Bench power supply

Aug 26, 2014 2 Replies
D

When I started out playing with electronics many years ago, such things were pretty expensive. So I built my own. I have a 0-30v 0.6A one, a



+/-15v 1 amp, and a 13.8v 5amp, all built in.

What I've always wanted is a large enough one to use with power amps. So a dual 0-50 at about 3 amps.



Each time I looked at RS etc, they seemed beyond my pocket.



Idly looking through Ebay, came across this:-



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2 x 0-50v at up to 3 amps each, and a fixed 5v 3 amp. With the usual options for combining the two main outputs.

Looks to be a badge engineered version of a generic Chinese design that many sell for a much higher price.



It arrived this morning and a quick glance inside looks good.



It won't get the hammering it would with proper pro use - so I'm hoping it will last ok.


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A

For decades, I used one I built whilst I was a student. Eventually, I bought an EP-613 single-ended supply from CPC when it was ridiculously cheap in a CPC offer leaflet (under £30 IIRC). Many companies sold them including Maplin at the time, but it looks like the product is EOL now.

One day, I accidentally dropped it on a concrete floor, and the front panel and circuit board acted as the crumple zone for the heavy mains transformer. (It's small enough I can pick it up with one hand, but heavy enough to slip out of your grip if you aren't careful. It could really do with a carrying handle.)

At that time, CPC had another ridiculously cheap offer on a dual

0-30/5A supply (something like 75% off), so I bought that.
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This worked well, but it's bigger, larger footprint on my over- crowded workbench, and I hardly ever need a dual supply, although I have used it to generate 52V when needed occationally.

This prompted me to repair the EP-613 - mending the circuit board and front panel. Fortunately, neither of the LCD meters was damaged, and it works perfectly again. I'm now back using that most of the time.

So, if it's not urgent, keep an eye on the CPC offer leaflets and bargins section of their website. The bench PSUs are often in these for 10% or so off, but just occasionally they appear at very much larger discounts.

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D

I already have a selection of PS - all home built. An 0-40v 600 mA one.

+/-15v 1 amp. 13.8v 5 amp. All built in around the bench.

But what I didn't have was one suitable for running a power amp. So a dual

0-50v at 5 amps is ideal. I've managed to build it in by removing the last two mentioned above. It's far too big to have on the actual bench top.
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