winter. I also have a cb radio power supply in the house i use if I'm not in the garage long enough to monitor it.
I used to routinely kill car batteries leaving them in cars I'm not driving. This has saved me hundreds of dollars and keeps me flying.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0852J...UTF8&psc=1

i bought this one. works well

I just purchased this one. It seams more than accurate for what we would use one for. It’s 30V 10A and constant current abilities. I’ve checked it out with a good meter and at the worst it’s .02V off, but dead on at 3.3V. Already used it to register and bind my R9MX before installation. Sure eliminates the issues holding button down and plugging in a lipo! Does anyone else have one of these? I’m curious of how it performs under load.

I have the same power supply except it is the 120V 3A version. I have not use it a lot, but it seems to work as advertised and pretty accurate.

A bench power supply has been super useful. My setup:
 

• MeanWell 400W 24v power supply (under the bench)
  
• DPS5005 power converter
  
• KSGER T12 soldering iron
  
• 3d printed Tiny e-lab
  

(05-May-2021, 12:52 PM)PeladoMat Wrote: A bench power supply has been super useful. My setup:
 

• MeanWell 400W 24v power supply (under the bench)
  
• DPS5005 power converter
  
• KSGER T12 soldering iron
  
• 3d printed Tiny e-lab
  

So clean! I think the purchase of a power supply was a great investment. It already has worked wonders in its first day.