Show your favorite and most used benchtop PSU

[julius oe.]

still running project(2.run):





a classical AC-DC PSU. I already had it running well... then i was testing that neat display watching it reaching 5 or 6 Amps. Then the magic smoke escaped. I forgot that the regulator board only can handle 2 Amps 
I'm still looking for a way to get everything tight to the case.

So here is my second try and I'm sure it will be running soon.

[4cx10000]

After some serious thoughts I decided to buy the TTi CPX400D and I wont regret it. It has been on the shelf for nearly a year now and every time I switch it on I am transferred into lyrical mode 

[Helix70]

Here is my cheap-ish supply. It is low noise and works well, but i hate the single turn pots that you have to brush lightly to get the voltage you want.

One day I will have an E3631A......

[joeqsmith]

My home made bench supply.  Uses an MC1566L that is controlled by an MC68701.  Keypad was from an old girlfriend's phone.  The VF displays both current and voltage.  It has an RS-232 port on it for control and read back.   Built sometime in the early 80's.

[bitbanger]

I'm a big fan of these older BK linear supplies - very portable, robust, and easy to service/adjust. Certainly the one I "use the most" to power on things for quick testing.



The HP's get the "serious" work.  Banana jack addition is waiting for a rainy day.

[BFX]

Also second HP 6632B upgraded to front terminals
Is little pity that I haven't original HP banana terminals but it's enough.

[ketil b]

Also second HP 6632B upgraded to front terminals
Is little pity that I haven't original HP banana terminals but it's enough.

I have found these which a pretty close.

[rdl]

There is at least one other ebay seller that has the gray binding posts with 5 different ring colors including green. The only problems I've found is that the gray color is a bit to the brown side which doesn't look so good with some equipment, and the posts are not cross drilled.

[BFX]

Also second HP 6632B upgraded to front terminals
Is little pity that I haven't original HP banana terminals but it's enough.

I have found these which a pretty close.

It's nice but I don't believe this Chinese products I would prefer used original connectors 

Modified: By the way put to the e-shop example broken piece (see picture) is unacceptable   

[Macbeth]

There is at least one other ebay seller that has the gray binding posts with 5 different ring colors including green. The only problems I've found is that the gray color is a bit to the brown side which doesn't look so good with some equipment, and the posts are not cross drilled.

I did my HP 6632B front panel with the 5 colour ones. I had to use ALL of them for sense, earth, etc 



Grey colour seems spot on to me. Lack of drill hole really hasn't been an issue - except when I stupidly tried to melt some wire which worked perfectly including embedding itself in the red output ring! 

Oh, of course I had to do the faceplate graphics to stop that space being so wasted and ugly. I just printed on to some laser OHP acetate I had and stuck on with sellotape. I've actually got some sheets of water transfer paper to do a more professional job but I have better things to do now I got bored of pimping my 6632B

[basinstreetdesign]

Now THAT'S what you call Home Brew!

[basinstreetdesign]

I got tired of scrounging up ad-hoc power for a tube circuit or just foregoing the project at all after a long time  so finally I decided I needed to have a tube-based power supply with many outputs, some regulated and some not.  So I took some parts I had from a non-working Tek 545 scope, including the amazing power transformer (with 7, count-em SEVEN 6.3VAC filament windings), a spare bookshelf and some junked meters and built one.  This is it and I wrote an instructable for it:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tube-Power-Supply/

[setq]

Necroposting here but this is my current favourite, testing tube heaters. Need to parallel them to get more current in this case as the tube needed more than 500mA:

[bitbanger]

Impressive build! Even to a non tube guy.

[bitbanger]

I'll confess: my little HPs have taken a back seat the past few months. Absolutely loving  this TTI supply, my new go to.

[PTR_1275]

I do love the TTi power supplies. Got a few of the pl330 single ones in the workshop and I recently got a plh120. The extra controls on the newer ones is really good. Still has the analog knobs, but you can set the voltage range of them, lock the settings and all sorts of other things.

[Ysjoelfir]

I got tired of scrounging up ad-hoc power for a tube circuit or just foregoing the project at all after a long time  so finally I decided I needed to have a tube-based power supply with many outputs, some regulated and some not.  So I took some parts I had from a non-working Tek 545 scope, including the amazing power transformer (with 7, count-em SEVEN 6.3VAC filament windings), a spare bookshelf and some junked meters and built one.  This is it and I wrote an instructable for it:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tube-Power-Supply/

Even though I tend to judge everyone ripping an old tek apart (there is no way a tube tek can't be repaired! ), your outcome is absolutely beautiful, I love it! I have two spare Tek transformers laying around and was thinking about the same thing, but I never wanted to use it for a PSU since I always think that I maybe get this specific scope which needs a new transformer... Maybe I should think about using it for a PSU again.

[Fortran]

My favorite PSU is my HP6034L.
0-60V 200W with GPIB.  It's a bit noisy though so I'm only using it when I need a bit more grunt.




My most used PSU's are actually some dirt-cheap buck regulators connected to their own 12V supply and tucked neatly inside my bench socket panel. (I think that's what they're called)
So 4x 0-12V 2A and a terrible ripple above 1A. They work good enough at low load though.
Since most of what I do is in the 1.8-5V <250mA realm, I use these every day.



If I need a cleaner output I've got a few of those 0-30V 3A supplies as well, to fill the void between the panel ones and the HP.

[rrinker]

 That's quite a nifty idea, build power supplies right into the bench. 

[Fortran]

They're not exactly in the bench.
It's a cable management channel hanging on the rails for the shelves, so I can move it
One of the most useful things I've built. A mains breaker, lots of outlets (each group fused @ 6A), a ground-fault-interrupter (that trips before my main one), a panel meter, earth jacks on the bottom for ESD stuff.
And of course, the power supplies.

This thing feeds my whole lab except the computer stuff, so when I turn it off, everything is disconnected.

[BravoV]

They're not exactly in the bench.
It's a cable management channel hanging on the rails for the shelves, so I can move it
One of the most useful things I've built. A mains breaker, lots of outlets (each group fused @ 6A), a ground-fault-interrupter (that trips before my main one), a panel meter, earth jacks on the bottom for ESD stuff.
And of course, the power supplies.

This thing feeds my whole lab except the computer stuff, so when I turn it off, everything is disconnected.

Thanks a lot, that DIN rail really inspires me, going to build exactly like that. 

That rail is in my shopping list now.

[rqsall]

They're not exactly in the bench.
It's a cable management channel hanging on the rails for the shelves, so I can move it
One of the most useful things I've built. A mains breaker, lots of outlets (each group fused @ 6A), a ground-fault-interrupter (that trips before my main one),

How do you make sure the GFI in your rail trips before the main GFI? Just using one that has a lower current at which it trips? From what I read searching forums when I was thinking about this, that using one with a lower current doesn't guarantee it will trip before the main one.

Really curious, because I could use something like that.

[SeanB]

Lower trip current still is a crapshoot with a short circuit line to PE, or even line to neutral, as the energy is enough in the single cycle to trigger both to disconnect. The only benefit is that the build up of stray currents in multiple device EMC filters will trip the lower one first.

Still, like the 2 rail system, and the nice socket sets as well. U see you have pretty much the same DIN mounting power meter I have, though I put the one i have into a small 4 wide DIN box with input and output cables, using a standard SA plug and a dual IEC socket ( old PC dual IEC power lead) for a connection. for things that do not have an IEC socket i have a flying lead with a SA standard socket outlet on it, with a 15A breaker as it was a recycled industrial socket outlet that came with a 15A breaker switch.

[Fortran]

BravoV: Be prepared for a hefty price-tag.
The aluminium ones are crazy expensive, and the outlets for them isn't all too cheap either.
I think my setup landed on near 500€ total.

rqsall: Yes it's a 10mA GFI and my main one is 30mA.  It probably can trip the main one, but so far it hasn't. Don't remember the specs but I believe my 10mA is faster acting then the 30mA.
I could have gone without it. It's mostly there so I don't have to set all my clocks if I screw something up. So if I trip both, it's just a minor inconvenience.
If I really need my lab to not trip the rest of the house, I'd put the GFI in the distribution box and wire that group separately.

[rqsall]

rqsall: Yes it's a 10mA GFI and my main one is 30mA.  It probably can trip the main one, but so far it hasn't. Don't remember the specs but I believe my 10mA is faster acting then the 30mA.
I could have gone without it. It's mostly there so I don't have to set all my clocks if I screw something up. So if I trip both, it's just a minor inconvenience.
If I really need my lab to not trip the rest of the house, I'd put the GFI in the distribution box and wire that group separately.

Yeah, I have a similar reason, except with me it's not the clocks I'm worried about, but more the wrath of my son when he's in some MMORPG tournament and a probe I'm holding slips ....