A YouTuber bought a cheap bench power supply unit (PSU) to examine its performance and found a number of concerning issues.
Such devices are often sold at a low price and with seemingly impressive specifications, but are typically rebrands of no-name products, suffering from poor build quality and inefficient design.
The examined unit had a major issue with output noise of 200 mV peak-to-peak, indicating very little output filtering, as well as an overly optimistic maximum power output rating.
Denki Otaku’s advice is to buy a bench PSU that has features including an output power button and an easy way to set voltage and current limits, and to be aware that many cheap bench PSUs can be noisy, so are not ideal for use with sensitive equipment.
Used lab-quality PSUs are also an option, but these can often require significant servicing, and spare parts for older units can be difficult to find.
