Melb Cup PSU fun

[shovenose]

Can somebody explain why a company that makes otherwise great caps can get a couple series wrong and have it unresolved, many years later???

[c_hegge]

I think they never realised. Since they usually lasted the warranty period of the hardware they were installed in (1-2 years), few manufacturers every got their products sent back. Chemi-con have discontinued the KZG and KZJ series, though.

[Wester547]

Well, I guess it could be said that it's the same thing as those bad batches of MCZ and MBZ (though both discontinued also) capacitors by Rubycon that many have been troubled with. Each and every company has their share of less than stellar products. The fact that Japanese companies who produce capacitors get most of their products right earns my respect, unlike the Taiwan and Chinese of capacitor lore. Also, hopefully KZN (the follow up to KZG/KZJ?) doesn't have the same problem... regarding the power supply itself in question, Huntkey does produce much better power supplies now adays, not least because they can actually honor their labeled rating and more but because the quality of capacitors and internal components is at least somewhat higher (though not that great still). I actually don't think the Huntkey of this thread looks bad, though (but I would prefer something more than x3 1000uF 16V filtering capacitors for the +12V rail, I think a +12V based system should have at least 1500uF per capacitor on that rail)... many think those old Huntkeys are junk but next to the truly gutless wonders at least they're actually very good and I would actually feel good having it power a computer provided it's recapped and doesn't have the conductive glue seen in some Huntkeys (18 gauge wires would be preferable too, Huntkey skimped on those at least somewhat).

[LongRunner]

KZN (the follow up to KZG/KZJ?)

From viewing the datasheet, it seems to be positioned near KZM in their product line, with a higher ripple rating, and slightly denser capacitance, but with higher ESR than KZM. It's clearly a high endurance series, not a replacement for KZG/KZJ. I would never have expected them to have a replacement for KZG/KZJ - polymers are most likely less expensive by now than ultra-low-ESR electrolytics (which sacrificed much of their endurance to get the ESR that low), so there's no longer any point in introducing a new ultra-low-ESR electrolytic line.

Their other new low-ESR series is KYB, which introduces the size/capacitance combination we've long been waiting for: 2200µF 16V in 10mm. (Yes I know Panasonic FK already had that but through-hole FK series is a real PITA to obtain for many people. Hopefully KYB will be easier to find.)

For what it's worth, earlier on Badcaps I predicted that it wouldn't be long before poly-modding motherboards would become routine. This may well be a reality now.

[SmartThinker]

I have a HK400-12AP power supply too.
Did something stupid.
Connected it to a motherboard with a 8(4x2)pin connector, and had only 4 (2x2).
Result was a "pof" and a terible smell.

Opened it and didn't find anything broken or smelling.
Connected it again with tester in hand.
This time the fuse blow out.
I checked the Diode bridge and the 2x 680uF filter on the 230V side. Nothing wrong with it.
From there there is a small wire bridge to the switch components.
If I connect that bridge the fuse blows again.

They told me that replacing the switch components is better done when highly nessesary. Because even with the same components there is a risk of the need to recalibrate the loopback circuit.
Somebody an advise about a good next step?

Michael

[c_hegge]

Looks like it blew the switching transistors. However, that was not a result of plugging it in to an 8 pin motherboard. I've done that plenty of times and it's fine. It's only necessary to use all 8 pins if you're overclocking heavily.