13.8v Regulated Mains Supply

Hi all

It has been recommended to me to invest in one of these to ensure that there are no power spikes that can damage the scope's electronics. Has anyone ever used one of these and how does it connect to the scope?

This is the unit I'm looking at:

www.maplin.co.uk/13.8v-regulated-mains-power-units-231

Thanks.

Hi lunartic.

There are two screw-terminals on the front of that unit that you can either plug banana-plugs into or simply strip the end of the cable, wrap it around the post and screw the thumb-screw down.

'Regulated' means that the circuitry attempts to provide a fixed potential difference between the two contacts, i.e., avoid brown-out. If it's surge protection you're looking then I don't think this is going to do the job as the protection built into it (aside from a standard mains-side fuse) is there to protect the PSU and not the device connected to it.

One of those plug-boards with a built in surge and electrical noise protector may be what you're looking for. I assume the mount you have already has a PSU. The other benefit of such a device is that you can connect other devices to it as they often have four or more sockets.

If you want protection from power spikes, the plug board surge protectors are not that good, and may even give no protection after a year. Your best chance of protecting electronics is with a proper UPS similar to those that protect desktop protectors.
Unfortunately you have to pay to get good protection.

cathalferris wrote: If you want protection from power spikes, the plug board surge protectors are not that good, and may even give no protection after a year. Your best chance of protecting electronics is with a proper UPS similar to those that protect desktop protectors.
Unfortunately you have to pay to get good protection.

The protection they give is based on the quality of the device (its clamping voltage should be low) and the number, magnitude and duration of spikes its subjected to. A cheap one isn't going to be up to much but the more capable ones have an indicator to show they should be replaced (when the internal varistor blows).

Just make sure you have the correct fuses installed.

Cheap and effective.

Simpels.

Hi,

I don’t really know anything about the technicalities of the mains power supplies but I did have some trouble when I ran my CG5 mount off the mains. This was suggested to me and it has worked well since;

www.maplin.co.uk/3-in-1-portable-jumpstarter-383992

It’s a battery but it lasts the whole night when it’s only powering the mount. I just use the mains for stuff like the hair drier (de-misting) and laptop (alignment and so on).

Brendan