Irtysh voltage converters manufactured by EKB TEST
To ensure technological independence and the transition to domestic components, the company EKB TEST carried out its own R&D work on the creation of voltage converters "Irtysh"As a result, a line of 96 Irtysh modular converters was developed and launched into mass production. They are fully compatible with American VICOR products, which continue to hold a significant share of their market share despite ongoing import substitution in the country.
Voltage converters, or as they are also called, secondary power sources, are used in various devices and mechanisms used in communications, aviation, sea and river navy, the Navy, defense industry products, the subway and many other industries.
In the previous publication about the products produced by EKB TEST special-purpose connectors We wrote that in the USSR their production was organized at a number of specialized enterprises in the military-industrial complex and the electronics industry.
In the case of voltage converters, there were no such companies, and manufacturers of electronic equipment solved this problem themselves.
By the late 80s, it was perhaps only through the efforts of Alexander Goncharov that specialized power supply production began to emerge in the Soviet Union in Voronezh. Today, this includes AEDON LLC (Alexander Electric Don), AEIEP LLC (ALEXANDER ELECTRIC Power Sources) in Moscow, and part of the production facilities of Alexander Electric, which, along with Alexander Goncharov, remained in the Czech Republic, where it was partially relocated in the mid-2000s (Alexander Electric, Alexander Electric Light, and Goncharov Electric JET).
Following the collapse of the USSR and its defense industry, from the mid-90s onwards, products from the American company Vicor began to occupy a huge niche in Russian instrument making.
The second-generation BRICK line of DC-DC converters in industrial-standard enclosures was particularly widely used. Vicor's products offered a number of advantages over similar products from other manufacturers.
In particular, it is worth noting the absence of minimum load requirements (for most similar products from other manufacturers, the stated parameters deteriorate significantly if the power supply operates conditionally “idle,” that is, at a load less than 10% of the maximum).
A second significant advantage of Vicor products is the absence of negative effects when the load rapidly changes from idle to maximum values and back. These operating modes are typical, for example, for computing systems (idle time alternating with peak processor load) or radio/radar transmitters. Accordingly, the aforementioned products were most actively used in such systems.
Another advantage of Vicor is the availability of technical support until 2014, which responded effectively to questions and error messages, provided recommendations for use, and, in some cases, Vicor engineers even made design changes to serial products to meet specific requests from power system designers.
Following the events of 2014 (and especially after 2022), the situation changed dramatically. Technical support for our country was completely withdrawn, and direct deliveries through official distributors ceased.
Consequently, this market has been occupied by either counterfeit products (mostly refurbished items from China) or products from Chinese factories. Currently, there are several manufacturers in China supplying functional equivalents to the Russian market.
However, the quality and technical support situation is far from ideal. Many companies complain that quality is highly inconsistent from batch to batch, technical support is nonexistent, identified issues with power supplies are not corrected, and overall, the performance of Chinese products does not match that of the original American ones.
Furthermore, Chinese companies supplying power supplies (such as Dr. Power, a well-known company in the domestic market) are often not actual manufacturers, but rather marketing and logistics divisions. This means that the same power modules can be supplied from different Chinese factories with significantly different quality levels.
ET-F voltage converter manufactured by EKB TEST
EKB TEST develops and mass-produces Vicor-branded Irtysh series secondary power supplies, fully compatible in size and contact arrangement, and closely matching the technical specifications and functionality of the original American modules, all within the Russian Federation, making maximum use of domestically sourced components.
The full production cycle is carried out at our own facilities, including the production of enclosure components, assembly of components onto printed circuit boards, functional testing, and packaging of assembled boards. Printed circuit board production is carried out through inter-plant cooperation at Russian enterprises using our own design documentation.
Currently, EKB TEST, under the supervision of the military representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, is carrying out proactive experimental design work to master the serial production of Irtysh series modules with acceptance certificate "5".
Voltage converter ET-H manufactured by EKB TEST
The Vicor V24 and V300 series modules are first in line for production due to their high demand. Production of these modules, with "5" approval, is planned to begin this year.
It's worth noting that affordable, high-quality secondary power sources may be of interest not only to domestic enterprises but also to international companies. EKB TEST is currently developing a marketing program to promote these products in India and the Middle East.
ET-Q voltage converter manufactured by EKB TEST
In addition, EKB TEST is working to include all Irtysh series power modules in the Unified Register of Russian Radio-Electronic Products of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
In addition to the Irtysh series converters, the company produces a few more model lines: "Amur" – DC/DC modular converters with transformer feedback, Yenisei – DC/DC modular multi-channel converters, Rhine – DC/DC converters in metal housings with output power up to 120 W, Ob – DC/DC modules that can withstand millisecond surges in the input network (RIA12 standard), "Kama" – modules with alternative dual-purpose input networks (AC or DC, or AC and DC), Volga – AC/DC converters with increased energy density, "Moscow" – AC/DC converters with increased energy density for operation from a three-phase network, as well as “Neva” – filters for AC networks and “Ural” – filters for DC networks.
As a manufacturer, EKB TEST ensures consistent quality, comprehensive technical support, application consultations, and warranty service for its products.
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