Looking for a Regulated Lab Supply kit - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: WhaleOrNot
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 08, 2014, 08:17:29 am
content: Hello EEVblogers. I'm new here, and well very green with electronics, however I have the bug. I happen to be an US amateur radio operator for 25 years now, and I am honestly ashamed to say that I don't know nearly as much as I should from study material years ago. I digress...I would like to start experimenting with some basics & tinkering, and realize I need a Voltage adjustable, fairly accurate supply ( prefer regulated ), that has current limiting. Just taking a shot in the dark, I'de like to have 0-50V @ 2 amps. 2-3 outputs would be great, 1 will not suffice.I figure what better way to start, than with a kit as I have built some kits in the past, including SMD devices, so that shouldent be an issue if need be. However, I have done some looking and cannot find one. I'de prefer a kit that is all inclusive, parts, enclosure, 10 turn pots, PCB, digital display(s) for the outputs that has 3-4 digits of resolution, & runs off 120v Mains. ( I am a US resident )I know many have taken PC supplies and modified them, however I dont want to go that route for this & really prefer a regulated supply.Chances are I could buy one for 125$, but If I can build one from a kit for the same price area, I'de rather do that, as I'de learn more & honestly love building kits.If any one has any links to people whom may have one or multiple options available, please shoot me a reply.Thank you Kindly

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2014, 07:57:14 pm
content: Elenco still makes a power supply kit. It's pretty basic and doesn't have any metering at all, but if you really want to build a kit it might be worth looking at. I'm not aware of anyone else selling a complete kit (one that includes the case and transformer).http://www.elenco.com/product/productdetails/power_supply=ODU=/same_as_xp720_in_kit_form=NTc4

author: Lee697
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2014, 11:54:37 pm
content: I've always thought this altronics kit looked pretty good....http://www.altronics.com.au/p/k3218-dual-tracking-0-19v-power-supply-kit/

author: dentaku
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 12:41:31 am
content: Quote from: Lee697 on July 08, 2014, 11:54:37 pmThat does look nice but of course you can probably get a more modern power supply pre-built for less but you don't get the educational experience of building it yourself.

author: benjamin545
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2014, 03:03:43 am
content: i have that elenco one mentioned. its pretty cool and all for starting out, but i would hardly call it a lab supply. what you are paying for basically is the decent case it comes in. the internals of it is nothing more than a transformer with a 5 volt output pair, a + and - 6.5 volt output pair, and a + and - 18 volt output pair with a common. it then uses a simple lm317 and lm337 for making the adjustable + and - rails, and then a lm7805 to control a power transistor in order to get a 3 amp 5 volt rail.there is no panel meter on the front to show the adjustable voltages. there is no current limiting, thats important, it relies entirely on the lm series IC's to do all the work, and thats fine for a power supply, but for a lab power supply you really would want current limiting and front display panels.for not a lot more than the elenco kit you can get triple output power supplies with much higher current ratings and front display panels and expected features of a "lab" power supply.but definitely get the elenco kit just for the learning experience and the fun of putting it together yourself.

author: ProBang2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2014, 09:40:45 am
content: Quote from: WhaleOrNot on July 08, 2014, 08:17:29 amSorry, I have no knowledge about such kit.To meet your specs it seems necessary to buy a PSU like this (maybe two of them):http://gophertc.com/en/cps-6003-0-60v-0-3a-switched-mode-dc-power-supplyStrange... - different from the spec, claimed on the web-site of the manufacturer: It is available with 120-230V mains-switch and delivers up to 60V and 3A. (Example: )http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-precision-Compact-Digital-Adjustable-MINI-DC-Power-Supply-OVP-OCP-OTP-low-power-60V3A/1770878462.htmlIf this PSU is interesting for you, it is perhaps a good idea to wait untill Franky Tong´s return from his vacation (at July, 17th) and to send him a PM.He is the very well known User "Iloveelectronics" in this forum.Greetings,Hartmut

author: idpromnut
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 10, 2014, 06:16:30 pm
content: This has probably been said before, but how about designing (or pulling a design from online somewhere), customizing and going with that? If you want to learn that will be a great start and basic PSU's can be easily designed to provide a couple of amps @30V to start off.

author: void_error
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2014, 06:48:57 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on July 08, 2014, 08:57:04 amI tend to partly disagree. You can't rival the cost of a simple power supply by building it yourself, but if you have the knowledge to build one that rivals a rather expensive and higher performance one you will probably end up cheaper, not considering the time taken to design and build one.In my case however, since time is not of great concern (learning microcontroller stuff at the same time), I'm designing and building one almost from scratch, and I intend to make it slightly better (output power wise) than the Agilent E3610A at less than a third of the price (in Europe that is).

author: electrophiliate
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2014, 01:07:14 am
content: Altronics' relatively recent website face-lift is a major improvement over the old one.

author: notsob
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2014, 06:51:21 am
content: A problem with the altronics one is that when you turn the the lhs sellection knob it's very easy to turn the voltage set pot - not a good idea if you have something connected