Industrial PSU with analog remote control? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: H.O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2016, 08:15:37 pm
content: For a project at work I need to power a set of low voltage halogen lights, nominal voltage 12V.Problem is that the cable lenght and the the number of lamps at the end of the cable will change depending on the application. Anything from 10W to ~75W at anything from 3 to 30m of cable.A supply with remote sense would cater for this but I'd also like to be able to adjust the brigtness from the control system.The best option I've found so far is the CUI Inc VHK series DC/DC converter which has remote sensing and a tweakable output voltage (haven't figured out over what range yet). Drawbacks here are that I have to get a powersupply AND a DC/DC converter, the adjust input isn't really designed for being driven by an exteral voltage and it seems to need a lot of external filter components to meet EMC regulations.Any recommendations for an industrial DC power supply which output voltage can be controlled using an analog input? Or another product capable of doing the above for that matter... EBAY doens't cut it in this case though.Thanks!

author: ovnr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2016, 08:51:24 pm
content: So... how about a PSU with built-in remote sense?Here are some options.You won't generally find a cheap PSU with controllable output, especially not widely controllable - you'll need a dimmer too.

author: ivaylo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 07:01:00 am
content: Kepco BOP does it. Or may be an overkill. Not sure what "EBAY doens't cut it..." means.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 07:36:31 am
content: Why can't you have the supply local to the lamp ?I'm sure a lighting supplier makes a halogen supply with 1-10v dimming input.

author: H.O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 07:46:49 pm
content: ovnr,Like I said in my original post a supply with remote sense would work but won't allow me to control the brightness (ie dim the lights) if it doesn't ALSO have a control input. A trim-pot is not what I'm looking for which I may not have been perfectly clear with in my original post - ideally I'd like a 0-10V control input).Then if the supply does have a control input I don't strictly NEED remote sense because the sensing could then be done in the control system. I don't think I said it had to be cheap... Of course it's got be reasonable but a say <250 Euros (and we're talking <100W) if it's the right product.ivaylo,Thanks, Kepco looks nice and does the business. But I'm not looking for a lab power supply. I'm looking for an industrial DIN rail mount type supply with an analog control input - pretty much. No knobs, no buttons, no dispalys, no bananajacks. 230VAC in, 5-18VDC (or somehing like that) out based on a 0-10V (or whatever) analog input."EBAY doens't cut it" means that I can't buy some no-name stuff from China and pay with Paypal, expecting delivery in 1 to 6 weeks. Being for work this needs to be available from a reputable source, someone who knows what they're selling and can sell me a replacement a year from now.Mike,Definetly don't want it it local to the the lamp due to size, heat, voltage restriction, radiation, portability and other things. The lamps are on a remote controlled weld head being subjected to all kinds of "things".This prooved harder than I thought, the CUI Inc DC/DC converter looks better and better on paper. I'll look into what it takes to sink/source current thru the TRIM pin in order to "tweak" the output.Thanks guys!

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 08:13:59 pm
content: OK if you need the load remote. don't bother with voltage sensing, just control lamp current ( after the initial cold-filament startup).You might even be able to use an off-the-shelf constant-current LED driver.