Paul Hynes SR7 and SR4 Build Calendar Thread

[paulhynes]

Hi Alan,

 

My post was in response to k27R requesting an update on the custom build service and to auricgoldfinger directing him to e-mail me. I concluded it was time to provide another update, and to save the time involved with individual e-mails, I decided that, as most of the custom build service participants reside on this forum, the update would be more efficient placed here. I included an update on the PHD Ltd premises as this is where my workspace is now located and the effects of Covid-19 lockdown activity there are relevant.

 

I take your point about fast order shipment and would, of course, wish PHD Ltd could do things more quickly. It was originally planned to have an online shop for PHD Ltd but when the EU development funding package for this project collapsed after the Brexit vote, and alternative funding was not available, the plan had to be re-organised. I took a leaf out of Roy Gandy’s (Rega Research) original trading terms back in the 1970s/1980s, where a fixed production schedule was instigated and customers booked their purchase and paid in advance to provide the trading cash flow as this seemed like the only solution to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, with popular products, this can create expanding lead times. I guess the modern trend for instant gratification renders this trading model rather old fashioned. That said many customers have accepted this and it has worked well for cash flow. This has led to a gradual expansion with more local employment occurring in an area designated as economically deprived, which was the project target, and also the introduction of new products to the PHD Ltd range for the benefit of customers wanting to use my power supply designs in their systems. Covid-19 has applied the brakes somewhat with the lockdown regulations, and I have the greatest respect for Stephen and his continued efforts to keep the ball rolling under restricted operating conditions.

 

The plan is still to launch an on line shop in the near future but it will have to await the catch up after the Covid delays to allow build for stock to commence. Then, as long as an item is in stock customers will be able to order with shipment occurring within a couple of trading days.  I am told there is no such thing as a free lunch, and I guess this is likely to apply to the online shop where it will be logistically difficult to provide all the options currently available, due to lack of time and funding, so the range will probably be reduced to a few popular options but at least they will be readily available.

 

Alan, I have to say that you have been very supportive along the way, which I do appreciate, and I have certainly not taken any offence about your constructive comments. In fact, if I lived in London and Covid was not around, I would happily buy you a beer.

 

As it happens, I do listen to constructive comments by customers and try to incorporate useful suggestions into future plans where possible.

 

Hello again Johnseye,

 

It would appear that USPS service is variable from ok to very slow. The Royal Mail small packet service was chosen for shipping back in 2017 just after the launch of the SR4 when customers were complaining about the cost of using services via UPS, DHL and Fedex, as the Royal mail service was a much lower cost. I would advise anyone who does not want to await the Royal Mail/ USPS route to ask Stephen for a faster shipping method. This will cost more of course.

[BigAlMc]

49 minutes ago, paulhynes said:

Hi Alan,

 

My post was in response to k27R requesting an update on the custom build service and to auricgoldfinger directing him to e-mail me.

 

Hi Paul - my bad, assumed it was in response to my admittedly cheeky comment about the Farad.

 

 

50 minutes ago, paulhynes said:

. In fact, if I lived in London and Covid was not around, I would happily buy you a beer.

 

Haha! Careful Mr Hynes. I might live in London but I'm definitely crazy enough to stalk you to the Scottish islands in the name of a free pint and many pesky questions about power supplies 😅

 

Looking forward to getting an SR4T into my system. Am sure it'll be worth the wait.

 

Cheers,

Alan

 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, paulhynes said:

Hello again Johnseye,

 

It would appear that USPS service is variable from ok to very slow. The Royal Mail small packet service was chosen for shipping back in 2017 just after the launch of the SR4 when customers were complaining about the cost of using services via UPS, DHL and Fedex, as the Royal mail service was a much lower cost. I would advise anyone who does not want to await the Royal Mail/ USPS route to ask Stephen for a faster shipping method. This will cost more of course.

 

Hello Paul, I agree fully.  The package was lost for some time with the USPS and for the other SR4T I bought the longest time in transit was within the US.  It's good to have multiple options for shipping and in the future I'll pay a bit more for quicker delivery.

 

I hope you and your family are well and enjoying the summer.

 

[paulhynes]

Hi Alan,

 

You will have to get a permit from South Uists Estates to do any stalking on the island and you will need your passport to enter The Independent State of South Uist. I guess I could put in a good word for you once Covid-19 is under control.

 

South Uist Estates is owned by the local residents and consists of around half of the Isle of Benbecula, the Isle of South Uist and the Isle of Eriskay (made famous in the film “Whiskey Galore”). With your ancestry I suspect you already know that we are on the outer rim of the known universe.

 

Actually several customers have made the trek here and combined a visit to say hello, pick up a power supply and have a holiday in this beautiful wilderness area. One regular visitor from Germany has become a good friend. Unfortunately, I heard on the local grapevine that his booking for this year’s accommodation was cancelled due to the CV lockdown, so maybe next year.

 

Regarding the pesky questions about power supplies, you do realise that if I divulge the secret sauce to you under the influence of alcohol, the Wicker Man ceremony will have to be re-instated.

 

Unfortunately regarding the beer there are no public houses within the Estate lands, other than AM Politician on Eriskay, and I have not been there for years as the beer was not to my taste (God I miss real Ale). The nearest one with real ale that I know of is on the North West side of North Uist, which is quite a trek from here, and the drink drive laws in Scotland are very stringent so the driver would not be able to partake of a pint there and return the same day.

 

Seriously though, if you are likely to be in the area, do get in touch, give a little notice, and I will procure some bottles of decent ale for the occasion.

 

Regards,

Paul

 

Hi Johnseye,

 

We are currently safe and well over here, thank you.

 

I am seeing some bad news about rapid infection increases across the USA at present. I hope you, your family and the other forum members can remain safe through this dangerous Pandemic.

 

Regards,

Paul

[R1200CL]

Hi @paulhynes

 

The website doesn’t say much about the SR5T version. 
It’s somewhat unclear to me if the T version of the SR5 applies to all options. (F/S/DR)

Can you explain a bit better ? 
 

You may also explain the T version of the SR7. Is the T implementation equal all over the product line ?

 

 

 

[paulhynes]

Hi R1200CL,

 

The voltage regulators used in the SR range of power supplies are fabricated from discrete components rather than integrated circuit voltage regulators as this provides direct access to all circuit nodes to allow adjustment of the operating parameters of every stage of the regulator circuitry to optimise electrical performance. This also allows the T upgrade option to be applied, which is not possible with typical three terminal integrated circuit regulator designs as there is no external access to internal circuitry.

 

The T designation (nicknamed Turbo) refers to an add-on module to the main regulator module. To explain the reason for the T module in more depth, the high power regulator circuitry can be viewed as a high power output stage with a low power control circuit. In the SR range the control circuit has a separate higher voltage supply rail from the lower voltage output stage supply rail and historically this control circuit supply rail was just a basic well-smoothed unregulated supply rail. The T module addition is a separate lower power voltage regulator version of the standard regulator module and this is fitted to the control circuit of the main high power voltage regulator. This provides a very clean well regulated supply to the high power regulator control circuitry reducing noise and any dynamic interaction to very low levels and increasing the supply line rejection considerably.

 

One thing I need to look into is your inclusion of “DR” in your request for clarity of application on all options of the SR range. Historically I applied the term DR to Double Regulated (two regulators in cascade) options in the Custom build schedule and it would appear that it has now been applied to Dual (two) regulated supplies, which could cause some confusion. I will inform PHD Ltd that this need changing to a less conflicting title next time someone is adjusting the website data.

 

To be clear the T option can now be fitted to the latest standard SR4, SR5 and SR7 high power regulator modules in the F (fixed output voltage), S (switched output voltage) and two or more rail versions.

 

I hope this clarifies things sufficiently for you. If not let me know.

 

Regards,

Paul

[BigAlMc]

4 hours ago, paulhynes said:

You will have to get a permit from South Uists Estates to do any stalking on the island and you will need your passport to enter The Independent State of South Uist. I guess I could put in a good word for you once Covid-19 is under control.

 

South Uist Estates is owned by the local residents and consists of around half of the Isle of Benbecula, the Isle of South Uist and the Isle of Eriskay (made famous in the film “Whiskey Galore”). With your ancestry I suspect you already know that we are on the outer rim of the known universe.

 

The Independent State of South Uist, Benbecula and Whiskey Galore 😅

 

I better get a move on before wee Nicola loses patience with Boris's buffoonery and raises the drawbridge!

 

More seriously - thanks Paul for the courtesy and very kind offer. Haven't been further north than Pitlochry for a good few years but I'll email you if I am ever headed your direction.

 

Cheers,

Alan

 

 

 

 

[HeeBroG]

Hi Paul,

 

Great to hear that you and your family are well.

 

Hope you can get back to work soon on the custom builds.

 

It's wonderful to see you more active in this thread in the interim.

 

Geoff

[R1200CL]

On 7/12/2020 at 5:02 PM, paulhynes said:

One thing I need to look into is your inclusion of “DR” in your request for clarity of application on all options of the SR range. Historically I applied the term DR to Double Regulated (two regulators in cascade) options in the Custom build schedule and it would appear that it has now been applied to Dual (two) regulated supplies, which could cause some confusion.

Thanks for clarifying Paul 

 

And DR Double Regulated will only apply to SR7 custom versions, or can it also apply to other custom built options like a SR5T or even SR4T. 

DR Double Regulated can only be with F (fixed) version ?

DR Double Regulated can be applied to more than one rail (output) ?

I think you used MR (multirail) in custom built, but it is also my understanding that a singelrail (SR7T) with DR Double Regulated is absolutely the best option.

 

 

 

[paulhynes]

Hi R1200CL

 

Now you are entering a rather grey area, as I am not accepting new custom build orders, although it is possible to take over an existing order in the custom build schedule when owners of these orders decide they are no longer required, either because they have changed their system so radically that the build specification is obsolete or they just do not want to wait any longer in the queue.

 

It should be noted that the licence issued to PHD Ltd does not currently include DR (double regulated) supplies.

 

As far as custom build application options are concerned, for those who have requested this, I have redesigned the SR5 and SR7 DR printed circuit board layouts and had some FR4 and Teflon printed circuit boards manufactured that allow all the new upgrade options including Electronic Overload Protection (both electrical and thermal), and the addition of the Turbo Module (again both FR4 and Teflon) to each voltage regulator in the DR configuration, and the soft start module to limit inrush current for use in the SR7 with larger VA rated transformers and multiple transformer options with a collectively large VA rating.

 

The SR4 is exclusively licenced to PHD Ltd and not included in the custom build schedule so only the options offered by PHD Ltd apply with the SR4.

 

The Custom build SR5 mains transformer is limited to 160VA due to space considerations within its chassis and the soft start module is not required for this power supply, but the other options listed above can be applied to the custom build SR5 and all the above listed options can be applied to the custom build SR7.

 

There is an extra thermal overhead with the DR modules due to the serial connection of the two main regulator circuits and for this reason I tend to recommend fixed voltage module versions although there is provision on the boards to fit the 4 way selector switch used in the PHD Ltd SR4 and SR5 designs with the proviso that people sensibly reduce the load current drawn from the output at lower voltage settings to avoid thermal overload.

 

DR Double Regulated can be fitted to custom build MR Multirail supplies.

 

You are correct that the single rail SR7T with DR Double Regulation is the best of the range especially if fabricated on Teflon boards with Vishay Z-foil resistors.

[HeeBroG]

@paulhynes

Hi Paul,

 

Any chance you can give us an update on the reorganisation of the workshop?

Hopefully lockdown restrictions in South Ulsts has eased allowing work to begin on the custom builds.

 

Geoff

[paulhynes]

Hi Geoff,

 

I have been back in the office since Wednesday. It was stacked high with boxes and equipment which I have temporarily moved to the main reception office while I get the workbenches and storage shelves organised.

 

Next week once the work benches have been assembled I will be installing all my equipment and then there is quite a lot of admin to get up to date with. I also have to build and electrically verify the new DR regulator module printed circuit board with the Turbo option on both of the DR regulators. Once this verification is done the turbo upgrade option can be applied to any outstanding DR power supply orders if required.

 

My best guess for restarting the custom build schedule, assuming we do not end up back in Covid-19 lockdown again, is the following week, with build 20.

 

Regards

Paul

[k27R]

Sounds promising:)

[k27R]

Has any one heard from Paul lately? I've sent him a few emails over the past couple weeks, but no response.

[HeeBroG]

Hopefully Paul is still reading this thread and will respond soon.

The rising numbers of Covid in the UK may well hamper his efforts at work given his personal circumstances.

 

 

[R1200CL]

Today it was time to change cables. Have been using Paul’s supplied cable until now. 
(Don’t ask about differences yet). 

 

[paulhynes]

I spoke too soon regarding the return of Covid-19 lockdown. The news from around the world shows an alarming rapid increase in infections. I guess this was inevitable with people assuming they could return to normal life without the safety net of a proven working vaccine. We all need to consider carefully how we conduct our daily activities and to take steps to avoid infection if we are going to halt the spread of Covid-19.

 

The Isle of South Uist had fared very well compared to the rest of the world as all unnecessary travel between the islands and the mainland was banned through the first wave of covid-19 infections. Unfortunately against the wishes of many residents here the restrictions were lifted in August and the influx of tourists has now introduced Covid-19 to the island.

 

At the beginning of last week there was an NHS notification of three confirmed covid-19 infection cases in South Uist. By Saturday the number had risen to seven and last night on the BBC Scotland news the number had risen to seventeen with location information centred around Daliburgh a mile away from where we live. The last time I noticed the island population was circa 1,800 and to put this into perspective this is the equivalent of 944 infections per 100,000 of population, which is way ahead of the proportional infections currently seen elsewhere in the UK.

 

In view of this devastating news, and because it is impossible to guarantee safe use of the communal areas at the workshop, PHD Ltd has reverted back to pre lockdown release operation. Stephen and his assistant are alternating working days to keep PHD Ltd production running. The rest of the PHD Ltd staff are isolating back at home, and I am also now back at home isolating and shielding disabled family members. Unfortunately this means that my custom build schedule is back on hold until it is safe to return to the workshop.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of such bad tidings.

 

Regards

Paul

[oilpaint]

Stay safe Paul

[auricgoldfinger]

8 minutes ago, paulhynes said:

I spoke too soon regarding the return of Covid-19 lockdown. The news from around the world shows an alarming rapid increase in infections. I guess this was inevitable with people assuming they could return to normal life without the safety net of a proven working vaccine. We all need to consider carefully how we conduct our daily activities and to take steps to avoid infection if we are going to halt the spread of Covid-19.

 

 

I agree it was inevitable given our human nature.  I hope that you and your family as well as everyone at PHD Ltd stay healthy and safe and that your lives return to normal soon.

[MarkS]

Sorry to hear this, but best of luck in maintaining everyone’s health.  Can you please email me when you get a chance. 

[kopelli]

I received my SR7 a week or so ago, i was build #18 - thanks Paul.

[beautiful music]

 

2 hours ago, kopelli said:

I received my SR7 a week or so ago, i was build #18 - thanks Paul.

 

Is this a custom build, i.e (SR7DR)?

[kopelli]

46 minutes ago, beautiful music said:

 

 

Is this a custom build, i.e (SR7DR)?

Yes, 3 rails.

[HeeBroG]

That's great news. I thought the lockdown would stop any work but Paul may have found a solution.🤞

[k27R]

Hopefully @paulhynes can comment on the status of his custom build schedule