a 12 amp power supply should run a typical vhf packet station no problem. It 
should run a vhf 50 watt radio on high power no problem, and I'm talking 12 
amps surge. I only ran high power with my packet setup because there was a 
major lull in activity around my immediate area and a couple guys used to 
digi through me once upon a time, every morning so I gave them a little 
extra power to help them out, for my purposes I'm sure 5 watts would have 
been fine.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Behler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 5:09 PM
Subject: Re: The TMV7A


>    Mike:
>
> Right now, I have a Pyramid PS14KX supply that is rated 12 amps 
> continuous,
> 14 amps surge.  This is the power supply that I have dedicated to the 
> TMV7A
> and my packet station.
>
> So, I think I'm all set, since, as you say, there often is not a need to 
> run
> a packet set-up on high power.
>
> I appreciate the thought, though, and still may look for an extra used
> Astron 20-amp model, just to have on hand as a back-up if nothing else.
>
> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Duke, K5XU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: "Tom Behler" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 4:29 PM
> Subject: The TMV7A
>
>
>> Tom,
>>
>> Shop around for a used Astron 20 amp supply. They are pretty plentiful
>> now with so many people going to the switching models from MFJ and
>> others. Of course, if you have my luck, they all disappear as soon as
>> you start looking for one.
>>
>> I had a 12 amp Astron model, which said it was rated for 12 amps peak.
>> It would not hold my TMV7A on high power. That supply was several
>> years old, and may have had a problem I didn't know about, but any rig
>> I tried which ran over 30 watts output would shut it down at full
>> power.
>>
>> A 20 amp model will run both the radio and the TNC all day. That's
>> what our radio club has been using on our digipeaters for years.
>>
>> Of course, you can also set the TMV7A to medium power if you aren't
>> trying to set a new world record for distance between you and the
>> local Digipeater. Even at medium power, however, I would give the
>> packet station its own power supply.
>>
>> MFJ sells a 25 amp switching model that is about half the size, and a
>> third the weight of the Astron 20 amp traditional unit. But, the MFJ
>> switching models have a fan which runs continuously. You may not want
>> that extra constant noise. Personally, I think they could quieten the
>> fan considerably in their supplies, and still have enough air to keep
>> everything cool.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Mike Duke, K5XU
>> American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs
>>
>>
>>