RailPro > RailPro Specific Help & Discussion
PWR56 Question
William Brillinger:
$119 does not reflect real world pricing.
Street Price for the PWR-56 is around $90
It's $89 including shipping from PDC.
https://www.pdc.ca/rr/catalog/products/railpro-and-accessories/13
Yes, It is expensive for a power supply, but it is a "smart" power supply that provides real time feedback to the user on the handheld. You're not paying for the transformer. You're paying for a smart piece of kit that seamlessly integrates with the rest of the RailPro infrastructure.
And when you buy it as part of the RPK-1 kit it works out to about $75. If you need 2 PWR-56's you probably want another HC too.
G8B4Life:
--- Quote from: DaveB on April 15, 2020, 01:17:38 PM ---I don't understand all the electrical ins and outs like Tim and Alan ( I have learned a lot from you guys, thanks ).
--- End quote ---
I wish I understood as much as you think I did. Similar to what Alan has said, I just fumble my way through electronics.
--- Quote from: Alan on April 15, 2020, 09:34:28 PM ---$10 for a generic 5 amp supply.
--- End quote ---
I think we have to be careful here, there's generic and then there's too-generic and many would not know what to look for to differentiate between a quality generic supply that's good value and a cheap generic supply that's not designed and built so well (myself included really). It's a little apples and oranges I know but there's a reason I run a very good quality gold rated power supply in my PC (was > $200 AU, forget the exact amount) and not the cheap generic OEM supplies that I use to use. The test results on various good quality and various "cheap" OEM PC power supplies I was reading before I got the expensive supply were an eye opener!
So, yes apples and oranges comparing a bunch of LM's to the innards of a PC for power but there is still an investment to protect for RP (more so just hardware in the case of LM's as opposed to hardware and data for a PC). Saying just any generic cheap SMPS without people knowing what to look for in the SMPS features I think could - possibly - be setting them up for future heartache. It might not but I'd err on the side of caution. On that note the PWR-56, while extremely expensive at MSRP, is good for the majority; it's Rings own approved power supply (eg good for warranty claim if it was proved that the power supply fried an LM) which has the power and safety features he wants at a minimum ready to go in a package.
For the record, if I ever get the chance to build a layout the power side of things will be done very much like Alan has done with the LK&O so I'm not arguing against using SMPS's. I paid $65.00 AU for my 350 watt Mean Well power supply back in 2015. I haven't used it yet :'(
Bill posted while I was, so adding to post...
I think Bill has pretty much nailed it on the "smart piece of kit" is what is being paid for, though I have no doubt RE is putting a nice margin on the power supply part as well. If the price was right I'd like it if Ring would sell the PWR-56 without the power supply part, that way you could easily use a beefier SMPS like I have and then use the PWR-56 "smart" bit as part of the distribution system, like Alan did with his homemade circuit breakers but with more features.
- Tim
Alan:
You guys are right of course. At least for the vast majority of the market.
I suppose it comes down to where you spend your money and more importantly the value received from the spend. I'll stick to my $20 power supply thank you very much. It works swell and the $160 saved makes all my bus wire and terminal blocks essentially free!
I know Ring says RP will run on a DCC layout but don't do it. You won't know the power supply temperature while you are running. <huge snarky grin>
William Brillinger:
--- Quote --- I'll stick to my $20 power supply thank you very much.
--- End quote ---
It's a great option, and there's nothing wrong with that choice. It's just not an apples to apples comparison.
If I didn't want the repeater function, I'd choose the same.
Alan:
--- Quote from: William Brillinger on April 16, 2020, 11:15:22 AM ---It's just not an apples to apples comparison.
--- End quote ---
True.
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