21-03-2025, 11:10 AM
Or look for the official power supply - the Hacker VP408. They do come up occasionally on places like eBay.
Because you say 14-18V, I'm assuming you have a later RP25A or B, as those came with DC input sockets (this was added at some point during the life of the "A" model). But sometimes DC input sockets were retro-fitted by dealers, either using a kit supplied by Hacker, or not, if they came up with their own solution.
You're right to be wary of switched-mode supplies as these models are extremely fussy about power supply noise. Even the VP408 causes a little bit of background hum, despite having less than 5mV ripple. Sadly, linear power supplies are very rare today, but with a bit of patience you might find something suitable second-hand for not much money. As has been said, be extremely careful about the polarity as most are wrong for this radio, and the radio has no protection at all. If you haven't already got one, it's worth picking up a cheap multimeter so you can check this before connecting a power supply to the radio. Changing the polarity of a power supply is easy with just a "choc block" terminal or similar - might not be pretty, but no soldering needed.
Because you say 14-18V, I'm assuming you have a later RP25A or B, as those came with DC input sockets (this was added at some point during the life of the "A" model). But sometimes DC input sockets were retro-fitted by dealers, either using a kit supplied by Hacker, or not, if they came up with their own solution.
You're right to be wary of switched-mode supplies as these models are extremely fussy about power supply noise. Even the VP408 causes a little bit of background hum, despite having less than 5mV ripple. Sadly, linear power supplies are very rare today, but with a bit of patience you might find something suitable second-hand for not much money. As has been said, be extremely careful about the polarity as most are wrong for this radio, and the radio has no protection at all. If you haven't already got one, it's worth picking up a cheap multimeter so you can check this before connecting a power supply to the radio. Changing the polarity of a power supply is easy with just a "choc block" terminal or similar - might not be pretty, but no soldering needed.
