Ok, well I don't want to pretend I know everything, It's been a while since I've done any electronics. Still remember the basics.
Power supplies would be one of those things.

Figured I'd share my findings on the ITS power supply that came with my kit. It still works mind you, just not well.
Odds are my machine issues are related to my power supply.

What makes a good power supply? Well the quality of the components, the way the circuit board is designed, overload/surge protection
good heat dissipation and quality of the output. The high end bench PSUs used in electronics will run in the 500$+ range.
The ITS is not, what I would call, a good power supply. It's perfect for small circuit testing. Circuits like a LED chasers, or small LED VU meter.
Things that don't need much power (500mA, 1A MAX). A tattoo machine can take up to 2 Amps.
Something this power supply can handle, just not for very long.


Here are some of the reasons:



I've built a few 0-5 and 0-12 volt power supplies for projects and finals at school. This PSU is very basic 5volt PSU with the regulator
changed to give give 30 volts. Normally this wouldn't be a bad thing, but since a tattoo machine can take up to 2 amps the heat sink
is not the ideal model. Also, the casing itself is not designed for the placement of the circuit either. Heat rises, so vents should have been
cut on top, and not on the sides like it is now.

Another thing is the lack of protection. The circuit has no IC (integrated circuit.. a chip basically) to project from power surges and overload. Good power supplies
are designed to shut down before damage can done to themselves and whatever "load" is using it.
The "load" is your machine is this case.

And the famous analog volt meter. Just because it's analog doesn't mean it's not accurate. Unfortunately this one is. Good meters will usually have there own little
power supply so they can do there job correctly without leeching power (Analog and Digital). The one that's used in the ITS, of course does not have this. It's plugged parallel to the power
output, hence dividing the amps supplied by the PSU. What does this mean? Well the ITS power supply is not only giving power to your machine, but also to the needle.




This one shocked me. The whole unit is not even grounded, and a few wires are lose... lol

So ITS is selling this stuff how much? 80$ USD
I can tell you right now, you could build this for under 30$. The most expensive pieces are the knob, transformer and casing.
The rest of the parts are all under 2$ each.


Hope this helps a bit. Of course I'm missing a few details, but at least it gives you an idea why
someone would need to buy a new power supply not long after one receives his ITS kit.