26 replies to this topic

[Ralph Middaugh]

What is a good power supply to use to test and break-in motors and where to get one?

[Cheater]

Ralph,

 

Need a little more info to be able respond with any sort of cogent advice.

 

What kind of motors? Falcon & FK style motors? D- and C-cans? Strap type Eurosport & wing car motors? The hotter the motor, the more amperage will be needed which will limit which power supplies you should consider.

 

Do you want a bench power supply or one you'll be carrying in your box to races?

 

As to where to buy, if at all possible purchase what you need from a retail raceway, as they need to revenue to keep the tracks available for you and everyone else to use.

[Ralph Middaugh]

Motors are PS4002FK, JK Retro, and 16Ds.

 

Bench power supply.

 

I race GT, Can-Am, F1, and the wing cars that use PS4002FK.

 

Thanks.

[Cheater]

Ralph, 

 

You don't need anything high-end at all. I'm thinking a 5 amp PS would be fine for your needs.

 

Seriously, ask your local track owner(s) what they have available.

 

From my perspective, there's not much to differentiate between supplies if you don't need a small one that fits in your box.

[CoastalAngler1]

Wow, I paid $70, just found one for $59!  30V 10A variable DC power supply with leads...
 
Also, for fun this weekend I cranked a Retro Hawk motor to 30v and ran wide open on the power supply until she started sparking and finally bit the dust. Surprisingly, it took almost five minutes to burn up a tired RH motor. Oower supply is just fine - cut 10 sets of tires the next day.
 
Precision Variable DC Power Supply

[John C Martin]

Les Wright's Wrightway power supply ordered at a raceway, probably through Eagle Dist.

[Arne Saknussem]

So you paid $70 and found one on eBay for $60. Saved $10. Wow.

 

One question. Where's eBay Raceway? Get my point?

[CoastalAngler1]

I've purchased over $2K in slot stuff from local tracks in the last 12 months and have participated racing weekly. $300+ for a compact, name brand power supply is too hefty for my hobby interests but I want to go fast with the experienced guys. Besides, the markup to a dealer is a much smaller margin on large ticket items in the slot world. Missing a sale on a power supply is not gonna make a store close.  

This is 2015. What is a slot car?

[Nate Graham]

A variable supply with adjustable voltage and current limiting with digital readouts is a nice piece of tech on the bench - and I use several in various capacities and hobbies. that said, for those on a budget, they can be a significant expense.

In slot cars, we seem to use 3 volts for motor break in, 5 volts to run tire truers and lathes, and 12 volts for full power to cars and motors and to power a few devices. Has anyone tried repurposing an old ATX supply pulled from a computer when it is replaced. since most last 5 years, the supplies are abundantly available. They supply 3 volts at 8 - 20 amps, 5 voplts at 12 - 25 amps , and 12 voplts at 5 - 20 amps depending on the model.

 

I am in the process of adapting several to use for this and other hobbies and electronics uses as well as a take off for a full variable supply.  instructions are readily available.

food for thought

[Samiam]

If my local track carried everything I ever needed it would go broke stocking every conceivable item we slot racers could ever use.

 

I can't quote numbers but I would venture to say profit from racers like us only accounts for a small portion of a raceway's total profit.

 

I bought a pound of brazing rod from a local welding supply. Should I have demanded my track carry this item? They could have made $3 profit but would have had to purchase hundreds more dollars in stock. 

 

BTW......I bought a soda today. Should I have waited till Wed. night to buy it from my raceway?

[Bill from NH]

With no local commercial raceways around for the past five years, I now buy what I want, when I want, where I want, with a clean conscience.  

[Cheater]

Missing a sale on a power supply is not gonna make a store close.

Note that I didn't say only buy a power supply from your raceway.

I basically said start there and see what he has available.

[Arne Saknussem]

If my local track carried everything I ever needed it would go broke stocking every conceivable item we slot racers could ever use.

 

I can't quote numbers but I would venture to say profit from racers like us only accounts for a small portion of a raceway's total profit.

 

I bought a pound of brazing rod from a local welding supply. Should I have demanded my track carry this item? They could have made $3 profit but would have had to purchase hundreds more dollars in stock. 

 

BTW......I bought a soda today. Should I have waited till Wed. night to buy it from my raceway?

 

I respect your opinion, of course... but your local track doesn't need to stock everything.  My local track owner is more than happy to order anything I need, which is what I do unless it's some sort of emergency (which is hard to imagine).

 

I do have and can quote numbers, and racers' parts purchases are a very substantial part of a raceway's income.

 

Glad you found your brazing rod and I hope you enjoyed the soda but I can't agree that those situations really apply here.

 

Cheers!

[Arne Saknussem]

A variable supply with adjustable voltage and current limiting with digital readouts is a nice piece of tech on the bench - and I use several in various capacities and hobbies. that said, for those on a budget, they can be a significant expense.

In slot cars, we seem to use 3 volts for motor break in, 5 volts to run tire truers and lathes, and 12 volts for full power to cars and motors and to power a few devices. Has anyone tried repurposing an old ATX supply pulled from a computer when it is replaced. since most last 5 years, the supplies are abundantly available. They supply 3 volts at 8 - 20 amps, 5 voplts at 12 - 25 amps , and 12 voplts at 5 - 20 amps depending on the model.

 

I am in the process of adapting several to use for this and other hobbies and electronics uses as well as a take off for a full variable supply.  instructions are readily available.

food for thought

 

Nate,

 

Great suggestion and something I've done on occasion for bench use. If 3/5/12 works for you, fine... but I rely on a Koford supply for portability and general use. A fair number of tutorials on that ATX project are at instructables.com

[Arne Saknussem]

I've purchased over $2K in slot stuff from local tracks in the last 12 months and have participated racing weekly. $300+ for a compact, name brand power supply is too hefty for my hobby interests but I want to go fast with the experienced guys. Besides, the markup to a dealer is a much smaller margin on large ticket items in the slot world. Missing a sale on a power supply is not gonna make a store close.  

This is 2015. What is a slot car?

 

The markup on power supplies from major slot suppliers is standard, not short. If $300 is over your budget, I understand and offer my apologies. I hope you'll understand if I stick to my philosophy.

 

It may be 2015 but a whole bunch more people than you think know what a slot car is. Our problem is that we aren't "cool" anymore. Sad but true.

 

Best to you.

[Samiam]

My local track does not carry the power supply I bought on eBay for $70. Nor could they order one like it or anything in that price range. Any and all other parts they are willing to special order for me I have bought.

If you are shopping for bench supply why buy a small travel unit for more than four times the price. With no fuse no less!

[Cheater]

Sam,
 
I deleted the second paragraph of your last post, as being off-topic and unrelated to the question the OP asked.
 
If you want to bang that drum again, start a new thread, OK? It's been beaten to a pulp many times here, but hey, if you wanna make it into a powder, that's fine.

[John Streisguth]

Wow, really, guys? Someone new asks for advice and you start beating up on each other. If you don't have something constructive to say relative to the OP's question, can't you just leave it alone? Save it for Freeblog.

[CoastalAngler1]

I'm a new guy, too - I'm used to the beatings hahaha. Maybe it's the Outlaw coming out of me?  

Can't wait till Friday!

[SlowBeas]

A variable supply with adjustable voltage and current limiting with digital readouts is a nice piece of tech on the bench - and I use several in various capacities and hobbies. that said, for those on a budget, they can be a significant expense.

In slot cars, we seem to use 3 volts for motor break in, 5 volts to run tire truers and lathes, and 12 volts for full power to cars and motors and to power a few devices. Has anyone tried repurposing an old ATX supply pulled from a computer when it is replaced. since most last 5 years, the supplies are abundantly available. They supply 3 volts at 8 - 20 amps, 5 voplts at 12 - 25 amps , and 12 voplts at 5 - 20 amps depending on the model.

 

I am in the process of adapting several to use for this and other hobbies and electronics uses as well as a take off for a full variable supply.  instructions are readily available.

food for thought

 

I've tried, but I find that the 3V line pulses -- rather than provide a smooth stream of voltage. The 5V line and others work fine. Any idea how to correct this problem, or do I need to salvage another power supply?

 

BTW, I fully support raceways and spend my hard-earned $$ at Slots of Fun in Abbeville, SC.

[wicked01]

Les has a new compact power supply for 250 it does a ything the big ones do....for cheap...

[Dennis David]

A power supply would be my next major slot car purchase. I'm attracted to the Wright Way Power Supply Mini which should suffice for my needs.

[Guy Spaulding]

Quoted from Jersey John:

IMHO, this beats all! (if it's still available)

 

 http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=AS_20150618143944&SearchText=CPS-1610Freeshipping NEW precision Compact Digital Adjustable DC Power Supply OVP/OCP/OTP low power 16V10A 110V-230V 0.01V/0.01A EU  

Rated4.5/5 based on2customer reviews 100.0% of buyers enjoyed this product! (2 votes) 4 orders

Price:

US $61.95 / piece

[Danny Zona]

A power supply would be my next major slot car purchase. I'm attracted to the Wright Way Power Supply Mini which should suffice for my needs.

I have one and love it!

[Nate Graham]

 

I've tried, but I find that the 3V line pulses -- rather than provide a smooth stream of voltage. The 5V line and others work fine. Any idea how to correct this problem, or do I need to salvage another power supply?

I have actually worked with these and reviewed the schematics and web tutorials of over a dozen sites.  A few possibilities for your issue:

 

1. do you have a load resistor across the 5V line. this helps with regulation on the entire system. newer high amp 12 models may need the load across 12 rail 1 or 2. bottom line, these systems expect a mild drain at all times - the motherboard - and as switching supplies, if they don't have it , they misbehave.

 

2. the 3.3 volt line is the most prone to ripple. in older supplies , there is a 3 volt sense line. this is typically brown and must be tied into the orange line - check voltage first with a multimeter, esp if a Dell supply since they do not always follow the standard color code .  

 

3.If this does not solve the problem, then we have to get into the nitty gritty details of the mods you performed:

 how did you do the wiring harness.  how many wires per voltage did you use?  what total wattage supply did you use and what are the specs on the various voltages.