Now that I have all these radios and other 12V items running in my workshop it's time to upgrade the bench supply! Until now I've had two separate 12V power supplies as well as a car battery and a car-battery charger to cover the load required by some of the higher-current items.
My 12V stereo amplifier for the computer's audio output can draw up to 20A peaks and the Yaesu FT-7800 often draws 8A+ when transmitting. So a high-current supply was in order to replace the disparate systems listed above. I settled in the end on a PowerTech MP3090 switched-mode unit that was sourced for me by Dave, ZL2BCA (thank's Dave!). It has variable output voltage from 3VDC to 15VDC and can also be locked to 13.8VDC with a switch. It is capable of 40A continuous output which should be more than enough for my needs. The digital LED readouts on the front case have allowed me to discover how much current various items in my workshop actually draw when under load.
