Dean
Choi's Clawmaker
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2003
- Posts
- 4,821
Well folks, I have been digging into the info about our favorite power supply, the venerable SC200, once available from Jameco.
As it turns out, there is a very long and strange history behind the SC200, manufactured by Ault. You see, the SC200 as sold through Jameco was not in fact ever sold directly to Jameco by Ault. Jameco has NEVER been a distributer of Ault products! Funny enough, the stock that Jameco had for years was apparently purchased as obsolete parts from a place called LanCity. And what's even more strange is that the parts that LanCity had purchased were custom produced for LanCity. In other words, the part was not originally with a 5-pin DIN connector that we all use, it was made for someone else directly.
I have talked now at length with Ault directly and have some info about the SC200 and it's "replacement" part, the SW201.
The SC200 has not been manufactured for several years now and is pretty much officially obsolete. The possibility is there to have them produce another run but that run would be in the neighborhood of 1000 pieces and would have to be ordered through a distributor.
Now that brings me to the SW201. One of Ault's official distributors is Allied Electronics and they are currently the only company that has placed an order for the SW201. And guess what the price is. $71+!!!! each!
This also goes to show you what a break we received for so many years on the SC200 at $19.95 and $9.95 (when ordered 100). The woman from Ault was amazed at that price we were getting!
The good news? I have located what appears to be the LAST source for existing SC200 PSUs and I have the opportunity to obtain up to 200 of them. Now the bad news is we ain't so lucky with the price, but it's much better than the $71 alternative. I have been quoted a price of $32.25 per unit on these and that's probably the absolute best we can get. You see, the company that is offering them to me in fact is using them internally as a part. They are not a reseller. So the remaining stock they have is it. The only option after that is $71. Of course, the SW300 is still available from Jameco, but probably not for much longer. I have also found that the SW300 is inferior in terms of power output when put in real use. Yes, for many applications it will do fine, but I have found that it isn't quite enough for some consolized 1-slots even, when compared with the SC200.
So basically, I'm looking at ordering some more. BUT I will need some people to commit to this before I do. Post your thoughts.
As it turns out, there is a very long and strange history behind the SC200, manufactured by Ault. You see, the SC200 as sold through Jameco was not in fact ever sold directly to Jameco by Ault. Jameco has NEVER been a distributer of Ault products! Funny enough, the stock that Jameco had for years was apparently purchased as obsolete parts from a place called LanCity. And what's even more strange is that the parts that LanCity had purchased were custom produced for LanCity. In other words, the part was not originally with a 5-pin DIN connector that we all use, it was made for someone else directly.
I have talked now at length with Ault directly and have some info about the SC200 and it's "replacement" part, the SW201.
The SC200 has not been manufactured for several years now and is pretty much officially obsolete. The possibility is there to have them produce another run but that run would be in the neighborhood of 1000 pieces and would have to be ordered through a distributor.
Now that brings me to the SW201. One of Ault's official distributors is Allied Electronics and they are currently the only company that has placed an order for the SW201. And guess what the price is. $71+!!!! each!
This also goes to show you what a break we received for so many years on the SC200 at $19.95 and $9.95 (when ordered 100). The woman from Ault was amazed at that price we were getting!The good news? I have located what appears to be the LAST source for existing SC200 PSUs and I have the opportunity to obtain up to 200 of them. Now the bad news is we ain't so lucky with the price, but it's much better than the $71 alternative. I have been quoted a price of $32.25 per unit on these and that's probably the absolute best we can get. You see, the company that is offering them to me in fact is using them internally as a part. They are not a reseller. So the remaining stock they have is it. The only option after that is $71. Of course, the SW300 is still available from Jameco, but probably not for much longer. I have also found that the SW300 is inferior in terms of power output when put in real use. Yes, for many applications it will do fine, but I have found that it isn't quite enough for some consolized 1-slots even, when compared with the SC200.
So basically, I'm looking at ordering some more. BUT I will need some people to commit to this before I do. Post your thoughts.
It's a bitch having to pay $32.25 when we used to get them for $9.95 though. Is there no other decent alternative to the SC200 without having to resort to large PC power supplies? Might be a good idea to have a thorough search for alternatives before committing to buying 200 SC200's at that price.
