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Old May 24th 05, 04:55 PM
 
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Wall warts can only deliver so many ma, or for big ones an amp or 2.
A real power supply can deliver well over it's rated current for a few
seconds.

Long enough to turn most radios into slag.

Go with one with a built in OVP/crowbar and try building an
out board one later. In a extened power outage you might find it
usefull to be able to draw power from you car or truck. At that
time you really want to have a OVP/crowbar between your radios
and vehical's electrical system.

Flexiblility is important.

You might want to contact the alarm companies in your area as many
of the better ones retire perfectly good gell cells from alarm systems
for insurance reasons. Having a burgler alarm fall during a powqer
outage because a 3 year old gell cell died is real bad for business.

I have several gell cells that are 10 years old and going strong.
After overcharging them, heat is the biggest killer, keep them cool,
under ~90F, and they will last for years. Here in central Kentucky
we often have nasty T-storms that knock the power out for several
hours. It is very nice to be able to listen to my radios after the
storm
moves out. It is true that I mainly listen to my scanners, but having
a SW is very nice also.

One winter's night 2 years ago the lights went out and stayed out for
about 5 hours. Perfect listening conditions. No nearby TV,s PCs etc.
Very RF quite. Made the extra effort for the gell cells worth while.

Terry