| Electronics > Beginners |
| Buy a cheap Power Supply or DIY/Mod my old PC PSU ? |
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| Discotech:
--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on June 04, 2018, 06:56:26 pm --- --- Quote from: Discotech on June 04, 2018, 05:14:42 pm ---Are they good for the money then ? I was thinking if a cheap PS costs £50 to £80 while it may do the job, the PSU is the heart of all your projects so it's probably one area you really shouldn't cheap out on, so is there anything in the £100 to £150 range that would be a no brain buy, either second hand or new ? or is £100 to £150 still considered "cheap" range ? --- End quote --- Dave sells them. Is that good enough? ;D Many folks seem to like them, myself included. Other than an issue with an earlier batch there don't seem to be horror stories about them. It's hard to beat that bang for buck, especially when you get a good deal on a second hand unit. --- End quote --- I'd only got to watching the Korad fail video he did 6 years ago, I have lots to catch up on :palm: I've been looking at DPS5005 as well today, they seem a decent little unit |
| nanofrog:
--- Quote from: Discotech on June 03, 2018, 01:36:09 pm ---I've just been watching this vid from Dave on setting a lab up He suggests building your own PSU over buying built or second hand and I think it's perfect for a first project but obviously buying second hand/new already built does have its merits in that you won't likely have to troubleshoot I mean there's nothing stopping me from building my own for now to dip my toes in and then buying something new/used that's better right ? --- End quote --- I agree it's nice to build one. But with the cost of a suitable transformer, heatsinks, bulk storage caps, and enclosure, it's cheaper to buy one if you don't already have these parts lying around. You're better off buying linear supplies from the used market IME. |
| Bassman59:
--- Quote from: Discotech on June 02, 2018, 02:28:43 pm ---So I need a power supply for my breadboards I'm going to purchase so I can make some electronic circuits and I'm wondering whether it's better to just buy a cheap PSU like the one at Farnell http://uk.farnell.com/tenma/72-10480/power-supply-1ch-30v-3a-adjustable/dp/2251946?MER=bn_para_1TP_LastViewed_1 Tenma 72-10480 - Bench Top Power Supply, 0-30V 3A with Single Output or Use my spare PC PSU which is 700w and one of the high end types so probably has better components than the Tenma and obviously better reliability/safety features. --- End quote --- A power supply with an output current meter is invaluable, especially when bringing up a board for the first time. You should have some idea of what the board's total current draw should be, and if the power supply meter tells you something odd (like the draw is too high) you know you have some work to do. |
| james_s:
There are lots of little Chinese meters available for peanuts these days. I used one in my last build that cost only a few dollars and displays V and A on LED digits. Nice clean looking little thing, with accuracy that is plenty good for the task. They're cheap enough to be stuck in virtually any power supply you build. |
| rstofer:
I would put adjustable current limiting at the top of the must have feature list. The other day I was bringing up a Z80 project and I had an address conflict (pretty easy to do). I had set the current limit to about 100 mA and as soon as it powered up, the voltage dropped right off. Probably saved several chips. Adjustable voltage is nice, maybe even important, but current limit is vital! And there needs to be a readout of the current setting (in numbers) not just some knob that you turn and hope it all works out. |
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