It's not simple. There's also analog vs. digital scope issues to contend with, when it comes to VCRs. It's another rabbit hole entirely, and one that even I avoid. I want to use gear, not engineer or re-engineer it. There's only so much time in the day.

easy = buying a replacement TBC PSU for about $30 from me
hard = scopes, meters, whatever -- and for "only" 2x+ the price!

If you want a scope for other reason, okay, fine. But just for this? Or even this and a VCR? Insanity.

You could also just go with a known low noise power supply like something based on the studer900 design - it should have internally selectable common voltages like 5v 9v and 12v and as long as it is 25W or more version, it should be able to supply your TBC3000 just fine.

For a TBC, those adjustable PSUs are a big no-no. :no2:

I wonder if those PSUs heat up like my OEM PSU after about two hours. I only run it for two hours then turn it off for a little bit.

I’m a little cautious when it comes to heat with my TBC 3000 because I read the chips get really hot. They don’t have any kind of vent. https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vid...bc-3000-a.html

It'd be something like this: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806814918717.html

121 sold and 4.8 stars with 11 reviews isn't too bad. Usually people are more likely to leave bad reviews than good reviews in my experience if the item doesn't perform as expected. If an item performs as expected, most just don't leave a review at all unless they are overly impressed generally.

It is variable, but once you set a value, it'll stay there and the variable resistor isn't going to get bumped being inside of the case. Most higher end switching power supplies do have a voltage adjustment potentiometer for each rail, just not quite this wide of range (usually you can go up or down 0.5V or so) - whereas this one looks like it can go from 5V all the way to 24V, though being that the wattage is fixed, you can't use as much current at the higher voltages. so it could do like 5A at 5V, but only 1A at 24V for the 25W version. Variable is kind of nice too because you can adjust it while it is under load to the right output voltage.

Reviews mean nothing -- unless you can verify all 121 were for DataVideo TBCs. Zero chance of that! In fact, I'd be surprised if even 1 was for a TBC whatsoever (DataVideo or not).

It's like trying to put a bike tire on a car. Both are tires, right?

Fun fact: TBCs were very specific about the PSUs chosen. Those had to be UL certified in tandem with the device. You can't use random PSUs, and expect anything good to happen. Even "visually fine" PSUs can have noise/backscatter/etc that can cause longer term ill effects.

Meh, I use one for my TBC-1000 and it seems to work fine haha. Though I only feed mine 5V instead of the usual 12V since I deleted the distribution amp and voltage reducer. The TBC-100 card inside only uses 5V at the inputs, the higher voltage is only needed by the distribution amp. I guess "voltage reducer" is really technically a type of "buck converter" but I'm not an electrical engineer by any means haha.

The TBC-1000 actually doesn't use a true TBC-100 card, but both are variants of the VP-301x. But those do operate fairly clean with standard clean power from a good PSU (computer, external 5V, etc). It's the VP-299, and the 3000-based, that have a bit more problems. This is a main reason the 1000 bypass operates with cleaner signals. The power path seems to amplify problems, and it starts at the external PSU.

The real test for TBC decay from bad power is to own and use them for 10-15-20-25 years, as I have. Learn from my experience, and my mistakes. I've screwed up TBCs from stupid mistakes, and have witnessed others just fail in front of me.