Absolutely, Tom. With so much gear running on 12 volts today it's a great idea to have an extra supply on hand and now I'm happy I did. Fortunately, though, even if I hadn't had the older Astron, there is a TS-830 in the shack and they had built-in supplies. Guess what I should be working on is a battery backup which I know some of you already have. 73, Lou ----- Original Message ----- From: "tom behler" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 9:29 PM Subject: Re: another astron power supply story > Oh wow, Lou! > > At least I don't feel alone, although my current problem with my Astron > RS35 > admittedly was of my own making. > > One thing about this list is that it helps to know that I'm in good > company, > and have an arena for sharing what often appear to be common problems. > > Let us know if you can get the ailing supply fixed. > > Interestingly, I was talking with my wife at dinner tonight, and suggested > that it's always good to have an extra power supply or two around, in case > one suddenly fails. > > May just have to go looking for at least another used Astron at the > upcoming > local swap in about 6 or 7 weeks. > > 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lou Kolb" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 8:58 PM > Subject: another astron power supply story > > > As long as we're discussing power supply issues, i've just had an > experience > I never expected. My RM-35 from Astron failed and, oddly, the problem > seemed to be in the switch. You'd think it would be somewhere farther > along > in the circuit. I was on cw and started to hear an odd sound every time > the > transmitter in the k3 keyed. Like an arcing but different in that it > wasn't > a snappy sound. At first, I thought it was the rig but then the > transformer > in the supply started to jump occasionally, as it does when you first turn > the supply on. When I started to smell smoke right after that, I hastily > signed and reached up to turn off the supply but the switch wouldn't > throw. > it moved a bit but was actually fused in place. Later, when I came back > down to the shack it had cooled down and was very firmly fused in place. > I > had another, older Astron on the shelf so I hooked it up and was back on > the > air the next night. I haven't taken the cover off of the stricken supply > yet but it oughta be interesting. It's not a complicated device so I > expect > to be able to fix it. Anyone else have a similar experience? Lou WA3MIX