eTopxizu (cheapowatt) 30 amp power supply Guinea Pig

Use your DMM and resistance setting (and a strong pair of reading glasses) and probe the underside of the board for the potentiometer resistance AS SET.

OK so I blew it on the TV repair shop recommendation. Sue me.

LAPTOP repair places, reputable ones, can solder the new pot in place, or the wires that lead to a remote pot. I do not trust myself to do it, my hands, eyes, and coordination are all too flaky to risk it.

Preset the replacement pot with the same resistance setting as what you found when you probed the out of the box pot. Tell the tech keep hands off - he has no reason to fiddle with it.

It is unreasonable to expect that this PSU unit to be vastly inferior to the higher priced PSU. But the fan is another question. It probably is garbage. I'm not even going to TRY and use the OEM fan. Dracula attacks! The fan gets hurled out the back window. On top goes a real brushless ball bearing fan. Sealed to the case with GOOP. Oooooo look I made a mistake! Somehow a thicker, higher CFM fan managed to find it's way up there. I may even glue a 5 volt micro fan inside using a 5-volt regulator. Chinese play monkey-see-monkey-do with designs. There is so much espionage stealing, I'm surprised speeding automobiles do not smack into each other between factories.

While inside the unit, draw a rough diagram noting every electrolytic capacitor, it's capacitance and voltage values. This is where our little Chinese buddies are likely to cheat. Off brand to MeanWell, I suspect soy sauce capacitors are the weak link in these critters.

Use a MAGNIFYING GLASS plus strong reading glasses, and a strong light source to trace both positive and negative circuit traces backwards from the 12 volt output terminals. Look for solder voids and points that look like globs of aluminum paint. The laptop repair guy can fix shaky looking solder joints when he is doing to pot job.

This is to arrive tomorrow afternoon if USPS tracking is to be believed.

I am interested to see the voltage range it allows. The reviewers on another etopxizu 30 amp power supply with an ~ 2$ higher price all claim different ranges. Some saying 9 to 13, others saying 10 to 13.8, and others 11 to 14.4v, so not confidence inspiring.

Lots of DOA reviews too, and some claiming a quiet fan and others saying it is extremely loud, some saying it has 2 speeds, others just one, and other claiming a full variable speed fan depending on load.

Also wondering how much it can really supply when hooked up to a depleted "pure lead" AGM battery, and how much voltage sag at the terminals will occur then.



It appears that getting 15.3v from it might require a pot change, necessity not luxury.

I think I have a 10k ohm pot around somewhere. Looks like I should start reading up on desoldering / soldering to circuit boards.

I'll definitely get some macro pictures of the internals and post them up if it actually works properly out of the box.

The fan replacement will be top of the list if it does prove to be functional when delivered. I've got a lot of experience with replacing fans.

I'd really love to get a nice finger turn pot wired in there, but I have very little experience soldering onto circuit boards, but am willing to try. It is the primary reason I went with the Clone over the MW at ~3x the price, so failure will not hurt as much.

Am considering adding this product, or similar, to it too:

combo Ammeter/voltmeter

Found this Utube video on this very similar product which is not too confidence inspiring. but there are current and voltage calibration pots, and perhaps modifying the shunt as the filmer does is possible to get it 'close enough' if the calibrations are not enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mpuF2Ss7J8

Yeah, I read the review where the inductor was loose in one that an Amazon customer received. That is probably due to rough shipping and is a chance occurrence.
If you feel up to it or are going to put a different potentiometer on the board, could you post a couple of pictures of the innards? I'm just curious as to what they are using for discrete components deep in the heart of China.

If it rattles, neuter the fan, by removing it. Paste a thicker fan on top.if the voltage control is not up to snuff replace the pot with a 15 turn. None of the fans in these PSU are worth a nickel. Not even the MeanWell's fan. Two of these poor devils are due to arrive at Dracula's castle. Along with 15-turn pots, a shoebox size resistor assortment and capacitors galore. They're going to work or they will glow in the dark - momentarily.