First Post! Need Some Help Finding A Power Supply. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Darwin Miller
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 02:11:24 am
content: Hello! my name is Darwin and I am a 15 year old hobbyist from Murica! Recently I've been inspired to take up electronics by my dad who works with RF stuff. So I did what everyone does, get a old analogue scope off Ebay, and buy everything in sight with the word Arduno on it.And that was fine for a bit but then i started having problems with my scope, And after spending a great deal of time on a project trying to make a power supply I then blew it up within an HOUR of having it finished by screwing around with some nichrome wire and non adequate heat sinks.So i thought it was time to get some more reliable gear so the first thing i got was a DS1054Z (obviously) after watching everyone on the internet say it was the best bang for the buck you can get. But when it comes to getting a power supply i came across a problem. There really is not a obvious choice to go for, and I don't have 500$ to spend. I stumbled across this.https://www.circuitspecialists.com/bench-power-supply-csi3005xiii.htmlI was thinking about getting it but i wanted to ask here because i am in no way a expert in this sort of stuff so i don't know if this one is "Quality" or not. Should i go for this one? Or is there a better deal that i missed somewhere. Thanks in advance!

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 03:45:16 am
content: Do you care if it is a used unit? If not, given you are in the US I would certainly look at eBay for an older HP or Power Designs. If you can find one in good condition, these power supplies are superb in terms of quality.

author: Skimask
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 03:51:24 am
content: A thousand (billions) web pages out there on how to turn a regular old cheapo PC power supply into something usable on the bench...and a hundred different ways of doing it cheap.Maybe you could post a bit of info on the supply you blew up and some pictures. Might be a cheap fix and you just don't realize it yet.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 04:48:02 am
content: The price on that unit is pretty attractive. I have two concerns: First, I don't see a separate switch to turn the outputs on and off together. There is what seems to be a 'Main' power switch but that leaves all the startup transients heading for the outputs. Second, I don't see tracking between the two 0-30V supplies. This is useful for op amp circuits that have +15 and -15V supplies and it is desired to run the voltage of both supplies up and down together.Maybe consider the Rigol DP832. Yes, it is twice as much money but it's ten times the supply (figuratively speaking). With a software hack you can gain the features of the DP832A but these additional features don't interest me. I am planning to buy the DP832 some time in the next month.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:02:06 am
content: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Design-Mini-Switching-Regulated-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply-SMPS-Single-Channel-30V-5A-Variable-305D/32658988529.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.11.Ygupvq&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_8,searchweb201602_4_10037_10017_507_10033_10032_401_10040,searchweb201603_3&btsid=ff6d0ef2-8fe9-46b4-a1d6-a932f4ce0423

author: Darwin Miller
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:07:55 am
content: I could get a used one of the price was right but I looked around and there wasn't many that had multiple outputs and the ones that did where pretty pricey, but I'll have another look in the morning. Thanks!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:14:10 am
content: Quote from: rstofer on June 14, 2016, 04:48:02 amHold that thought until you've done some homework:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/voltage-readout-problem-with-new-rigol-dp832/

author: Darwin Miller
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:17:06 am
content: I thought about that but I think I wanna go the route of getting a really nice one. So I won't have to get another one for a while. And although it would probably work, if I buy one I guarantee what its capable of doing and I don't have to wonder if its gonna blow up when I draw a few amps from it.

author: Darwin Miller
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:18:37 am
content: That deal is amazing but a little to good to be true if you ask me. I'll think about that one. Thanks!

author: Darwin Miller
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:21:18 am
content: I was drooling over the rigol before but its a bit pricy but I could get it if a save up for a little bit. Not totally out of consideration

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:25:31 am
content: Quote from: Darwin Miller on June 14, 2016, 05:18:37 amThere's lots of similar units and some are quite good for a basic PSU but as with SMPS ripple is not very low.Often this is not a concern if additional bulk capacitance is added to your projects supply rails.You can't bust these:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/cheap-variable-switching-power-supply/

author: Darwin Miller
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:33:19 am
content: Hmm I might get one of those and beat it around a bit to see if it holds up. If there any good I can always get a few more consittering the price.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 05:42:01 am
content: Quote from: Darwin Miller on June 14, 2016, 05:33:19 amIt will.Sold a few dozen of these with zero failures.