#89700

grate information

#86861

Great power supply.
From Electronics Today International – July 1976.
Build mine in 1983, and still using it today.

Author
#86868

Thanks for your feedback!

#70744

Mr. Swagatam:

GREETINGS!!!…..AGAIN!!! You had designed a circuit for me a few years ago and I am truly appreciative of your kind engineering efforts on my behalf. You are truly a very generous and kind person!!!

Now, I am needing a rather hefty power-supply circuit. It appears as though your “0-40V Adjustable Power Supply Circuit” is in the right direction of what I am looking for, but my application needs a bit more than what this circuit is capable of. Here are my requirements:

I am looking to build a “Bench-Top Power-Supply” that is capable of delivering an adjustable and also a Dual-Voltage ( +30VDC / -30VDC ) output controlled by a single potentiometer (i.e. “tracking”), with an output current between 8-Amps to 10-Amps. I already have a small box filled with miniature voltage and current meters, so I can use them to display the set voltage output and the amount of current being drawn by the various circuits. Additionally, the power-supply circuitry should have some means of built-in “short-circuit protection”, to protect the power-supply should the output leads ever become shorted.

The mains transformer would be for the U.S. at 120VAC and capable of providing the 8-to-10 Amps of output current.

There should be a “Current Output” potentiometer to set a “current limit” for each circuit that is being powered by this power-supply and is undergoing development and testing. Maybe there could be a flashing LED that would give a visual warning that a circuit is drawing more current than what the “Current Limit” setting potentiometer is set at. Is that possible?

I will take care of both the mechanical design of an enclosure and the layout of the PCB’s, but perhaps you could provide some suggestions for the heatsinks necessary of the output current transistors?

As an afterthought…..perhaps it would also be nice to have a “secondary” fixed output voltage of either 5VDC or 12VDC to separately power a set of Arduino or Raspberry Pi circuit boards, while the main output of this power-supply is powering all of the development and peripheral circuitry. Let me know if doing this easily is possible, OK? THANKS!!!

And, finally…..I also very much welcome any of your own ideas and suggestions that could be included into the design of this benchtop power-supply. I would like to hear what any of your ideas would be!!!

I am highly looking forward to hearing back from you shortly with your comments and schematic diagram of the design of this benchtop power-supply design. I believe that you are an exquisite design engineer!!!

Regards,

Jerry B. Williams
Senior Electronics Mechanical Packaging Designer

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#71163

Mr. Swagatam:

“THANK YOU!!” so very much for your assistance in helping with a high-current power-supply design!!!

I am about to order the toroid transformers for both the “Adjustable 0 – 50VDC @ 10A” circuit and for the “0 – 40VDC @ 5A” voltage-switchable circuit. Since I will be building 2-each of these power-supply circuits I will then need a total of 4-transformers which cost me USD $200.00. WOW!!!
In any case, while reviewing the “Adjustable 0 – 50VDC @ 10A” schematic that you have provided, I have noticed some errors in the schematic and I also need a couple of items clarified for me about this schematic diagram. Here they are:

1) Will a transformer rated at 48VCT ( 2X 24VDC ) be correct to use for this circuit? The transformer I am thinking of using has a current rating of up to 16A. Should this type of transformer NOT be correct, could you please provide me with the transformer secondary output specifications, so I may be able to select the correct type of transformers for this project? THANKS!!!

2) D1 – D4 are called out as being “6A4” types, which I have never heard of. However, I am assuming that a diode bridge rectifier rated at 1,000V @ 25A should be more than sufficient, correct?

3) P1 – P4 are specified as being 2.5K (i.e. 2K5) Ohms in value. Could you somehow change the circuitry so 5K Ohm potentiometers could be used instead? All of the suppliers show every value of pot – EXCEPT – for the value of 2.5K and the 2.5K pots that they do have are all very expensive!!! But, I can buy 5K pots for $0.80 to $1.50 each!!! Is this possible?

4) The diode shown being connected to both of the P2 potentiometers is shown as being “D1”. Shouldn’t this diode be shown as being “D5”?

5) While doing my parts searching for both the 2N6284 and 2N6286 transistors, several of the online parts suppliers had notes on these 2 parts showing that these parts are on an “Obsolete” list!!! Is it possible for you to specify some more modern and/or recent transistors, perhaps in a TO-220 style, for this circuit function? I have a small box-full of TO-220 20-Watt heat-sinks that I could use to mount these transistors to onto a PCB.

I have also already ordered several small digital DC-voltage and DC-current LED meters to show what is going on, on my chassis front-panel. I have also already ordered most all of the standard capacitors, resistors, power-inlet modules, LED’s and other hardware items for my building 2 of these power-supply chassis (one for me to use and the other for a younger family relative member).

I also have some questions concerning the “3V/5V/6V/9V/12V/15V” schematic, but I will first wait until I am able to receive your answers concerning my “0 – 50V @ 10A” schematic questions. And, while I feel that all of my questions are important, my most important questions are those concerning about TR1 and P1 – P4. I do not wish to spend $200 on possibly the wrong type of transformers, so your answers are vitally important!!! THANK YOU!!!

And, finally…..if you could provide me with your personal e-mail address, I would like to financially compensate you for your kind assistance through PayPal. I truly value – ALL – of your engineering design expertise and I would like to help you for helping me. Is this possible? THANKS!!!

Regards,

Jerry B. Williams

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#146026

Hello mr.Swagatam,
i’m a newbie in pcb design( just a hobbist).And i want to build this 40v power supply .My question is what the type of trace/track like that(worm)?? Thankyou

#146038

Susilo:
Somehow your question was also forwarded to me, JBW. I see that Mr. Swagatam has also answered you.

In the future, please only contact Mr. Swagatam with your questions, as my e-mail address inbox already receives more than enough messages from people in the forums I subscribe to. THANK YOU!!!

JBW

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Author
#146047

Mr. JBW,
Sorry for the trouble, actually the readers sometimes accidentally press the REPLY button under an existing comment causing an email notification to be sent to the original commenter also. Unfortunately this cannot be prevented or prohibited in this commenting platform.
If this happens again, you can feel free to block the emails.

Author
#146027

Hi Susilo,
Sorry i did not understand your question. Where is the worm like track that you are referring to?

#146028

Mr.Swagatam,i mean the pcb trace like mitre or curve.I see in your pcb layout of 0-40v adjustable power supply.Thx

Author
#71173

Thanks Jerry,

Here are the answers:
1) 48V (60V after rectification) 16 amp is OK for this circuit, but T1 might need to be replaced with a TIP35 transistor on heatsink.
2) 1000 V 25 amp diode will be fine.
3) 5K pot will although it may change the calibration scale, which might correspond with R4 value. Base resistor of T3 can be removed.
4) D1 is mistakenly shown as D1, should have been D5
5) You ca try two TIP35 as Darlington, or 2N2222 and TIP35 as Darlingtons.

Wish you all the best…sorry I do not except any kind of compensation for this, although I appreciate your thoughts very much.

#71290

Mr. Swagatam:

(I had tried to contact you by using your “wordpress@162.240.8.81” address, but I am uncertain if my message was actually sent out and received at that address. So, I am re-sending my message to you “the old-fashioned way” by using a “Reply” on your website).

In regards to your your recent reply back to me, I now have the following inquiries and questions:

1) If the 48VCT of the power transformer is OK, what would be the – minimum – VCT or possibly an “ideal” VCT of a power transformer to operate this circuit. I ask you this question because the cost of this power transformer is dependent upon the “VA” rating of the transformer. Therefore, the cost of a transformer at 48VCT @ 10A will be more than a transformer specified as 36VCT @ 10A, assuming that the 36VCT transformer is acceptable. In other words, what would the – minimum – VCT be for a transformer to still properly operate this circuit? I am attaching a datasheet of a possible transformer I wish to purchase.

2) You had mentioned creating a new Darlington-pair using a TIP35C and a 2N2222 transistor. Therefore, I am now assuming that the complement to this Darlington-pair would then be a TIP36C and a 2N2907 transistor, is this correct? In your response, you made no mention of what the complementary pair of transistors should be and I am just assuming that the above is correct. Can you verify this for me please? THANK YOU!!!

3) Just a few minutes ago I placed an order with an electronics parts distributor for several 5K potentiometers (@ $0.50 each, versus $5.00 to $8.00 each for the 2.5K potentiometers). However, I had selected “dual-potentiometers) instead of “single” pots, because I wish to have both the Negative and Positive voltages and currents adjusted at the same time, instead of everything being individually adjusted. However, based upon your reply to my question about changing the value of these potentiometers, could you provide me with the corrected or updated resistor values around these potentiometers? Also, based on nominal values of normal voltages and current outputs, could you provide me with a value for the R4? I would greatly appreciate it very much. And, finally…..would the circuit operate in the same manner if I placed a 5K resistor in parallel with the potentiometers, effectively creating a 2.5K pot? Let me know if this would work properly. THANKS!!!

4) By increasing the value of the potentiometers to 5K, why can the “base resistor” going to T3 be eliminated? Shouldn’t there be at least some nominal value of a resistor still be placed there? And, why does the resistor that is connected between P1 and T3 does NOT have a “Reference Designator” (R?)? By not having a “Reference Designator” does this mean that this resistor is “optional”?

Again…..I cannot “THANK YOU!!” enough for all of your design engineering assistance!!! And, by your refusing to accept my offer of wishing to financially compensate you for all of your kind assistance, it speaks volumes of your generous character and of your willingness to so freely and openly help others like myself in our various design engineering projects!!! You are truly a very kind and an exceptional person!!! I personally and sincerely wish you all of the best in all that you do!!! I just wish that I could do something for you in return.

Did you ever install, load-in and use the FREE schematic capture program that I had given to you so long ago? If not, that schematic capture program would have made the design of all of your schematics so much easier and it would have also allowed you to model your schematics using PSpice. Maybe one day you could look into it. That particular schematic capture program was developed by one of the largest CAD-design program developers in the CAD world!!!

I am looking forward to receiving your new reply, which will then allow me to finally order the transformers for this power-supply project. THANKS!!!

Regards,
Jerry B. Williams
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Author
#71308

Thanks Jerry,

I think this comment should have been posted under the following link:
https://www.homemade-circuits.com/0-to-50v-0-to10amp-variable-dual-power/
No problem, here are the answers:
1) This circuit can be operated even with voltages as low as 5V, so 36V is fine!
2) Yes the mentioned PNP complementary pair is correct.
3) R4, will depend on the maximum current limit you wish to have at the output, such that it develop around 2V across itself, and the pot P1 must be selected such that the 2V is uniformly calibrated across the pots scale.
4) The base ersistor is not related to the pot value, I advised to remove because the T3 is already protected by R5 so the base can be ignored.
I appreciate all your feedback!
Let me if you have more questions, I’ll be happy to help!

Author
#70767

Thanks Jerry,

I think using ready made linear ICs to make a power would produce better results than using discrete parts. Here’s one link that you may try:

https://www.homemade-circuits.com/dual-power-supply-3v5v6v9v1215v-with/

For booting you could add external bypass transistor for the ICs.

#68686

Dear Mr. swagatam,

Accidentally i saw your web site & is highly remarkable.
I am a retired Automobile engineer with a flair for Electronics. At present i am in U.S, . I spend the time in helping Non profit organisation, by rectifying / repairing laptops, mobiles etc,

Even though i have seen many options in DIY Variable bench power supply, i thought you may be the right to approach.

I got a DELL 19.5V 6.7A power adapter & i want to use this for making variable power supply.

Could you pl suggest the best option to build one, with your circuit & List of materials.
thank you,
a.v.krishnamoorthy

Author
#68689

Thank you Dear A.V.krishna moorthy,

All SMPS systems have an opto-coupler based feedback system for regulating the output voltage level to a predetermined fixed level. It is possible to tweak the adjustments around this opto coupler for getting a range of different voltages at the output. The change can be probably in the form of a potentiometer replaced for a resistor around the opto-coupler.

I have provided all the details in the following post, which you an efer:

https://www.homemade-circuits.com/how-to-make-variable-current-smps/

#56574

you’re right.i forgot to calculate wattage.thank you for help and formula.keep helping. i built my first dual power supply from studying your dual power supply concept.i am planning to build little by little power supply,stabilized,precised,and much more efficient.you’re a BIG HEP!

Author
#56578

thanks Dennis, You are most welcome?

#56568

hi swag.
i built a power supply and i used LED and 12k resistor as mains ac indicator.my LED got busted.how to calculate led’s resistor from any ac source like 220,110 vac.thnx

Author
#56572

Hi Dennis, Your resistor value is correct, but wattage may be wrong….you can do it through simple Ohm’s law, as given below:

R = V/I = 220V / 0.02(LED Current) = 11000 ohms or 11K

wattage = R x I^2 = 11000 x (0.02)^2 = 4.4 watts, or simply 5 watt….but this will still dissipate a lot of heat, so better to go with a 10 watt resistor

#74130

Don’t forget — 220 V is the RMS voltage. Within one cycle the voltage actually varies between +/- 156 V.

For half the cycle the diode is reverse biased, and cannot handle such a large reverse voltage.
During the peak forward portion of the cycle, your LED will flow more than 20 mA in each cycle. Example 20 mA x sqrt(2) = 28 mA peak.

LEDs are not suitable as mains indicators. Anyone considering this application might consider a neon panel lamp.

Author
#74135

In that case we can rectify the mains with a bridge rectifier and use 310V in the Ohms law, this will solve the issue of any damage to the LED. Or to be even safer use a capacitive supply such as this:
LED pilot lamp

Neon can be used but mostly it is difficult to find good quality neons, and the bad ones don’t last long or produce inconsistent illumination

#55546

do have a dc kv range power supply here? like 20kv-30kv 500uA?

Author
#55548

you can try the following concept

https://www.homemade-circuits.com/make-this-ultra-violet-uv-water-filter/

#52713

sir if i have two rectified dc power supply from same tranformer 12 0 12
Q1 can i connect dc output of these transformer in parallel
Q2 wht happen if dc outputs of two different trafo connected ​in parallel ?

Author
#52716

you can connect their output in parallel, just make sure the center tap has two wires, in total 4 wires should be there, connect two wires with one bridge, the other wires with another bridge and then you can connect the output from the bridge in parallel.

#52718

no no sir i did spelling mistake in my previous comment.
i means to say i have two transformer of same rating.both trafo have 12 0 12 tapping.
basically i want to make uninterrupted dc power supply bcoz i have two ac power source if ones then their will another give supply.

Author
#52719

OK, still you can connect their outputs in parallel after the bridge.

Author
#51437

I am not able to interpret this circuit, how will the cells get charged? there's no negative supply outlet for the cells, neither is there any positive input??

Author
#51422

I have not yet investigated a passive circuit for this but this can be done through a relay based circuit as shown below, although it looks a bit lengthy:

https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2015/08/lipo-battery-balance-charger-circuit.html

by the way do you want to balance across parallel cells or series cells??

Author
#51257

Hello,

Please feel free to ask the questions here, I'll try my best to solve them…

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