Affordable P.S.U. - Its cheap, but is it any good???

My el cheapo computer PSU converted power supply for my charger died on me more than a while ago. While searching around for a decent replacement, I found a few options, some recommended but really expensive ones and some that are affordable but relatively unknown. Eventually, I settled for a cheap chargery 12v 12A PSU, which is essentially a 12v version of the 14v PSU sold by hobbycity.



So why did I not settle for another computer PSU, since a brand new budget one could be had for $20. Its simply because for $20 more, this PSU has a pair of nice banana jacks out of the box, requires no work or modification and look pretty neat and compact compared to a computer PSU. In addition, not all computer PSUs have proper 12v output voltage. I did find one computer PSU with decent output voltage, a big 14cm fan, a sleek look with its mirror finish exterior and of modular design where you can plug or unplug the cables according to your needs, making it really neat. However, there was one problem-the price. So that stayed in my computer.

On to the "chargery power supply"...

As can be seen from the photos, the box is just a plain white box with a sticker label and the package consist of just a PSU and a power chord without a single slip of paper. Granted, a PSU is pretty much idiot proof.



As with most PSU, this power supply has a small built-in fan. While it is kinda loud, it does cool the thing pretty well. In fact, the outer heatsink casing doesn't even get warm when I tried drawing over 3amp continous. The output jacks are banana jacks, the type that you get on cheap hifi speakers and amplifiers. As can be seen, there is also a on/off switch on the unit and a green led to tell you its running. Thats all, nothing to adjust or fiddle with. Totally basic and simple.



The output voltage was over 12.6v unloaded and dropped to around 12.5v under a 2amp load. Therefore, it will be safe to assume that this unit should be able to work for most chargers around, with the exception of maybe, the more picky ones.

In my opinion, this type of PSU is more than sufficent for powering chargers doing TX/RX packs and smaller lipo packs. Personally, I only charge small 3s lipos and 2s rx packs, so it works great even when I run two chargers at the same time. For charging bigger packs like those 600/700 size flight packs, a better psu might be required.