I think I'm at the point that using a USB cord from a wall plug is no longer feasible for my prototyping. I'd like to get a decent, not too expensive, bench supply.
The only things I know enough to know I care about are: I'd like to be able to change the voltage, and I'd like it to tell me how much current the circuit is drawing.
This power supply will be used on arduino projects, leds, servos, ect; i.e. small hobby projects. I would be using it during the breadboard phase. Checking the amps used from the supply would tell me how big of a wall wart/battery I need to get for whatever the project is. I don't really know but I imagine the biggest projects I would be building would be 3-5 amps. If that's not enough information to give decent suggestions please let me know what else you need.
Thank you!
The answer is you will never have enough power supplies or one for all applications
Quick and dirty option is get an old FREE PC power supply and one of these sort of boards
eBay auction: #295931682575 This will get you a good step up from basic wallwarts.
Another option is building your own power supply bricks
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/345286 is the source for these, follow the datasheets and either DCDC or even Mains to DC these are working really well. Laser cut cases are mine but roll your own 3D printed ones too.
From there you move up to Variable PSU's. You can start off at $10-15 from AliX or Evilbay and use your converted PC supply (or similar) to get you some current limiting and variable voltage. Some of these are total trash and noisy but some are good.
Apart from it is a great 'project' to learn from I wouldn't in this day and age look at designing my own let alone spending the time to build it. Heretic I may be but my time has a value
Used Linear supplies as you are in the USA are where I would look in particular at the Hewlett Packard era gear.
Not right or wrong but some ideas to consider
KORAD KA3005P is a pretty solid choice for a lab power supply.
KORAD KA3005P is a pretty solid choice for a lab power supply.
This came up in amazon when looking at the one you mentioned and it's about half the price. Thoughts?
Wanptek DPS3010
if you want a good cheap switcher.....
Thoughts?
KORAD is a liner power supply from a reputable company with known good performance.
That other thing is a switching supply from a random Chinese company. It may be decent, it may be complete crap. There are 100s of them and nobody knows how good any of them are.
Also, analog adjustments automatically disqualify it from any real work for me. It is incredibly easy to bump the knob and fry your circuit. Correction: it looks like has digital control with knobs. No idea how good it is, I still would not risk it. Chances are - it is crap.
Yes, those DIY kits are pretty decent. You will still get a switching supply, so it will be noisier (electrically), but it may not matter for your use. They will also be lighter and quieter.
Also, you really, really want a power supply with an output enable/disable button. Without that you have to disconnect your load while you configure the settings. (Okay not always, but you should)
When I was looking for a PS (my first and still last PS actually), I didnt pay much attention if it is 2 or 3 channels, and I got one with 3 channels (thinking just in case) and then I realized two channels would be really limiting. So if you are looking for >1 channels, I recommend 3 channels instead of 2.
KORAD KA3005P is a pretty solid choice for a lab power supply.
This came up in amazon when looking at the one you mentioned and it's about half the price. Thoughts? Wanptek DPS3010
One detail that is unclear on those, is if the current display auto-ranges. If not, the 10mA LSB on the 10A model is a pain, vs the 1mA LSB on the 5A models.
Addition: I see those DC head units with LCD have a RD6006P and RD6006W with 5 digit readouts
Use Classic 1980s..1990s HP dual and triple analog linear , have many ....
$35...100 on ebay or ham fleas...
Built like tanks, easy to service. HEAVY!
HP 6236B triple
HP 6205C dual
Jon
When I click on the first image, a bowl of figs? loads.
I'm pretty sure those are chestnuts.
A long time ago I was also longing for those 30V 5A power supplies, but in my youth, I could not afford them. Later I realized these things are of course useful, but you rarely need them. An adjustable power supply that goes up to 20V and 1A is plenty for nearly all projects on your bench top. There are of course plenty of projects that need more power, from motor controllers, CB equipment or audio amplifiers, but those quite often need either very simple or specialized power supplies and then the "30V 3A" power supply also do not fit well. For such projects it is also quite easy to start with building the power supply you need for it.
Overall, I think that a relatively low power linear power supply is just as useful than the relatively cheap 30V5A supplies. But there are not many affordable and lower power power supplies on the market. It is relatively easy though to build them yourself, and it is also a good way to improve your skills in analog electronics.
The "hiland" kit (about EUR10 from China) is a quite usable power supply, but it has some issues you have to know about before building. There is a long thread about this power supply on this forum.
And one extra thing you will want to have is an adjustable current limit. the current limit does not have to be very precise, It is most often used just to keep things from getting damaged when shit happens, such as short circuits or wiring faults on your breadboard. for example, it happened a few times to me that a circuit did not work, the power supply went into current limit, and then I discovered I inserted an IC backward. And then, after turning the IC around it worked. Without an adjustable current limit, the IC very likely would have overheated and self destructed.
Rebonjour a tous.....re the hewlett Packard vintage lab PS HP 6236B triple and HP 6205C dual
mentioned above (sorry for chestnuts!) Corrected...)
1/ 99 % 0f linear bench analog is powered with symmetric 5, 12 or 15V. The 400 ma of the HP dual and triple is fine. These have current limits
2/ 99% of digital breadboards are run on +5 or +3.3V
3/ Linear lab PSU can have very low noise, hum, low drift and great regulation. plot attached 1 hr turn on
Have used these since 2010.
HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC DAY!
Jon
I'm a fan of the HP E361xA series. I own a E3611A.
They are quiet (electrically and aurally), uses 10 turn pots for voltage/current, and shows/sets in 100mV/10mA increments.
If neccessary, they are easy to repair (no exotic parts) with complete service manuals available (including schematic,
E3615A,
E3611A).
It's nice to have at least one supply that you can dial-in a low current for those times when you're about to bring up an expensive part for the first time.
Here's a reasonably priced
E3615A on eBay.There are dual (E362xA) and triple (E363xA) output series, however, current adjustment is not available.
Once you're familiar with a nice single output supply like the E3615A, you'll then have the confidence to make an investment in those expensive triple output, LCD+computer controlled supplies from Siglent, Rigol, or Keysight.
For affordability, reparability and usefulness one of the HP 62xx series are hard to beat as well as any of the Power Designs units.
Most of your decision should hinge around what the planned uses are - unless you are primarily interested in digital circuits, I would go with an analog supply. Even then, a cheap linear supply can be a better prospect than a more expensive SMPS. if you are going to be working with analog circuits then at least a dual tracking supply - preferable with a third fixed rail - is very good to have. Not necessary, but good.
If you have a little more to spend, I can highly recommend the Siglent SPD3303-X as I have a couple and am very impressed with them. Also, the Power Designs precision supplies cannot be beat. Seriously, they really can't...
Hal
Over the decades we found simple analog meters MUCH better for lab work as trends and fluctuations are show instantly, no delay
The digital readout PSU may be more accurate but we use an ext DVM if needed for accurate setting, rather than depend on the often poor accuracy digital PSU readouts.
j
I found Vantek DPS3305P power supply good.
i'm a radio ham,switchers kill the hf bands,build a linear with a well known lm723,cant go wrong,just the cc mode needs inprovement imho