Tag: power supply

  • Choosing Wire Gauge for DC Power Runs

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. Undersized wire on a 12V radio power run causes a specific, predictable problem: voltage drop, and it shows up as reduced transmit power, radios that reset under load, or a general feeling that your gear is not performing the way it should. Why Voltage Drop…

  • Fusing Your 12V Ham Shack: A Practical Guide

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. A 12V shack or vehicle radio setup without proper fusing is a fire risk waiting for the right circumstances, and the good news is that doing it correctly is neither expensive nor complicated once you understand a few basic rules. Fuse the Source, Not Just…

  • Choosing a Desktop Power Supply: Switching vs Linear

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. Every base station radio needs a 12-13.8 volt DC supply, and the choice between switching and linear power supplies is one of those decisions that seems trivial until you are dealing with mystery RF noise across your entire HF spectrum and realize your power supply…

  • Choosing a Power Supply for a DMR Hotspot

    Part of our Getting On The Air guide. A DMR hotspot is a small, low-power device, and it is tempting to assume any old USB charger will power it fine. In practice, a genuinely inadequate power supply is one of the most common causes of hotspot instability, random reboots, and connection dropouts. Why Current Rating…

  • The Astron RS-50M: A Linear Power Supply Workhorse, and How It Stacks Up Against the Alternatives

    Heavy, simple, and about as clean as DC power gets. Here’s what the RS-50M actually offers, and the real tradeoffs between linear and switching supplies for HF.

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