Almost 2 years ago I built the first batch of 100 Power*Star units, and except for 1 that I use myself and 1 that failed quality control, all of them were sold (about 85% of them to a wholesale customer). This is good, but I could have sold many more if I had been able to build them. Supply chain issues have made it impossible to source several key components. However, I was recently able to find enough parts to build 10 more units, and they are now available to my direct customers.
The shortage of parts, and inflation made it somewhat more expensive than the first lot, but the biggest difference is simply the much higher cost to do automated assembly for such a small quantity – roughly 5 times as much per unit. This has forced me to significantly increase the price, from $549 to $649. The new price is a bit higher than the main competitor, which is something I wanted to avoid, but I think the differences easily justify it. Here is a quick comparison of the two (P*S is my Power*Star, and the competitor is “X2”):
• P*S is manufactured and supported in the U.S. The X2 is from a foreign company and probably manufactured for them in China.
• P*S has 50% higher total current capacity (30 amps vs 20), and offers Anderson PowerPoleTM connectors in addition to barrel connectors.
• P*S comes with a high quality universal saddle (made by ADM Accessories) for easy mounting, and a heavy gauge power cable. X2 does not include either and doesn’t even offer a good power cable option.
• The 6 downstream USB ports on P*S are all USB3 capable, while the X2 has 4 x USB3 and 2 x USB2.
• P*S has separately optimized driver ICs for unipolar and bipolar focus motors. The X2 uses a compromise design that is not optimal for either type of motor.
• Fault detection and handling is more sophisticated in P*S, having two levels of faults for most parameters, with the first level being user defined.
You might also notice that it’s red! Well, part of it is. That decision was mostly driven by the availability of raw materials, but I like the end result. Other than the color (and price), everything is the same as the original Power*Star.
With only 10 units available they will not last long, so email me ASAP to place your order.