Power Supply

gklinger · Post by **gklinger** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:04 pm

eslapion wrote:
DigitalQuirk wrote:I have decided to defer to the experts in this case, and have sent an e-mail to certinfo@csa-international.org to ask them if the CSA certification would still be valid. I sent them a copy of the picture for reference. I am doing this so that we can all learn something from this, and put it to rest once and for all. I will post back with their response.
Doing that implies a distrust and a perception of malice that simply isn't there.

Does it? I don't think it does. What's the harm? Think about how good you'll feel when they respond back saying that your power supply is wonderful and doesn't violate any regulations. You'll be exonerated.

On the other hand, if they respond back saying it isn't kosher, well, won't that be interesting?

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:24 pm

The parts in the unit weren't even CSA certified in the first place.

They had UL certification. This certification is nonetheless acknowledged by insurance companies.

pitcalco · Post by **pitcalco** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:32 pm

eslapion,
I have a slightly less inflammatory question:

How does one go about certifying (CSA, UL or otherwise) one's own homebrew equipment? I have been tinkering quite a bit over the years and have built wireless receivers and transmitters. I would hate to think that, God forbid, there should be an accident or a fire and then my insurance company would disclaim because I had a homebrew radio.

Do you think I should just buy commercial power units and then connect my homebrew gear up to that instead of winding my own coils, etc?

thanks

Richard James · Post by **Richard James** » Thu May 01, 2008 12:24 am

If I may point out something else no-one appears to have noticed. On Friday eslapion and dragos where having a fight on Denial in a thread about the C= Wine. That fight was stopped by ral-clan. Then out of the blue comes this power supply allegation on comp.sys.cbm by dragos aimed at eslapion almost immediately after dragos' last post here.

I did not mention this before because I was unsure of the situation but the more I look at the times of those two posts the more it seems to me that dragos is trying to get back at eslapion.

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Thu May 01, 2008 2:15 am

pitcalco wrote:eslapion,
I have a slightly less inflammatory question:

How does one go about certifying (CSA, UL or otherwise) one's own homebrew equipment? I have been tinkering quite a bit over the years and have built wireless receivers and transmitters. I would hate to think that, God forbid, there should be an accident or a fire and then my insurance company would disclaim because I had a homebrew radio.

Do you think I should just buy commercial power units and then connect my homebrew gear up to that instead of winding my own coils, etc?

thanks

You don't specify here wether these operate on a battery or from a mains voltage. For everything that's under 24volts and under 5 amps, if my memory is correct, no certification is required.

That's why, for example, in a PC, the power supply, which consumes 100-240 volts, requires certification but nothing else does. Some companies will certify sound cards or modem because they can be connected to other devices but mostly for prestige or reputation.

If wireless receivers and transmitters are below certain factors of radiated power and they use PSUs that are certified then you just don't worry about it.

It is possible that the equivalent of the FCC for your country will impose constraints for frequency usage and broadcasted noise but this is something a telecom expert would be more likely to be able to answer than me.

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Thu May 01, 2008 2:18 am

Richard James wrote:If I may point out something else no-one appears to have noticed. On Friday eslapion and dragos where having a fight on Denial in a thread about the C= Wine. That fight was stopped by ral-clan. Then out of the blue comes this power supply allegation on comp.sys.cbm by dragos aimed at eslapion almost immediately after dragos' last post here.

I did not mention this before because I was unsure of the situation but the more I look at the times of those two posts the more it seems to me that dragos is trying to get back at eslapion.

I made the same observation.

I made the following post on Lemon64, it was systematically deleted:

Recently there was a thread about a power supply that I made back in 2006 for Dragos aka Sidvicious.

In it, Dragos claimed that I made an unsafe device, that I was a rip-off, etc. Fortunately, some people know better. In fact, a few people indicated that they had made power supplies exactly like that either for themselves or their friends and that they were both reliable and safe.

I presented this thread to one of the certified electricians of the electrical engineering department of my university. He confirmed the solution I used was perfectly safe and he said that Dragos was probably infuriated to discover, after opening the device, that such a simple solution could do the job.

Another engineer suggested that I should calm down about this and said that I should accept the fact that most people are simply stupid. In all, now 3 officially qualified people, 2 engineers and one certified electrician have indicated that they would be willing to testify in court that the product I made is perfectly safe, should I have to face litigation or should I choose to go against people who posted false informations about myself and what I made.

Well, they were so right. While all of this was going on, I didn't realize that the rate at which I was getting inquiries for the things I sell that are related to Commodore computers grew exponentially, including... power supplies. Most of these inquiries were followed with confirmed and paid purchases.

In all, in only 3 days, I sold for 280$ worth of goods. Yes, I know, that's not a lot at all compared to a normal store with a street address but it is my personnal record so far, excluding the days I spent at the WoC.

So please, by all means, flame on Mr. Dragos... flame on.

Some of the people who work and/or study at my university and who read the threads related to this supposedly unsafe and fraudulent PSU suggested that I make another power supply perfectly identical to the one Dragos bought from me and make a video clip destined for youtube about the making of the power supply. This should include, of course, all the funny (read crack shot) comments the engineers and the electricians have made about what they read here and elsewhere concerning the power supply.

I mean, some of the posts were just so pathetic that it was even suggested to me that their author's problem could not be solved by any engineer or electrician as it was far more likely that a psychiatrist was the person required for the job. Who am I to disagree with that?

I am still considering the Youtube video... my girlfriend offered to help. I was told this would be a great opportunity to humiliate Dragos and a few others who said very stupid negative things.

Richard James · Post by **Richard James** » Thu May 01, 2008 3:55 am

Another engineer suggested that I should calm down about this and said that I should accept the fact that most people are simply stupid.

Very good advice, I suggest you take it. You can't gain anything by furthering this argument/dispute with dragos. Move on, do things because you want to do them, not because someone can jerk you around.

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Thu May 01, 2008 4:13 am

A section of an e-mail I recently received...

BTW, I just got done reading through the past few days' posts on the
"Eslapion bashing" thread on Lemon64. I'm so sorry that you've had to
put up with all that... I've had nothing but negative experiences
with Mark Gladson (aka Dragos) in the past, and I'm afraid that
there's no talking sense to him. Once he decides that he dislikes
you, there's no way to change his mind. He's like a 10-year-old kid.
Again, I'm sorry you've had to put up with it... I think you provide
a great service, and I hope you'll continue to do so. I'm sorry for
not letting you know about the thread sooner; I just figured you were
busy (which you were) and that you'd find it sooner or later (which
you did).

dragos · Post by **dragos** » Thu May 01, 2008 6:31 am

Of course there will always be people who insist he does no wrong. Thats fine, people in some african tribes believe sex with a virgin cures aids.

The facts remain. And nowhere did I claim it was unsafe, those thoughts came from others. (much more respected others)

The issue in question is did I get ripped off (yes) and did he intentionally mislead me(yes).

Make a youtube video, it will probably be hilarious, I think alot of people would get some amusement from hearing you rant, rather than type it.

My post more than served its point, which was to see if others felt the way I do about it (most do) and to serve as a warning.

And yes, you will find people who don't like me, and they will invariably agree with you just because of that. Thats fine too, people are allowed to believe whatever they want. I am betting a good number of your supporters were all hoping this was some trick by me and that you did not build that power supply. It was awesome that you fully admitted it, it made the point so much clearer.

Anyone who thinks its a good power supply can purchase it at one of the C= shows it will be on display at.