Jump to content
Electronics-Lab.com Community

monkfinger

Members
  • Posts

    1
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    monkfinger got a reaction from ile113 in 0-30V 0-3A Latest Data   
    Hi all
    Ok, this is my end result. Built and tested and works quite well.
    I started with the version posted at the start of this thread. However I had a couple of problems with the current limiter. I didn't have much success with the current limiter clamping the input of U2 - sometimes it would not go right down to 0V, sometimes it would go just below. Just below was a big problem for me - U2 would start to oscillate, with bad consequences for anything connected to the output of the Q4... It would then drive the output high just when I wanted the current limit to become active  I should add that I did not use TL2141 or MC34071s, this might be the root of my problem. I fixed this issue with a small change to circuit layout rather than going to expensive opamps.
    My mods (compared to the circuit posted on start of this thread):
    * current limit - I removed D9. To replace this, I added another BC548 - the base is driven by the current flowing through the current limit LED. The collector of this BC548 clamps the output of U2 (exactly like the existing BC548 driven by the negative rail). This arrangement means we don't care how close to its supply voltage the output of U3 can go. It avoids the possibility of driving the input of U2 out of spec. Clamping the output of U2 is much more like how the integrated voltage regulators work. It seems better to my mind, to keep U2 out of the loop when current limit is active. [Edit: note that U2 will need a small heatsink with this arrangement]
    * some rearrangement of the opamp power connections, for all three opamps... U1 & U3 are run via 15V zener diodes, to give a supply of approx 30V. That allows almost any cheap opamp to be used for U1 & U3 (741s or TL071 etc). U2 is connected to unregulated 44V and to the output side of the 0R47. 
    * I used a MC33171 opamp for U2. It is high voltage, but much cheaper (they are £0.60 in UK) than TL2141 or MC34071 (both are £5 here). It is a low power IC by comparison.
    * 0-30V 4A transformer.
    * 2 x 6800uF smoothing caps.a big thanks to the contributors on this thread for their efforts, my project was greatly speeded up by borrowing a lot of their ideas
     
    Edit:
    * I also changed the 0R47 to 0R2, as the 0R47 generated too much heat at 3A for my liking. This also means R18 changes to 330K. These two values are not shown on the schematic here.
     

×
  • Create New...