There is provided a method of anticipating component failure in broadband network devices, the method comprising monitoring values of AC ripple voltage on a DC voltage from a power supply associated with a CATV amplifier or node, comparing values of AC ripple voltage with a set value to determine whether the value of AC ripple voltage are acceptable or not, generating an alarm when the set value is exceeded and sending the alarm to a remote computing device. The monitoring step further comprises amplifying the AC ripple voltage by a factor of 10 and passing the amplified signal to a processing means for comparison with the set value. A circuit for monitoring the ripple voltage is also provided.