Should exxos design a new CT60 PSU?

[exxos]

PCB only is quickest to market. As MW modules are hard and expensive to source in the uk, people buy their own.

Or Meanwell modules pre-fitted.

Or rehash the current PSU design. Not using a transformer but 12v module front end. 5v and 3.3v get their own exxos regulation circuits where voltages can be adjusted. This would likely be the most expensive and time consuming method.

Obviously there needs to be enough demand to make them worthwhile the time and costs.

[mikro]

I don't really care about how / what is it made from, as an end user I'd appreciate:

- easy fitting (no drilling holes, ideally using the existing ones the switch etc)

- no collision with ct60, ct63, ct60e + peripherals (ctpci, ethernat, supervidel -- taking some space on the right side)

- working for both 030 and 060

[Steve]

Yeah and in my experience I think most people would like something fully built and ready to go, if people have to source power modules or do their own soldering I think it'd reduce your sales quite significantly.

[alexh]

I would want something fully assembled and tested.

What I liked about the CT60PSU was it's fitting. It fitted perfectly.

All the cables were the correct length.

The 3D printed plastics meant it looked stock. Plus the speaker carrier was very cool if like me you wanted it to keep it as close to stock as possible.

I'd really like (and there's no reason why not) any replacement to be similar. (Easy to install, good fit, stock look externally)

The PicoPSU that I had previously was a fudge and I never liked it. I really didn't like the external AC/DC laptop PSU.

[exxos]

I'm all for easy install. But things like connectors on mains I draw the line at. Having worked on various electronics and electromechanical equipment, failures were, for the most part, always connectors.

So there's the problem.. People want plug and play and go with such solutions over mine because my stuff needs soldering. People see quick and simple as better, when in my experience, it's not.

Take for example enclosed fuse holders. I've seen so many melt into a blob.. Constant use, a bit of heat builds up, contacts tend to ark even a tiny bit. Starts to heat up the fuse and holder.. 6 months later it's not even recognisable as a fuse holder anymore..

[alexh]

So there's the problem.. People want plug and play and go with such solutions over mine because my stuff needs soldering. People see quick and simple as better, when in my experience, it's not.

That is not the case here. You didn't sell anything in this space. If you had, then I would have considered / favoured it given my previous positive experience with Exxos products.

If vendors ignore their customers requirements then they go elsewhere.

If customers ignore vendors recommendations they get an inferior experience.

There is no need for [end user] soldering on this item (though I appreciate it was in reference to other products)

[exxos]

That is not the case here. You didn't sell anything in this space. If you had, then I would have considered / favoured it given my previous positive experience with Exxos products.

If vendors ignore their customers requirements then they go elsewhere.

If customers ignore vendors recommendations they get an inferior experience.

There is no need for soldering on this item (though I appreciate it was in reference to other products

Just to clarify, that comment wasn't aimed at this market specifically, it was a general observation about how people buy things. Quick and simple usually wins over doing it properly, that's just human nature, nothing against you or anyone else here.

I do get why people want plug and play, and they'll always favour it given the choice. But wanting it doesn't make it the right call. I've got years of experience behind me and plenty of failures most people will never see, and that experience tells me routing mains through the same switch as a low voltage signal is asking for trouble. I'm not going to design something I already know is likely to fail that way just because it's more convenient. If someone wants to skip that and go for the quick option anyway, that's their choice to make, but it's not one I'll build towards.

On "no need for soldering", that one doesn't really hold up for me. The connectors, switches and everything else on these boards still have to be wired, they just arrive already soldered for you. Needing soldering versus not needing it isn't really the distinction, it's where that connection sits. Even pre-wired, there's still a connector sat on the mains side, and that's the bit I wouldn't do regardless, connectors fail. Give me a choice and I'll solder the wires straight onto the power supply board rather than put a connector there, but each to their own.

Soldering has always been part and parcel of retro computing. If someone's expecting pure plug and play with zero risk and zero effort, they're probably in the wrong hobby.

[exxos]

Is anyone able to measure the hard drive area inside the Falcon to see how much physical height there is between whatever the tallest part of the motherboard is to the underside of the case?

Because my own power supply design is tried untested, basically I'm thinking, forget the toroidal because it's too big to fit inside a CT60 Falcon and it would basically have to have a mean well 12 volt brick probably of several amps in the RD area but also it would need probably a extra centimeter for another circuit board somewhere with the actual regulation circuit on it.

The electronic side of things could probably be done reasonably quick. The problem becomes the mains input and the power supply switch and that sort of stuff. I did design a plastic 3D printable power supply base where I might be able to reuse the back section of that and might be able to get it to fit under the CT60 to give it a bit better support as I believe that was a bit of a complaint with people at some point.

[exxos]

This was my STF psu bracket I made years ago..
Would of course, need modifying to fit the Falcon, but most of the work I think is already done anyway.

17913199892363671116663631924459.jpg (249.58 KiB) Viewed 70 times

17913199740502782755657553876747.jpg (293.52 KiB) Viewed 70 times

[exxos]

Made a plan for most stuff now. It works in my head (tm) so that's better than on paper IMHO

The only thing i'm not sure about is the IDE CF connector.. it's a bit in the way. But likely it would have to have some sort of mount to the side of the planned PSU. Maybe just a vertical adapter which can be bolted down would work. Or some sort of fixing like "normal" for a IDE CF to be mounted.. That's probably the most annoying thing to work out.

My plan is to literally, take my current ST PSU design, swap the transformer for a MW module (total PITA trying to find one in stock ) then it all bolts into the IDE area on a custom bracket.

Its not exactly that simple as id need to swap the 12V regulator for a 3.3V output, not a massive problem but the 5V has better thermal coupling than the 12V.. So I may have to re-jig the layout. The regulators IIRC can sustain up to 22amps, but of course depends on the thermals.