hack report 6 - the saga continues

[Thad P Floryan]

dt at yenta.alb.nm.us (David B. Thomas) in <1991Jan12.074446.302 at yenta.alb.nm.us>
writes:

	[...]
	Next, I substituted the big (new) 71M disk.  HOLY MACRO!!  It
	drew about 4.5A at spin-up, and the scope showed more than
	one volt of 60 Hz ripple on the line.  I promptly switched
	the unit back off.  (no horrible sounds this time!)

	So there you have it.  I'd need to be able to push 7A for
	15 seconds, 3A continuous from the 12V supply in order to
	handle these two drives.
	[...]
	So, where do I find a suitable power supply?
	[...]

This is EXACTLY the problem with many "common" power supplies used for HDs.
Maxtor drives in particular have a humongous startup surge current requirement
and to satisfy that need Astec manufactures a line of switching power supplies
for Storage Dimensions (a Maxtor subsidiary).

I've found those Astec power supplies at three places in Silicon Valley:

	Weird Stuff Warehouse	BTW, they have UNIXPC keyboards in stock
	715 Sycamore Drive
	Milpitas CA  95035	(408) 434-0168	But note they're moving to
						Sunnyvale CA soon


	Advanced Component Electronics (aka "ACE")   BTW, these guys sometimes
	3479 Kifer Road				     have WD2010 chips in stock
	Santa Clara CA  95051	(408) 730-4660


	Halted Specialties (aka "HSC")	(USED to have the UNIXPC power supply)
	(dunno address, but they're a block from ACE)
	Outside Calif:	(800) 442-5833  <==> (800) 4-HALTED
	Santa Clara CA:	(408) 732-1573
	Sacramento CA:	(916) 338-2545
	Santa Rosa CA:	(707) 792-2277

All three of those places cater to the hobbiest/experimenter and have, overall,
excellent prices.  You shouldn't have to spend more than $20 for a new supply.

Sorry I cannot tell you the model number of the Astec supply (since they're
entombed in cases running my HDs), but you should discuss the power requirement
with the store you call.  Weird Stuff sells a lot of new Maxtor drives and
is familiar with the power requirements, so that'd be my first recommendation.

Of course, if you want to really go first class, you can buy ($500 minimum
order) the actual cast-aluminum cases with Astec supplies and quiet fans from
the manufacturer:  Gigamation (in Santa Clara CA, who makes those cases for
Storage Dimensions).  Figure on about $175 per case with power supply.  If you
wanna go that route, ask for Reddy Reddy V. Reddy (the President of Gigamation)
,
mention my name and your requirements, and he can maybe make a special deal.
His company also makes the fancy cases for Mac HDs, and also makes neato tower
cases for, say, 10 Maxtor Drives if you have really large disk requirements.
Hmmmm, maybe one could even put the 3B1 motherboard in one of those cases and
put the whole thing under one's desk and only bring out the cables for the
keyboard and monitor.  Double hmmmmmmm.  If someone wants to arrange a group
buy, I'll be happy to supply more particulars (re: Gigamation), but I literally
haven't the time to organize another group buy myself.

Thad Floryan [ thad at cup.portal.com ]