Power supply

[les]

I’m thinking of purchasing a power supply as an alternative to having a 12 volt car battery on the bench. I have been looking at a few online but there are so many. I would appreciate some guidance or suggestions for a reasonably simple, uncomplicated mid range one, for general testing of car radios and the like.

[Banned User]

You might want to consider voltage, I have a psu for testing stuff but it’s only 12v not 13.8ish. Ok for radios but not so good for headlights. There must be psu specifically for testing car stuff?

[les]

Yes, will look further, thanks. I think 12v would be ok though.

[Myrtles Man]

Based on an admitted lack of complete understanding of matters electrical, I've always used a battery charger for this sort of testing. Works for me but I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that from, say, Ohm's 11th Law of Electrical Interference, I'm committing some terrible faux pas.

[simmitc]

It depends on how serious you want to be about testing, and what load you need to run. Have a look here: https://cpc.farnell.com/w/c/test-equipm ... geSize=100 where you will find units from about £20 to well over £500. The IN06008 will deliver 5A at 13.8v and is £20.35 including VAT. The IN06009 will give you 15A for another £18.

Modern radios can draw quite a high current. A single 60W headlamp would require 60/12 = 5 amp. You could also consider a battery charger with a small rechargeable alarm battery to smooth the power.

[geoberni]

I agree with simmitc, there's plenty of stabilised Bench Power Supplies out there, usually 0-30v, but the more current you require, the more the price goes up.
Generally, these are intended for work on test benches in electrical/electronics workshops.
it is possible to get power supplies intended for doing things like power CB radios at home etc, which are preset at 13.8v, which is what he has indicated with the IN06009 .

[les]

Thanks for replies, I’ll check out the one mentioned.