On 26/03/19 20:37, Brendan via Groups.Io wrote:
I have a few questions about power supplies and would like some opinions. Are switching powers supplies inherently harder on components than linear power supplies? If you picked up a 70's-80's vintage scope with a SMPS would you replace power supply components before using it as a daily driver? Or do you treat all power supplies the same and visually inspect, check for ripple and call it good? From my reading it seems that when a SMPS melts down the chain reaction damage has the possibility of being bad.
Replace Rifa mains interference suppression delayed action smoke generators on sight; if there is any sign of cracking in the transparent case, don't even turn it on.
Where there are tantalum beads that are operating near their rated voltage (e.g. a 15V tant on a 13V rail), replace those with a higher voltage.
Visually inspect, measure, replace if there's a problem.
Otherwise, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
