If you couldn’t find out the real power supply manufacturer by using the techniques described before, you may find the real manufacturer by carefully inspecting the power supply. Although ideally you have to open the power supply to better look for evidences that may point out who the real manufacturer is, sometimes you will be able to spot these hints by looking through the vent holes from the unit, so not necessarily you will have to open your unit (what would void the warranty).

On this page we will show you how to identify power supplies manufactured by CWT (Channel Well Technology), while in the next pages we will cover other companies.

Power supplies manufactured by CWT are usually easy to spot, because this company is the only one that uses green adhesive tape everywhere inside the power supply. So if you look inside the power supply and you see green transformers and green tape everywhere, you are probably dealing with a unit manufactured by this company.

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Figure 7: Typical power supply from CWT, with green tape everywhere

Of course not all power supplies from CWT have so much green tape (see Figures 8 and 9 for examples). Two other tells from CWT units is the name “CWT” written on the transformers and the use of transformers from a brand called Viking. Note, however, that not all power supplies using Viking transformers are manufactured by CWT. Also, in some cases the manufacturer removes the “CWT” name from the transformer.

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Figure 8: “CWT” written on the transformers, “Viking” brand of transformers and green tape around the transformers

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Figure 9: Although the names “CWT” and “Viking” were removed, this unit is clearly manufactured by CWT (notice the green tape around the transformer and the coil)

Some models will have “CWT CO., LTD.” written on the printed circuit board, as shown in Figure 10.

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Figure 10: CWT marking present on some models