Bench Power Supply When Building a New Panel

[Saville]

You folks who have built new all-electric panels - what did you use for 12 volt bench power supplies when you were wiring the whole thing up on the bench and testing it?

I'm wondering if I should invest in a 12 or 16 volt programmable bench power supply for things like - downloading to my GDL-82 before installation or when building a new instrument panel on the bench.

One can get a Programmable DC Power Supply 128W 16V 8A for about $250. I'm wondering if that's a good investment.

How did everyone else power their bench setups?

Thanks

[cderk]

Originally Posted by Saville

You folks who have built new all-electric panels - what did you use for 12 volt bench power supplies when you were wiring the whole thing up on the bench and testing it?

I'm wondering if I should invest in a 12 or 16 volt programmable bench power supply for things like - downloading to my GDL-82 before installation or when building a new instrument panel on the bench.

One can get a Programmable DC Power Supply 128W 16V 8A for about $250. I'm wondering if that's a good investment.

How did everyone else power their bench setups?

Thanks

I bought mine off Amazon for $45. I dont think you have to spend a ton. The one I bought is a MeanWell brand, which is a reputable product... I?ve used them in products we make at work.

That said, I will tell you that not all supplies are equal. For some reason, mine created a constant broken squelch on my radios - but everything else worked fine.

[Walt]

I suggest you just run it off a 12v battery and charge it when you're done.

[Saville]

Originally Posted by Walt

I suggest you just run it off a 12v battery and charge it when you're done.

I thought about that. But I wondered about how clean the power is when coming directly from a battery, and if that would matter.

I also wondered about any spiking when you close the switch to the battery.

[Saville]

Secondary question - how many amps should a power sully be able to generate? I don't know what will be on the panel so I don't have any idea.

[gmcjetpilot]

Make sure the power supply has the amps. A battery is fine and charge after using it to power avionics (but don't charge battery at same time).

A little noise in the DC is not going to hurt the avionics, since it puts up with your airplanes alternator which is far from pure DC. Almost all avionics have regulated power and runs on 10-30 volts.

I have some "lab" quality power supplies with variable volts out and reads amperage draw. However a single 13.8-14,5 volt power supply with enough amps is fine. I still have my Radio Shack 13.8 volt 5 amp power supply.

[Saville]

Originally Posted by gmcjetpilot

Make sure the power supply has the amps. A battery is fine and charge after using it to power avionics (but don't charge battery at same time).

A little noise in the DC is not going to hurt the avionics, since it puts up with your airplanes alternator which is far from pure DC. Almost all avionics have regulated power and runs on 10-30 volts.

I have some "lab" quality power supplies with variable volts out and reads amperage draw. However a single 13.8-14,5 volt power supply with enough amps is fine. I still have my Radio Shack 13.8 volt 5 amp power supply.

How many amps should I reasonably expect to need?

[cderk]

Originally Posted by Saville

How many amps should I reasonably expect to need?

I would say 10-15 depending on your equipment. When my panel is on, I?m around 6a. When i key the mic, it might go up to 9A. If you want to test lighting and stuff like that you?ll need more.

The size though is determined by adding up the current draw of all the equipment you want to run

[Electrogunner]

I bought a C TEK battery charger that is capatible with my battery. The charger has a built in 20A power supply that I use while working on my panel. I've used it for over a year and it works great.

[majuro15]

Get a power supply and set it up for ground power. It'll be handy when the plane is done for updating databases, testing, playing around, etc. I got mine from Amazon as well.