Heatsink FAIL delays release of my new power supply for the GFA-565. :^/
So I’ve been sitting on this new design for a GFA-565 power supply for two years, because I haven’t found the time to test and validate the design before I start offering them for sale. I needed to install it in an actual amplifier and test its performance. Recently I found the time to build myself a GFA-565!
One of the key features of this new power supply, is the relocation of the bridge rectifier to the tops of the capacitors, which eliminates about 20 inches of 14ga hookup wire that normally runs from the bridge rectifier mounted on the floor on the left side of the amp, to the capacitors on the right side. In my design, the bridge rectifier is made up of four discrete diodes in TO-220 packages, mounted to a circuit board on top of the capacitors.
My design goal is that the heat dissipation for the bridge rectifier needs at least as good as—or better than—the OEM arrangement, with the bridge rectifier mounted to a heatsink on the floor of the chassis.
As I’m about to find out, this heatsink arrangement isn’t enough.

Continue reading Heatsink FAIL delays release of my new power supply for the GFA-565. :^/