I bought a used Cell 90 case by Pittsburgh Modular. The power supply that came with it was a simple analog supply with a 12 volt AC wall wart that powered a diode bridge rectifier to drive 7812 and 7912 three-pin regulators. For a retrofit I found the Tiptop Audio Zeus Studio Bus. Specs:
- Input voltage range: +15VDC +/-10%
- Output voltage: +12VDC -12VDC +5VDC
- Max output current +12V: 1.3A
- Max output current -12V: 800mA
- Max output current +5V: 300mA
- Output regulation of +/-12V: +/-0.05% Linear discrete design
Although the Zeus is meant to be a part of the Tiptop power system, it works quite well in this application. I reused the existing power inlet and switch, together with a 15 volt DC wall supply I use with all my other Eurorack boxes. The Cell 90 is a tight case and the Zeus is quite large. So, when drilling holes to mount the Zeus, I added a couple of rows of 1/4″ holes for ventilation. One row is under the Zeus board.
A perspective view.
No modification was needed to the power inlet, a 2.1mm barrel, or power switch. All I had to do was to cut off the original connectors and hook to the Zeus, which has very convenient spring-loaded power connectors. Also I added a banana jack as an additional zero volt common, because I connect all power supply commons in my system.
Because the Zeus stands on 1/4-inch spacers for ventilation, there is reduced clearance above it for modules. All skiff-ready modules work fine. And there is enough space at either end for up to two 6 HP width deeper modules.
