This power supply is based on the LM317 Variable Regulator. The input of the regulator needs to be around 28 Volts DC and it will output a DC voltage from 1.25vdc to 25 vdc. To adjust the output voltage simply turn the 5k ohm pot. The regulator will supply 1.5 amps of current Copyright 2000 [url=http://home.maine.rr.com/randylinscott/index.html]Randy Linscott[/url]...

I didn't realize till the other day that I have never shown a circuit for a standard power supply. Shown below is a supply that will use any of the LM78XX series of voltage regulators. The transformer in the circuit will vary depending on which regulator you use. For voltages from 5 to 12 use a transformer with output of 18vac. With voltages from 15 to 24 use a transformer of 30vac. The first capacitor in the circuit may need to vary if you are supplying more current to the load. Typically it will be 2000uf for every amp of current. Copyright 1998...

Sometimes its more convenient to recharge batteries 'in place' rather than removing them and putting them in an external charger. This device is built around a PIC12F675 (a dandy little part from Microchip). The number of cells ( 1 to 8 ) is programmed in using the one button. The cell count is saved in EEPROM the next time you power up the device. Using just one button for all operations is a bit tricky, but easy once you try it a few times. Here is the operation as best I can explain it... There are 2 types of button operations: Hit (less than 1 second), and Hold (over 1...

A simple method of charging a battery from a higher voltage battery is shown in the circuit below to the left. Only one resistor is needed to set the desired charging current and is calculated by dividing the difference in battery voltages by the charge current. So, for example if 4 high capacity (4000 mA hour) ni-cads are to be charged at 300 mA from a 12 volt battery, the resistor needed would be 12-(4*1.25)/0.3 = 23.3 ohms, or 22 ohms which is the nearest standard value. The power rating for the resistor is figured from the square of the current times the resistance or (0.3)^2 * 22 = 2...

A 555 timer can be used to generate a squarewave to produce a negative voltage relative to the negative battery terminal. When the timer output at pin 3 goes positive, the series 22 uF capacitor charges through the diode (D1) to about 8 volts. When the output switches to ground, the 22 uF cap discharges through the second diode (D2) and charges the 100 uF capacitor to a negative voltage. The negative voltage can rise over several cycles to about -7 volts but is limited by the 5.1 volt zener diode which serves as a regulator. Circuit draws about 6 milliamps from the battery without the zener...

The high current regulator below uses an additional winding or a separate transformer to supply power for the LM317 regulator so that the pass transistors can operate closer to saturation and improve efficiency. For good efficiency the voltage at the collectors of the two parallel 2N3055 pass transistors should be close to the output voltage. The LM317 requires a couple extra volts on the input side, plus the emitter/base drop of the 3055s, plus whatever is lost across the (0.1 ohm) equalizing resistors (1volt at 10 amps), so a separate transformer and rectifier/filter circuit is used that is...

The circuit above is a DC to DC converter using a standard 12 VAC center tapped power transformer wired as a blocking oscillator. The circuit is not very efficient but will produce a high voltage usable for low power applications. The input battery voltage is raised by a factor of 10 across the transformer and further raised by a voltage tripler consisting of three capacitors and diodes connected to the high voltage side of the transformer. The circuit draws about 40 milliamps and should operate for about 200 hours on a couple of 'D' alkaline batteries. Higher voltages can be obtained by...

This unit delivers 0 to 20 volts at up to 4 amps in 0.1 volt increments. The entire device runs on a PIC16F870 (about $3 in small quantities). This is basically a switching power supply with the voltage regulation done in software. The PIC used here has analog inputs (used to measure voltage and current) and hardware PWM (pulse width modulation) output used to control the power. [img:57b252c034]http://www.circuitdb.com/download.php?fileID=144[/img:57b252c034] Only two controls are used on the front panel - an 'on/off'' push button and a rotary encoder. The on/off button is a 'soft'...

In this small switching power supply, a Schmitt trigger oscillator is used to drive a switching transistor that supplies current to a small inductor. Energy is stored in the inductor while the transistor is on, and released into the load circuit when the transistor switches off. The output voltage is dependent on the load resistance and is limited by a zener diode that stops the oscillator when the voltage reaches about 14 volts. Higher or lower voltages can be obtained by adjusting the voltage divider that feeds the zener diode. The efficiency is about 80% using a high Q inductor....

This circuit was build to charge a couple series Lithium cells (3.6 volts each, 1 Amp Hour capacity) installed in a portable transistor radio. The charger operates by supplying a short current pulse through a series resistor and then monitoring the battery voltage to determine if another pulse is required. The current can be adjusted by changing the series resistor or adjusting the input voltage. When the battery is low, the current pulses are spaced close together so that a somewhat constant current is present. As the batteries reach full charge, the pulses are spaced farther apart and...

Another method of using opamps to regulate a power supply is shown below. The power transformer requires an additional winding to supply the op-amps with a bipolar voltage (+/- 8 volts), and the negative voltage is also used to generate a reference voltage below ground so that the output voltage can be adjusted all the way down to 0. Current limiting is accomplished by sensing the voltage drop across a small resistor placed in series with the negative supply line. As the current increases, the voltage at the wiper of the 500 ohm pot rises until it becomes equal or slightly more positive than...

This regulated power supply can be adjusted from 3 to 25 volts and is current limited to 2 amps as shown, but may be increased to 3 amps or more by selecting a smaller current sense resistor (0.3 ohm). The 2N3055 and 2N3053 transistors should be mounted on suitable heat sinks and the current sense resistor should be rated at 3 watts or more. Voltage regulation is controlled by 1/2 of a 1558 or 1458 op-amp. The 1458 may be substituted in the circuit below, but it is recommended the supply voltage to pin 8 be limited to 30 VDC, which can be accomplished by adding a 6.2 volt zener or 5.1 K...

The LM317T output current can be increased by using an additional power transistor to share a portion of the total current. The amount of current sharing is established with a resistor placed in series with the 317 input and a resistor placed in series with the emitter of the pass transistor. In the figure below, the pass transistor will start conducting when the LM317 current reaches about 1 amp, due to the voltage drop across the 0.7 ohm resistor. Current limiting occurs at about 2 amps for the LM317 which will drop about 1.4 volts across the 0.7 ohm resistor and produce a 700 millivolt...

The LM317T is a adjustable 3 terminal positive voltage regulator capable of supplying in excess of 1.5 amps over an output range of 1.25 to 37 volts. The device also has built in current limiting and thermal shutdown which makes it essentially blow-out proof. Output voltage is set by two resistors R1 and R2 connected as shown below. The voltage across R1 is a constant 1.25 volts and the adjustment terminal current is less than 100uA. The output voltage can be closely approximated from Vout=1.25 * (1+(R2/R1)) which ignores the adjustment terminal current but will be close if the current...

A simple but less efficient methode of controlling a DC voltage is to use a voltage divider and transistor emitter follower configuration. The figure below illustrates using a 1K pot to set the base voltage of a medium power NPN transistor. The collector of the NPN feeds the base of a larger PNP power transistor which supplies most of the current to the load. The output voltage will be about 0.7 volts below the voltage of the wiper of the 1K pot so the output can be adjusted from 0 to the full supply voltage minus 0.7 volts. Using two transistors provides a current gain of around 1000 or more...

The fixed voltage power supply is useful in applications where an adjustable output is not required. This supply is simple, but very flexable as the voltage it outputs is dependant only on the regulator and transformer you choose. The maximum output current is 1.5A. [b:d911874b7d]Notes[/b:d911874b7d] 1. Since this project operates from 120 (or 220, or 240, etc.) volts AC, it MUST be built inside a case. 2. U1 will reauire a heatsink. 3. You will need to choose T1 and U1 to match the voltage you want. Use the table below as a reference. [list:d911874b7d]Vout T1 U1 5V ...

A while ago I came up with the idea of using a microwave transformer as a high voltage, high current power supply. Even though I had no use for such a supply, I decided to design one anyway. This is a very simple design. Note: I have not built this supply becasue I have no use for it. If you build this supply without knowledge in electronics or high voltage, you have basically signed your own death certificate. This supply can be very dangerous if not treated properly. [color=red:6f6e1e6cac][b:6f6e1e6cac]DO NOT BUILD THIS SUPPLY UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE...

This is a linear supply, which might have a few of you rolling your eyes, but it takes very few parts, is simple to build and can supply huge currents. Notes 1. D1 should be rated at about one volt higher than then desired output of the supply. A half watt diode will do. 2. Q1 can be a transistor similar to the 2N3055. I chose the 2N3055 for it's availability and power handling (150 watts). 3. T1 should be about 5 volts higher than the desired output of the supply, and rated for about one amp more of current. The voltage overhead is required by the regulator section. The extra current...

This dual polarity power supply is easy to build, requires few parts, and is adjustable from 0-15 volts. It is great for powering op amp circuits, as well as other circuits that require a dual supply voltage. Notes 1. Since this project operates from 120 (or 220, or 240, etc.) volts AC, it [b:8a3a208a4e]MUST[/b:8a3a208a4e] be built inside a case. 2. U1 and U2 get quite hot and will require heatsinks. A fan is usually not needed. 3. You can, of course, add a volt and amp meter. 4. U1 and U2 can only go down to a minimum of +-1.2V. If you need to go lower, you can add two 1N4003 diodes...

This circuit allows you to set a limit on the maximum output current available from your PSU. It's very useful when you power-up a project for the first time - or carry out a soak-test. By setting an upper limit on the current available from your PSU - you can protect both your power supply - and any device connected to it. It offers a simple and cheap alternative to the Current Limiting Power Supply The basic circuit is shown in the first schematic. The two diodes fix the voltage on the base of the Power Transistor at about 1v4. This means that the voltage across R2 is fixed at about 0v7....

This is a 1-amp variable-voltage PSU. It adjusts from about 3v to 24v: and has the added feature that you can limit the maximum output current. This is invaluable when (for example) you power-up a project for the first time or soak-test a piece of equipment. SW3 is the on/off switch. It also lets you choose between the output with the current limit and the one without. SW2 provides a selection of three different limits. You can increase or decrease this number if you wish. The limits are fixed by R4, R5 & R6. They are set at 10mA, 25mA & 65mA respectively; but you can choose...

Although this Power Supply was designed for the Modular Burglar Alarm - it has other applications. It provides an output of 12-volts - at a current of up to 1-amp. In the event of a mains failure - the back-up battery takes over immediately. And when mains power is restored - the battery recharges automatically. The 7805 needs the larger heatsink because it has to dissipate a lot of energy - especially when called upon to recharge a flat battery. Its heatsink is at 9v1 - and must NOT be connected to ground. The 7812 never has to dissipate more than 2-watts - so its heatsink can be smaller....

This circuit will regulate voltage to 5V input range is 6V..12V. The diode prevents the circuit being damaged when the input is connected the wrong way around. The resistor and LED are optionial, they are for power on indication....