Power...Power...Power!!!!

[DalmatProd]

No, I haven't turned into a megalomaniac and now want to take over the world!





Rather, for the second time in less than a month, the power supply I purchased, a Pyramid PSV300 has taken a dump on me. The first time it happened, I had not even attached a load to the terminals. I plugged it in, made sure the two terminals were screwed closed and turned the unit on. The there a quick spark internally and the fan instantly shut-off, though the power light was still on! I figured it was a safety circuit/fuse and unplugged the unit and waited 24 hours. Then I tried it again. And again, the power light came on, but no fan. Now their big advertising highlights the unit's thermo-protective circuit to prevent over-heating. Over-heating? How about ANY heating? So, I contacted Amazon and they offered to switch out for a new unit.





The new one came a couple of days later, but due to my "delicate" condition, I had to wait until a couple of days ago to try it out. The first day, it worked fine. I tested two mini-bars and two out of four electronic sirens. Today, I tried it on my PA 300 and the same thing happened: an internal spark, the odor of napalm, oops, I mean fried circuit board, and a dead fan, but still power to the on/off light.





So I called Lanzar in New York and spoke with customer service (nice oxymoron!) and asked if there was simply an internal fuse that I could replace. "Mmmm, I dunno," was the informed reply. "You might have to speak with an engineer." So, I asked to be transferred to an engineer. "OK, but I don't know if he'll speak with a customer." I picked myself off the chair, thanked him, and hung up. Now, my PSV300 is boxed up and heads back to Amazon tomorrow.





Thus my question: There are many, many of you out there with very large collections; some lights, some sirens, some both. No matter, you all need a power source to light any of the bars and sound the sirens. What are some of you folks using?? I know enough about basic electronics, however, not enough to build my own power supply, so that alternative is moot. But there must be a few of you who found dependable power supplies in the 30-40 AMP power range that are safe and dependable. I'd really like to hear some of your ideas and advice.





As always, I thank you in advance for your consideration and assistance.





Steve


DalmatProd

 

[EHFD_Tower_751]

i cheat............a fully charged automotive battery, and when it runs low I simply pop on the charger.........and wait til it says all charged.


i think all come fully charged, mine did and was able to play with all my bars.


Hope it helps (even though im the first reply )

 

[CrownVic97]

I've got a Pyramid 50-amp power supply and have not had any problems running most of my lights, except an 8-halogen rotator AeroDynic (converted over to incandescent for display purposes). Maybe those certain power supplies are not as heavy-duty under that particular model line. Astron is another good power supply company to check out.


Here's what I use:

 

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

I used this as my replacement when I needed more Amperage.


I was recommended it by some Radioheads who use it to power their rigs.


Seems to be pretty stable, and has powered everything I have thrown at it. (*knocks on wood)


Amazon.com: Regulated 50 Amp Compact Power Supply 13.8Vdc (9-15V Adj) w/ Volt - Amp Meter!: Automotive

 

[LRGJr72]

.... ditto. I know this topic has been covered before. But it's one that can never get too much input. Especially now that I've all but given up on testing high-amp lightbars (of the Dual-Comm & TwinSonic era) using a car battery charger. Everytime I power it up the wires nearly overheat and I get the same ozone-ish odor from inside the charger.

 

[chief1562]

No, I haven't turned into a megalomaniac and now want to take over the world!



Rather, for the second time in less than a month, the power supply I purchased, a Pyramid PSV300 has taken a dump on me. The first time it happened, I had not even attached a load to the terminals. I plugged it in, made sure the two terminals were screwed closed and turned the unit on. The there a quick spark internally and the fan instantly shut-off, though the power light was still on! I figured it was a safety circuit/fuse and unplugged the unit and waited 24 hours. Then I tried it again. And again, the power light came on, but no fan. Now their big advertising highlights the unit's thermo-protective circuit to prevent over-heating. Over-heating? How about ANY heating? So, I contacted Amazon and they offered to switch out for a new unit.





The new one came a couple of days later, but due to my "delicate" condition, I had to wait until a couple of days ago to try it out. The first day, it worked fine. I tested two mini-bars and two out of four electronic sirens. Today, I tried it on my PA 300 and the same thing happened: an internal spark, the odor of napalm, oops, I mean fried circuit board, and a dead fan, but still power to the on/off light.





So I called Lanzar in New York and spoke with customer service (nice oxymoron!) and asked if there was simply an internal fuse that I could replace. "Mmmm, I dunno," was the informed reply. "You might have to speak with an engineer." So, I asked to be transferred to an engineer. "OK, but I don't know if he'll speak with a customer." I picked myself off the chair, thanked him, and hung up. Now, my PSV300 is boxed up and heads back to Amazon tomorrow.





Thus my question: There are many, many of you out there with very large collections; some lights, some sirens, some both. No matter, you all need a power source to light any of the bars and sound the sirens. What are some of you folks using?? I know enough about basic electronics, however, not enough to build my own power supply, so that alternative is moot. But there must be a few of you who found dependable power supplies in the 30-40 AMP power range that are safe and dependable. I'd really like to hear some of your ideas and advice.





As always, I thank you in advance for your consideration and assistance.





Steve


DalmatProd

I use a 1000 amp battery and as EHFD and charge when needed.


Oh by the way no need for that large a font.

 

[DalmatProd]

Chief-thanks for the help. What does EHFD stand for?


Thanks,


Steve

 

[chief1562]

He's from Elmira Heights Fire Department in Elmira NY

 

[EHFD_Tower_751]

Chief-thanks for the help. What does EHFD stand for?

Thanks,


Steve

Elmira Heights Fire Department (and Tower 751 is their new aerial platform)

 

[chief1562]

Elmira Heights Fire Department (and Tower 751 is their new aerial platform)

You bragging again Chad Wait til I see Amanda


That 1000 amp can handle the full load from an old school light with all the sealed beams going at once and not even stutter on a full charge.

 

[EHFD_Tower_751]

You bragging again Chad Wait til I see Amanda
That 1000 amp can handle the full load from an old school light with all the sealed beams going at once and not even stutter on a full charge.

nawwwwwwwww i wasnt bragging (it is a nice platform though, and it can be seen coming when all the LEDs are lit........all 30 of them lol)

 

[kitn1mcc]

i am a hug fan of the big astron power supplies they may cost more but they are good

 

[Liberty703]

If an engineer won't talk to a customer... that it isn't worth buying. If I can't talk to one, then I won't recommend a product to a client.

 

[DalmatProd]

If an engineer won't talk to a customer... that it isn't worth buying. If I can't talk to one, then I won't recommend a product to a client.

That's exactly how I felt when the CS agent said that to me. That's why I hung up. I can understand that an engineer might not be able to talk to me at that particular moment and I need to leave a message and await a call back. But if an engineer will not talk to a customer at all....time to change the supplier!


Thanks,


Steve

 

[DalmatProd]

A quick thanks for the replies and advice. I'll probably have to go with an AC-powered unit, as I don't own an automotive battery charger/conditioner and as I no longer belong to or am retired from a local department, I don't have a source for one, either. Additionally, the last thing my better half would want to see in my home office is a 1000 amp automotive battery sitting on the desk or floor! LOL


I will look into the larger, 50 AMP Pyramid amplify suggested by CrownVic97 and the Astron series suggested by both him and kitn1mcc, as well as the Advanced Specialties compact 50 AMP suggested by StampeedValkyrie.


One more question, though: For those of you with multiple lightbars and sirens on display, do you use any "convenient" form of terminators on your wiring, i.e. male/female lugs, 12V cigar plug, etc?


Thanks,


Steve

 

[tacomabanga19861986]

i dunno your budget price wise but we use power supplys like this for car audio setups and with the high amp draw they do fine, a little pricey but do the job


POWER SUPPLY 80 AMP KINETIK INTELLIGENT **PD9280-KV** on eBay!


but i dunno if there some sort of an "smart charger" for batteries or can use as power supply for bench testing


now me personally i use an old power supply that came out of my computer, i dunno what happened to it but it wont work in my computer but will run a 8 rotator code 3 xl 5000 lightbar lol, wont run it long as wires not big enough, but does fine for demos and what knot


heres a video of what i got

thats what i use to power all my lights with other than small bars, i use other supplys for that, now i have 2 of these but the other one wont power a lightbar like this one will, i dunno whats different, there exactly alike


ah well, i would like to know what some of you gurus use, theres a guy on youtube named emtangerson i think and his powersupply(s) can run pretty much anything he hooks to it, dunno what it is but would like to have one myself

 

[MtnMan]

One more question, though: For those of you with multiple lightbars and sirens on display, do you use any "convenient" form of terminators on your wiring, i.e. male/female lugs, 12V cigar plug, etc?

Anderson PowerPoles are versatile and easy:


Anderson Powerpole & SB Multipole Series Sets: Anderson Powerpole Connectors and SB Series connectors available in popular sized sets with optional contact sizes and volume pricing.

 

[DalmatProd]

i dunno your budget price wise but we use power supplys like this for car audio setups and with the high amp draw they do fine, a little pricey but do the job

POWER SUPPLY 80 AMP KINETIK INTELLIGENT **PD9280-KV** on eBay!


but i dunno if there some sort of an "smart charger" for batteries or can use as power supply for bench testing


now me personally i use an old power supply that came out of my computer, i dunno what happened to it but it wont work in my computer but will run a 8 rotator code 3 xl 5000 lightbar lol, wont run it long as wires not big enough, but does fine for demos and what knot


heres a video of what i got

======================


Tacoma,


Thanks for the info and the video. It looks like that computer power supply does do a helluva job on that lightbar!


Steve

 

[DalmatProd]

Anderson PowerPoles are versatile and easy:

Anderson Powerpole & SB Multipole Series Sets: Anderson Powerpole Connectors and SB Series connectors available in popular sized sets with optional contact sizes and volume pricing.

Kent,


Thanks for the link to the PowerWerx site. I do like those PowerPoles and they look like a good way to standardize all my connections to whatever I finally decide to use for a power supply. I had been to that site before I purchased the Pyramid PSV300 and my concern was that the only power supplies I found on their site were a max of 30 Amps. Now that I just picked up an older model Federal electro-mechanical siren, (with no label or ID, of course!) I'm concerned that it could take more than 30 amps to wind that sucker up. So, I've been thinking about a 50amp peak-40amp draw power supply, if something like that is even manufactured!


Thanks again,


Steve

 

[Liberty703]

Probably "side stepping" topic of power supplies, and some of you want "on demand"... But for those who are willing to live with a battery, Kussmaul makes excellent products, they're made in NY with great tech support. Battery maintainers that sense draw and adjust charge rate, shutting down when full charge. Give them a look! The other thing to consider with mechanical sirens, when installed on a vehicle, the alternator/generator does not supply all the load... the battery serves as a reserve to handle the "spikes" of turning on accessories (siren, primer, ect..). A vehicle won't handle a mechanical siren for long sitting still, as most alternators need over 1000rpm before they wake up.

 

[DalmatProd]

Probably "side stepping" topic of power supplies, and some of you want "on demand"... But for those who are willing to live with a battery, Kussmaul makes excellent products, they're made in NY with great tech support. Battery maintainers that sense draw and adjust charge rate, shutting down when full charge. Give them a look! The other thing to consider with mechanical sirens, when installed on a vehicle, the alternator/generator does not supply all the load... the battery serves as a reserve to handle the "spikes" of turning on accessories (siren, primer, ect..). A vehicle won't handle a mechanical siren for long sitting still, as most alternators need over 1000rpm before they wake up.

My electro-mechanical siren (as well as my electronic sirens) will very rarely ever get cranked to their full potential. I'm in a small all-residential neighborhood and winding one of these up to full would not make me the most-admired person in the neighborhood. I had looked at a couple of the PowerWerx amps, but from what I found on their web site is that their amps are 30amp. I'll take a look at the Astrons tomorrow.


When I was in my first vfd just outside Greensboro NC in the mid-1970's, I was appointed to several apparatus spec committee. On each one, we tried to spec a "Q" for our primary siren. However, it was his belief and his belief alone, that the manufacturers of both the "Q" and the apparatus, work together to make the siren too powerful for any fire apparatus and cause it to burn out its alternator. Even though be brought him written evidence from his colleagues in other county departments, as well as electrical engineering reports from both Federal Signal and a couple of independent labs, we could not change his mind. He still told us that the "Q" was nothing more than a engine-compartment booby-trap, waiting to be sprung.


What a shame!


Steve

 

[billforbush]

Just a quick tip - resist the temptation to use an automotive battery charger as your power supply. The voltage produced to charge batteries (particularly fast charge) is way over 13v and can cause lights and electronics to act funny. I even had one blow all of the sealed beams in a lightbar once. Expensive lesson.

 

[DalmatProd]

That's something I wouldn't do unless I was going to create the display in my garage/ Out there, an automotive battery charger/conditioner would be in place, but not in a bedroom/home office. Same goes for an automotive battery.


So, I continue my search for the right AC-powered power supply with enough amps to at least, wind-up the new mechanical siren and run the two mini bars I have, plus my electronic sirens,


Thanks,


Steve

 

[kitn1mcc]

you can also get some smaller units and run multi units

 

[MtnMan]

That's something I wouldn't do unless I was going to create the display in my garage/ Out there, an automotive battery charger/conditioner would be in place, but not in a bedroom/home office.

Nothing some heavy wire and conduit can't fix. How far is it from the garage to the office?

 

[emtanderson51]

I use these to power my heavy load bars. The 1 I use for my LAPD Aero still performs perfectly and I run it all the time for extended periods of over an hour.


40 Amp Peak 12V Power Supply Adjustable Voltage Up to 15 Volts 03 | eBay


Not bad for $65......

 

[tacomabanga19861986]

is there any "buy it now" ? didn't really look


ied like to know where to get a power supply like they use in car audio displays, they are around 100 to 150amps up to 14.4v in some displays, would love to get my hands on one of them

 

[DalmatProd]

Nothing some heavy wire and conduit can't fix. How far is it from the garage to the office?

The run would take it from the garage through the family room, part of the kitchen, passed one bedroom and the guest bath finally reach my office.


Thanks


Steve

 

[MtnMan]

The run would take it from the garage through the family room, part of the kitchen, passed one bedroom and the guest bath finally reach my office.

Sounds like the lights & sirens belong in the family room!


How's the V-Con doing?

 

[DalmatProd]

Sounds like the lights & sirens belong in the family room!

How's the V-Con doing?

Kent, if I put the display in the family room, it would be my last act as a married man and my last act in this house. I'd also most likely have my singing register changed to soprano!


Be that as it may, I'm currently without a power source to try out the V-Con! But cosmetically, you did a great job cleaning it up and as I mentioned before, I really like those transistor covers you found and how you tied them down so they wouldn't get loose, again.


I've looked at those Powerwerx supplies but they all seem to be 30amp units. I'd feel safer having a 50amp peak, 40amp draw, but I haven't been able to find one anywhere. And it's a shame because I had purchased the PSV300 for less than $60.00. But I guess "you get what you pay for" is more accurate than we thought. I'll let you know when I test the V-Con!


Steve