Mid evening my internet access failed.

A bit of address checking and I decided it was the Linksys router running DD-WRT that had failed. It looked OK but I couldn’t access it, even after a power cycle. After trying a few more IP addresses and I found it had gone back to default settings; lost everything.

I couldn’t find the last configuration backup so had to recreate from scratch. Not fun; so I now have another backup.

As it’s been running 24/7 for many years I checked out the power supply. The label said 12VDC but it was putting out 18VDC with  about 2V ripple on a minimal load. A little high, so it’s been retired and replaced with a generic 12VDC 600mA plug-pack that puts out an unregulated 13.5 VDC with no load.

2+ hours later and we’re all working again; which included rewiring the answer-phone while I had access to the wiring.

Efficient Switchmode Plug-Packs

I’ve been considering swapping out a few older wire-wound transformer plug-packs for switchmode replacements. The theory is that they are more energy efficient and should reduce standing load.

At the moment I don’t think the low-cost, readily available switchmode plug-packs are very good. Even a couple of more pricey units I’ve tested were not very efficient under load and ran very hot. Considering the heat, electronics and voltages involved, I wouldn’t expect these to last very long and would be concerned that the failure mode may involve even more heat and possibly smoke and flames.