Ac power adapter

[Solomio]

Good day.
For the first time ever, in many, many, years my DPFX01 is not working. I have a sneaking suspicion it is the AC adapter. There is power getting to the machine i.e. it is making the usual noise but the lights are not coming on, there is no LED display and nothing is functioning. I was about to order from e bay another power adapter but thought I would check in with you guys first.
Thanks for your suggestions/ideas.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

If it is a switching power block they have had problems with those on some equipment. Switching supplies seem to have the upper hand in cost and weight but I have had Linear supplies last a lot longer. Some of them were 30 years.

 

[Solomio]

First,thanks for the reply. The only one I have recvd!! I would not know if it is a switching power block. I suppose it could be my AC adapter? Really don't know if I should spend $30 on a new adapter only to learn it is not the problem or just trash the machine ? ( although I do like it )

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Really the only way to get it fixed is to find out what is really wrong with it. That will require some voltage measurements. Buying new power supplies is like a lot of the clients I get that try to fix things by guessing and that takes a lot of wasted money. I would suggest taking it to a Technician to have him check it out. If you do not want to do that then it is either you make measurements and determine or you are back to square one. It is not going to fix itself.
I have never worked on one of these- this digital stuff is usually left to the card changers in CA. The Digitron place I do not have a lot of use for as they did not help me with technical requests and another guy called me from Alaska to say the fixed unit from them does not even run. Par for the course in CA.
Maybe Russ in New Jersey has some experience with these.
He is New Jersey Factory Service.

Keep in mind that I have worked on some very expensive equipment that had failures due to switch mode supplies and that even goes for Transmitters that were probably $12,000 or more. ISDN and Telephone hybrids use them also and they fail and were fixed in most cases. This is why I suspect the supply but it could be a regulator in the unit as well. I have had LM7805 and 7812 go bad in Porta Studios and that was all it took to fix that item.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

I looked at the owners manual and it has a single coax power supply input but I am not sure what voltage. These are not hard to diagnose with a meter- just measure the output and compare to the voltage that is stamped or labeled on the supply. If it reads near the correct voltage then the problem would be in the unit.

 

[Solomio]

Thanks again.
I'm sure you can help me with this. On e bay there are AC adapters which claim to be suitable for the DPFX01.I noticed the specs weren't the same so I sent the seller a message which has not been replied to. Here is the question which you could advise on..." I note that you list Output as 12V & 5A however the adapter that came with my unit when purchased shows 12V & 2.5A. Is that a concern / problem. ?Thank you"

 

[SkywaveTDR]

I am not sure if the unit you have is original or a sub and the unit taking 2.5 to 5 Amps is kind of ridiculous being these digital items have no moving parts. The book I looked at had a center positive coax connector but there was no way to detect the size as these are sized by outer diameter and how large the center pin is. If the old supply is defective then that cable that fits your connector could be transferred to the new adapter. I found these two at MPJA that might be what would work. Again to know for sure I would need to determine where the fault really was. It could be in he unit or maybe not.
Look at these items here that may be better price than what you are considering and may be jus what you need.
http://www.mpja.com/5-Volt-Adapter-Power-Supply/products/565/

When I was Chief Engineer at Radio Stations people would come to me all the time with their needs and I would find for them a supply to match theirs at great reduced prices. Most of the time I got the supplies for them from Marlin P Jones and Associates.

 

[Arjan P]

I note that you list Output as 12V & 5A however the adapter that came with my unit when purchased shows 12V & 2.5A. Is that a concern / problem?

If your original power supply could supply 2.5A, then a replacement that can supply 5A is totally suitable, though one could say 'overkill'. But it will not harm your device. The question of the correct size connector remains, but if the seller says 'suitable for the DPFX01' then apparently they checked.

 

[Solomio]

ok guys I thank you very much for your assistance. If 5A will not harm the unit then it's a go.
Much obliged.

 

[Solomio]

Skywave that adapter does not come with a power cord. Would you please direct me to a link for the suitable power cord for the 5 Volt Adapter Power Supply, 4A, Phihong