Express* PSU
- Thread starterAmiers
- Start date
ETC lists this for Express consoles. Might want to double check with tech support it'll work for Expression too but the specs look like they exceed what's in your photo.
https://shop.etcconnect.com/express-console-power-supply-8-pin/
https://shop.etcconnect.com/express-console-power-supply-8-pin/
ETC probably doesn't order many per week. When they discontinued Express I'm sure they did a lifetime buyout on many of the associated parts and pieces including power supplies. They may still restock occasionally but it's possible they've had those spare parts ones on hand for a few years in case tomorrow those PSU's get discontinued immediately without notice.
I'd love to say the pricing is uncommon but I just bought some audio measurement equipment where the optional battery pack is a 2007-era portable DVD player battery the manufacturer sticks their logo on and resells for $150. Bought a generic 12VDC pack with twice the capacity for $40. Power supplies are a bizarre animal when it comes to pricing.
I'd love to say the pricing is uncommon but I just bought some audio measurement equipment where the optional battery pack is a 2007-era portable DVD player battery the manufacturer sticks their logo on and resells for $150. Bought a generic 12VDC pack with twice the capacity for $40. Power supplies are a bizarre animal when it comes to pricing.
@FMEng EXACTLY! While I was playing island cottager for about a decade, I was restoring and maintaining a pair of Kohler single cylinder generators; one from 1945 and the other about two years later. From memory, one was about 4 KW and the other possibly 4.5. Over the years I replaced all brushes; two for the DC going in to crank the generator over and two for the AC coming out to power the main cottage and both sleeping cabins. The slightly smaller generator employed two DC and two AC brushes while the slightly larger unit utilized parallel brushes both DC and AC. When I had both generators fully operational I ordered a supply of parts that carried us for the next fifteen or twenty years 'til both my wife and I were no longer deemed safe to be alone on two tiny islands 8.5 miles by boat from the government docks where our car or van was parked. During July and August many islanders were up and roaring past in a variety of boats. Post the Labor Day holiday weekend boat traffic drops to practically zero, that and drunken duck hunters routinely confused our many ancient single pane 6 over 6 windows with ducks and peppered one side of our main cottage with double barrels of buck shot on a regular basis. I can only assume the bear hunters confused our cottage and bunkies with bears as well. Thankfully we were never there during bear hunting season.
Dragging this back to parts pricing and our Kohler generators. If I called Kohler Canada and quoted precise part numbers from their original manuals, prices were through the roof. Once or twice I drove over to Kohler Canada when they no longer had some of the exact parts but told me they may be able to come up with something if I wanted to send a part to them for them to propose an alternative. Cutting to the epilogue: Whenever I was dealing by phone or FAX I was dealing with a comparatively youthful employee who flew a desk and played by the rules. Once I'd actually driven to Kohler Canada, a MUCH older gentleman politely introduced himself then practically bowed saying: "Do you actually have a model XXX AND a model YYY from 1945 and 1947 in operation?" When I assured him I did, he glowed and began telling me how he appreciated, enjoyed, and practically salivated over those units as they were the solid workhorses when he began his career with Kohler and he lamented their demise and felt Kohler's current products were of nowhere near the same quality.
And (Finally) the point of this novel.
Many of the parts in stock for my models were still in use for models built years later in the sixties and seventies. They were EXACTLY the same parts but packed in plastic bags and designated with different numbers corresponding to newer units.
As an example from memory: If I ordered a razzle-fram for a 1945 model it was $100.00.
The same razzle-fram for a 1955 model was perhaps $80.00.
IF the same part was still in use for a 1965 model my price dropped to maybe $60.00.
Are you getting the picture? The next time we were up at the islands I borrowed a friend's camera and killed a roll of 24 shooting shots of both generators from all angles, stopped with access covers off, in operation with some access covers off, fully covered and ended with a few shots of the buildings decks and pathways at night with a myriad of incandescent lamps lit by one of his beloved vintage Kohlers. I left the gentleman with a pile of black and white photo's and from then on I purchased all of my repair parts through him, buying the parts designated for the latest model to use them AND with his employee discount! At that point my parts costs were reduced DRAMATICALLY! 'nough said.
@FMEng Your point is taken and fully appreciated. Thanks again.
One other example: A genuine Kohler in line muffler with a 1" pipe thread in and out for either of my generators was priced in the neighborhood of $100.00. If the gentleman sold me the same muffler for a much newer unit it was still about $60.00.
I took his personal advice, drove a few miles from my home and stopped in an establishment outside our city limits whose business was servicing lawn and garden tractors for farmers and landscapers manicuring millionaire's row. The dealer sold me a slightly longer and quieter muffler with 1" pipes in and out and felt it wouldn't add any appreciable back-pressure to my generators; it wasn't painted Kohler blue and it didn't have Kohler emblazoned on its side but I paid him about $20.00 for it and it was still on one of our generators when I last visited our islands. I was offered an even thriftier and near identical muffler for about $12.00 but I opted to 'go for broke'.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
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NickVon
Well-Known Member
If your Express is still working great and doing it's job 134$ for a PSU seems like a great deal. That said There are a number of schools in my area that have retired there Express's but all had working PSU's The keys. faders, and disk drives where going on theirs. I could ask around if you're really against buying new with warranty from ETC.
Amiers
Renting to Corporate One Fixture at a Time.
We have 2 in the shop. 1 goes out frequently 24/48 the other is a 48/96 which I’m turning into the benchtest board. The company I’m with is stuck in the 90s as far as lighting is concerned. We have 7 Acclaims 2 express still. As well as a bunch of 16 channel lightronics.
I’m not opposed to buying them but I have a feeling the head of the dept will as his comment was if the PSU is worth almost as much as the board then what’s the point. We will just buy some new consoles. Which I shrugged and said that’s your call.
But do look if they are collecting dust I would gladly pay for shipping and 20$ or something for the trouble. And just lug around the PSU in my backpack.
Same boat we're in. Our "studio" space express died in the fall and its been sitting on the floor in our office since then. It was easier to run with the nomad/dongle and laptop set up that we already had rather than finding a new power supply. I'm thinking I may turn it into a coffee table for our crew area.
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