Looking for a Bench Power Supply - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 am
content: These have to be the analog of the oscilloscope. Where is the spreadsheet/comparison chart?I could probably just buy the Rigol DP899Z supply and be content, but just cannot justify the cost. Naturally, when you start looking on the ebay, you'll come across the DP series modules, and I just bought a DPS5015 module so I can have something to play with...I also paused at the general cheapie 30V10A supplies under various names, and just couldn't do it. I wanted something more. The Tekpower TP3005P was also interesting for a couple mins, but the PC control did not present itself at all...Then I remembered Dave's video about the Fluke and almost went for a PM8200 series, but being built for GPIB control left me with yet another project that is likely never to happen.So what should I be looking for? I could probably be content with a single output supply, but have always lusted for one of the traditional Power Designs triple output supplies. Maybe it's the old analog meters? Still not really what I want, which is:Stable low noiseCV/CChigh volts and current - I want to walk on water, so that would have to be tempered with contextual realityless than four bills, maybe two?PC control with decent softwareGood manual UII do not know much about power supplies and do have a 15V1A dual tracking old school supply. I do not know what tracking supplies are used for, but I allegedly know what they do.Some of my applications are inbattery chargingpowering motors (why can't I configure a triple output supply to power a 3-phase or stepper motor? Programming?)breadboard microcontrollersSomething else I do not understand. The Fluke I mentioned is 30V 10A 60W, but 30V*10A=300W, so the limit is actually 60W based on V or I?

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 06:53:56 am
content: I am affraid you are more clued uo in what psu are out there than I am.Your requirement for computer controllable means you are going for something modern, rather than an old classic from ebay.QuoteSo, just to confirm your understanding: a dual tracking PSU has positive and negative voltages, whatever you set voltage wise is set for both postive and negative.They are mainly used for application where dual rails are needed ie for op-amps or audio amplifiers.Quote3 phase motors do not take DC volts, they take AC volts and each coil/phase must be 120° ahead of each other. There are special motor controllers for this.Stepper motor need to have each pole individually energised or de-energised to make them turn. Again there stepper motor controllers for this.QuoteI am not familiar with this PSU. You are right, it cannot be both. The limit is the power, it will stop you drawing more than 60W. For instance if you set 30V the max Amps will be limited to 2A.If the current is 10A, the max Volts it can manage is 6VHope this helps, happy hunting.

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 11:51:05 am
content: Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amNot really. Analog would be more like an arbitrary wave generator. Feel free to make a comparison chart, however.Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amDo not assume those cheap supplies to deliver their rated power. Search the forum for some experiences.Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amThere are several commercial USB-GPIB interfaces available, again many have been discussed on this forum. Getting an older power supply (with only GPIB) plus USB-GPIB interface might be cheaper than a more modern power supply with modern connectivity.Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amHow low is low?Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amDefine high?Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amThat pretty much limits you to crap and eBay. It may be difficult to find equipment to be sufficiently modern for that price. Is RS-232 acceptable. The HP/Agilent/Keysight 663xB (e.g. 6632B) is excellent and might be available for an affordable price. Has RS-232 and GPIB, can deliver 100W (there are 8V/10A, 20V/5A and 50V/2A models). The older 6632A is cheaper and almost as good, but only has GPIB.Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amFew power supplies will come with software, apart from the (usually crap) software from the likes of Korad. The reason is that a programmable power supply is usually part of a bigger system. You may want to step the power supply and measure the performance of your DUT as the battery discharges. In that case you would be developing your own software in something like Labview or any programming language of choice. You can often find Labview drivers for brand name power supplies. They will also usually have a programming manual, or programming section in the user manual, that help you control it from your own software.Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amIn my opinion they were mostly useful when operational amplifiers ran from +/- 15 V. Less so for modern circuits that might use rail-to-rail opamps or asymmetrical voltages (e.g. +5 V and -2 V).Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amWhat kind of voltage / current do these require (would depend on the size of the battery / motor). Do not forget the series protection diode for battery charging, especially with power supplies that have a crowbar and/or downprogrammer (like the 663x).Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amFor this in my opinion you want a low current limit and good low current resolution down to at least 1 mA. Very little overlap with the other applications.Quote from: metrologist on June 30, 2017, 03:43:03 amYes. They can do 30V and 10A, but not at the same time. Kind of saying you can run and solder a tiny SMD resistor. I am sure you can, but can you also solder while running?The Philips/Fluke PM28xx and HP/Agilent/Keysight 663xA/B come to mind, assuming that you can live with their connectivity and software support. There are a bunch of other HP/Agilent power supplies, most with only GPIB, that might be suitable depending on your exact requirements. And a number of other brands, but make sure you can get operational, programming and ideally service documentation before you buy.

author: vltr
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 04:33:09 pm
content: In the requires GPIB but can pump out power category would also be the 200 watt HP 6002A it can do 50V or 10A and can be chained together for more power. They can be found on eBay for under 200 frequently.

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 06:12:31 pm
content: I might have to look at two supplies for lower power applications and something for high power stuff that is not so sensitive. Maybe the DPS5015 will take care of the higher power stuff and the Fluke PM2811 for lower power applications and some of the general testing I'd likely use it for programming anything.As far as nailing down the specifics, I really do not have a specific application to determine them, so the most better that I could afford... I was just looking at the PM2811 spec sheet and was not as impressed as I thought I'd be. 7.5mV steps and 15mVp-p noise.

author: RD Tech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2017, 07:25:13 am
content: Hi friendthank you for selcting DPS5015i don't know what you really need.1. about the noise, I don't know what's your standar , use *1 probe to test , VPP is about 100 mV , this is the video testhttps://youtu.be/QbcLtOT1IAQ2, CV/CC-- yes, we have for DPS50153, high volts and current -- We just pubish DPS5020, it is suitable for you ?https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/RD-DPS5020-Constant-Voltage-current-Step-down-communication-digital-Power-Supply-buck-Voltage-converter-LCD-voltmeter/923042_32821185351.html?spm=2114.12010108.1000023.29.YledNzPC control with decent software-- we just publish DPS5015 communication version and DPS5020 communication version, you can checkthank you

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2017, 02:27:37 pm
content: Thanks for chiming in. I did pick up the DPS5015 and it works well for a GP bench supply. I still need to build it into a decent case, something will house the SMPS that feeds it.I will check out the newer PC interface modules as well.

author: RD Tech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2017, 03:53:04 am
content: very good , friendyou can check itI guss you will love that

author: RD Tech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 09:42:48 am
content: NOTE: This message has been deleted by the forum moderator Simon for being against the forum rules and/or at the discretion of the moderator as being in the best interests of the forum community and the nature of the thread.If you believe this to be in error, please contact the moderator involved.An optional additional explanation is:

author: kalel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 10:06:53 am
content: RDTech, just curious, what is the Wireless / Bluetooth option for?Does it onlytransmitdata to a Windows application (PSU > PC) for statistics/loggingor can you also control PSU voltage/current/etc settings through the application? (PC > PSU).If you could control VIA PC, then you could run custom test patterns which might be useful to some users (random example: Ramp down voltage from 12V to 5V while recording current/amperage statistics)

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 10:13:06 am
content: What is the point to buy a DPxxx module, a regular power laptop kind, a box, some bananas, instead of buying this unithttps://pt.aliexpress.com/item/CPS-3205-Wholesale-precision-Compact-Digital-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply-OVP-OCP-OTP-low-power-32V5A/32733105518.html?spm=a2g03.10010108.1000016.1.58cc3b87oIeBQ&isOrigTitle=true

author: kalel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 10:23:47 am
content: Quote from: ebclr on November 11, 2017, 10:13:06 amI'm not sure, I also thought of the cost. A branded high quality input DC supply with decent voltage and couple of A is going to cost a lot (comparing to the module price), plus a quality case is going to cost not little. Maybe if you get the buck/boost version and use an old PC power supply (if you have one around)? I don't know about grounding in that case.

author: RD Tech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 01:24:35 pm
content: Quote from: kalel on November 11, 2017, 10:06:53 amDPS and PC can't be used in the same time .. if you use DPS, you can't use the PC

author: RD Tech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 01:26:18 pm
content: Quote from: ebclr on November 11, 2017, 10:13:06 amwe are different , our power supply is just DC-DC power supply