Good Benchtop Power Supply - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ThatGuyYeah
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 03, 2014, 10:50:35 pm
content: I am planning on building a lab station at home and I am curious about recommendations for good Power Supplies. Most of the work will be with circuit analysis and other college-level projects. Some of the ones I was curious about (Hantek and Korad) seems to have a bad rep with some people on here. I don't want to go too expensive, it is a power supply, and I'd rather spend the money on a good oscilloscope.Only factor in all this is I am in America so I am trying to avoid products that aren't made for the outlets here.

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2014, 11:54:06 pm
content: Some questions:Do you know what voltage and current ranges will be useful to you?Do you need adjustable constant current limiting? If you're not sure, I'd highly recommend this feature in at least one power supply on your bench, because it lets you apply power to a new circuit without fear of having a short circuit cause your project to self-destruct.Do you need programmable computer control, or are you OK with manually twisting knobs to set voltage and current limits?Do you need one rail, or will you need more than one?Linear or switcher? Linear is big, heavy, inefficient, but usually very low noise. Switcher is smaller, lighter, and more efficient, but may have a bit of switching noise in it, especially if it's near the bottom of the price range.For fairly generic recommendations, both Extech and Mastech make lines of fairly generic linear supplies with adjustable voltage and current ranges. They're not the greatest build quality, but they're generally functional, and being linear, they put out pretty clean power. A used HP/Agilent or Power Designs will be higher quality, and maybe not a lot more expensive, but it may be harder to find the exact model you want, and you'll be on your own for service.One final word of advice. Don't stress too much trying to find the absolute perfect supply. I rarely see a bench with only one supply on it. Buy one that'll meet most of your needs for now, but expect to get or build something else to cover more specialized needs later.

author: ThatGuyYeah
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 01:17:48 am
content: Do you know what voltage and current ranges will be useful to you? anything 0-24V+ would be nice with the Amps being upto 5A. That isn't a hardline though.Do you need adjustable constant current limiting? It would be nice, but not a must.Do you need programmable computer control, or are you OK with manually twisting knobs to set voltage and current limits? Again, it would be nice but not a must. I worked with both and I am fine with either or.Do you need one rail, or will you need more than one? Multi-Rail, but again not a must.Linear or switcher? Doesn't matter.Mostly, I am looking for a system that can give me a variable voltage and current. I am not looking for anything super fancy, just something that I can use to work on lab projects at home.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 09:59:49 am
content: I'd recommend used over new for the Korad & similar level of budget range. You get much better quality for the money.Take a look atused triple output supplieson eBay for example.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 06:26:39 pm
content: Quote from: nanofrog on December 04, 2014, 09:59:49 amAgreed, those Power Designs supplies are sex on a stick (love this Daveism). I picked up an HP 3610A cheap on eBay that is fully functional.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 04:40:17 am
content: DIY one with a wall wart (laptop type PSUs are excellent for this). You'll learn a lot and save a bundle. I built my first buck converter when I was in 4th grade.

author: LEDAero
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 05:36:41 am
content: For those of us without access to Ebay... or the US second-hand market: I bought one of these -http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-0-32V-Adjustable-DC-Switching-Power-Supply-5A-160W-SMPS-Switchable-110V-95-132V-and/2031161464.htmlInside it is very clean and well put-together. Checking voltages against my (uncalibrated) multimeter, they are within .1v of each other.It has some nice features - soft start, so no hard slamming voltage on power up. You can set the 'default' voltage for power on. Solid aluminium case and small size means it's great for my limited workspace.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 05:58:25 am
content: Quote from: GreyWoolfe on December 04, 2014, 06:26:39 pmI've a TP343B myself.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 09:05:41 am
content: Buy something new with a warranty. Preferably one that has several YouTube videos from people who have looked at it thoroughly.I've bought a number of used power supplies off eBay, including two of the HP E3610A, and every one of them had problems. The kind of problems that couldn't be seen by simple "it powers on a puts out a voltage" type testing, which is about the best you can expect from an eBay seller.Used may be fine if you don't mind having to fix something, but if you just want something that works right off and don't want to waste your time (time=money), then just get a decent quality new one.edit: removed a duplicate word.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 09:11:29 am
content: Quote from: LEDAero on December 05, 2014, 05:36:41 amThat seems like a very nice PSU; too bad the outputs are on the rear! I think I'll get one as well. You can never have enough PSUs!

author: LEDAero
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2014, 05:44:43 am
content: The outputs at the rear are a pain, but I bought some banana lead extensions, so it's easy enough to change cables.