Cables / accessories for bench power supply

[girishv]

Hi,

I am setting up a electronics lab. I have a bench power supply with 0-30V / 15-0-15 / 5V rails.  I expect to use these cables / accessories to power my prototype or development boards.

I want to buy cables and accessories to connect the boards with bench power supply. Please suggest.

[bob91343]

It depends on what each device requires.  There is no particular standard.  Just stock some wire and the kind of connector on the power supply.

[wizard69]

As noted above it depends upon your board.   However setting up an electronics lab requires that you stock a variety of cables, test leads and the like.   You did not mention the specifics of your power supply but if it uses binding posts or banana jacks then test leads that work with them are advised.

It is also highly advisable to make use of or buy, lengths of test lead wire that can be sized to suit your usage.   At a minimal you will want RED and BLACK test lead wire but additional colors might make sense.   You could use standard hook up wire but that can be rather stiff.   In either case you want the wire sized for the current being demanded by the device.

[cdev]

You can make your own cables.

If the current is modest, I like to use two wires plus a shield with a third ground wire for shielding from RF.

 If your power supply is set up like you imply with a ground in the middle, I dont know, is it customary to have a shield? Probably not, but it is sometimes helpful to have it, if the use case supports using one.

The instruction manual for my little HP supply (not technically  a bench supply because it doesnt have a current limit control, just voltage) I think suggested using a shielded wire and since reading that Ive used a three conductor wire for power as my default. When there is a logical grounding point to connect the ground to, I do.

[rdl]

If you have banana jacks on your power supply, this type is pretty useful. Pictured is the Mini Grabber and Micro Grabber. There is also an SMD version. The banana plugs are stackable and they come in all the standard colors. They are not cheap from Pomona. I'm sure they can be found elsewhere in varying quality. A lot of breadboards have binding posts that accept banana plugs, so some plug to plug are good to have also.


(click for bigger)

[Jwillis]

I suggest silicone wire simply for the flexibility. Nothing worse than fighting with stiff wire from a power supply. You can get it in many gauges bulk for do it yourself or pre made cables in many different configurations ,lengths and  wire gauge. And the pre made cables  work just fine in your multi meter as well with standard 4mm banana plugs . I've not experienced any problems with the cheap silicon wire or pre made cables so you don't really need to spend a fortune . 

[cdev]

The single most likely mistake on an electronics project that I worry about is the power wires coming loose and hitting something unexpected. (Because my desk is often a huge mess)

I have this very cheap breadboard power supply that contains two switchable (3.3 volts or 5 volts) regulated power rails and it accepts most wall warts anywhere from 6-12 v as its input. The best thing about it is the fact that once its put there it stays there. So I have been meaning to make something similar for a bench supply to hook up to a breadboard so I can use the current limiting.  because the little cheapie breadboard power hookup has no provision for current limiting and I find it useful. The way to get it to stay where its put is to use something that uses multiple holes to hook to the power rails so it wont fall out or become intermittent if you move it around.

Thats a good accessory for a bench supply.

[girishv]

As noted above it depends upon your board.   However setting up an electronics lab requires that you stock a variety of cables, test leads and the like.   You did not mention the specifics of your power supply but if it uses binding posts or banana jacks then test leads that work with them are advised.

The power supply has both. Binding posts and banana jack.

It is also highly advisable to make use of or buy, lengths of test lead wire that can be sized to suit your usage.   At a minimal you will want RED and BLACK test lead wire but additional colors might make sense.   You could use standard hook up wire but that can be rather stiff.   In either case you want the wire sized for the current being demanded by the device.

I am open to buying or making my own as long as I can find good quality connectors. At this moment, most of my boards are low power / low current ones.

[David Hess]

I like the old style dual banana plugs which have a 3/4" spacing for making cables as needed.

[girishv]

I like the old style dual banana plugs which have a 3/4" spacing for making cables as needed.

Thanks for the suggestion. I measured the space between banana plugs. Seems to be they are spaced 3/4".

[wizard69]

The power supply has both. Binding posts and banana jack.

I'm not sure how much of a problem you have finding electronic parts in India however some suggestions.    Look first for Silicon test lead wire.   Usually this can be found in short rolls or cut to length.   You want to buy enough to make a few leads with some left over.   You will benefit from several colors of insulation but if colors can't be had there are other ways to mark wires.   As note before the gage of the wire depends on the current demands of the item being powered, this can mean even more wire but to start just choose the a heavier gage.

at one end you put on a plug that matches the board you will be hooking up to.   At the other end you can use banana plugs or spade connectors for the binding posts.   If you do a lot of repair or designs, on boards of dissimilar types you can end up with a lot of purpose built lead sets.   This is where labeling can save your butt.  Labels are so important that I've actually invested in a labeler so that I don't forget what is what.

I am open to buying or making my own as long as I can find good quality connectors. At this moment, most of my boards are low power / low current ones.

Well here in the states good quality connectors and lead sets come from a number of manufactures.   I have no idea what you have easy access to in India so I will just offer up a quick list of manufactures:

• https://www.pomonaelectronics.com/
• https://probemaster.com/
• https://www.muellerelectric.com/
• https://www.caltestelectronics.com/
• https://www.keyelco.com/index.cfm
• https://www.concord-electronics.com/   {web site sucks}
• https://www.belfuse.com/product/product-listing?navCategory=cinchJohnsonProductTypeHardwareTooling&toPage=1  Johnston / Cinch
• https://ec.staubli.com/products/measureline/1 {german}
• https://www.reichelt.de/measurement-accessories-c5912.html?&nbc=1 {german}

[girishv]

I'm not sure how much of a problem you have finding electronic parts in India however some suggestions.    Look first for Silicon test lead wire.   Usually this can be found in short rolls or cut to length.   You want to buy enough to make a few leads with some left over.   You will benefit from several colors of insulation but if colors can't be had there are other ways to mark wires.   As note before the gage of the wire depends on the current demands of the item being powered, this can mean even more wire but to start just choose the a heavier gage.

Importing from online stores can be expensive business as customs duty, VAT and service charges adds anywhere between 40% to 50% of order value. I can source the silicon test lead wire from local vendors. Probably not the big brands.

at one end you put on a plug that matches the board you will be hooking up to.   At the other end you can use banana plugs or spade connectors for the binding posts.   If you do a lot of repair or designs, on boards of dissimilar types you can end up with a lot of purpose built lead sets.   This is where labeling can save your butt.  Labels are so important that I've actually invested in a labeler so that I don't forget what is what.

Label printer makes sense. I will buy one.

Well here in the states good quality connectors and lead sets come from a number of manufactures.   I have no idea what you have easy access to in India so I will just offer up a quick list of manufactures:

• https://www.pomonaelectronics.com/
• https://probemaster.com/
• https://www.muellerelectric.com/
• https://www.caltestelectronics.com/
• https://www.keyelco.com/index.cfm
• https://www.concord-electronics.com/   {web site sucks}
• https://www.belfuse.com/product/product-listing?navCategory=cinchJohnsonProductTypeHardwareTooling&toPage=1  Johnston / Cinch
• https://ec.staubli.com/products/measureline/1 {german}
• https://www.reichelt.de/measurement-accessories-c5912.html?&nbc=1 {german}

I will order them online through Mouser/Digikey/Arrow. They offer free shipping for orders exceeding US$50.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

[sleemanj]

Make your own exactly how you want.

I have over time amassed a collection of test cables with XT60 on one end and "something else" on the other end, XT60 are cheap, readily available, can handle plenty enough current, are easy to solder, easy to connect and disconnect.  I use silicone wire, 14AWG usually.

So I have various combinations, such as Banana to XT60-M, Banana to XT60-F, Alligator to..., test hooks to, BNC to... USB to... and some adapter blocks I made up to go from XT60 F-F, M-M, 1-2 splitters, a couple of split pass-through for current and voltage measurements tapped off for power supply testing etc.

Anyway, what it boils down to is, whatever cable I need, I can grab the appropriate ends, plug them together, and presto chango, it's done.

[SmallCog]

It really depends what you tend to mess with...

I have a lab supply that features banana sockets, as does my DC load and multimeter. I have a stash of the following with banana at one end in various colours and lengths

Crocodile / Aligator Clips

Ezy Hooks

Banana Male (supply to meter etc)

DC Barrel Jacks (Salvaged from something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com.au/GutReise-Universal-Adjustable-Selectable-Electronics/dp/B07D14XLLX)

Various plugs for equipment I normally work on (which will be different for everyone) but mine include things like those green pluggable headers

Cigarette socket and Anderson 50A but if you don't muck around with automotive stuff you obviously wont need the last 2