Seeking Your Opinion on Power-Management & Related RoadTests

i've applied to one power supply reference design roadtest but was not selected. I'm interested in power electronics and hve been slowly going through other people's roadtests to see what they do that made them successful applicants, but it's still not clear, so i have yet to apply to another roadtest. i also think i don't have the best equipment to take a power design through its paces, stuff like a basic electronic load, and oscilloscope current probes are missing from my lab which i think are necessary for a well rounded roadtest of power management related products, so that also keeps me from applying while i can get those things. 

i think test equipment would be my favourite thing to roadtest as there's a ton of stuff you can do with that, to demonstrate its capabilities and usability, but with power management and power electronics in general, i think it's hard to do stuff beyond verifying datasheet specs if comparing a product with a competitor's is not possible

although already ten years ago, my answer to the first question is yes. (/products/roadtest/rv/roadtest_reviews/1359/richtek_evb_rt7275gq_1)

Therefore, I selected "other" for the fourth question.

rscasny said:

Why haven't you enrolled in a power-management & related RoadTest?

I am missing option All of them. Maybe except Lack of Interest.

No personal favorite, I think the more out-of-the-ordinary a road test is, the more fun to try.

I didn't indicate I had enrolled in a power management road test although I did one on power scavenging.

As to why I don't generally enroll in power management road tests, most of them are not of burning interest. I tend to design with modular power supplies or reference designs or legacy designs I've used in the past. While I have an interest in power systems, for a power management road test to be more interesting than other projects on my bucket list, it needs to be something I don't have an equivalent solution for, such as a POE system, or perhaps a solar power system.

As far as what I am most interested in to road test, this changes depending on what I am working on and what gaps are still left in my electronics capabilities. There is also a trade-off between level of effort required to complete the road test and perceived benefit of the knowledge gained and equipment value. For example I am interested in many microcontrollers but would tend to apply for those that bring some new capability without a huge learning curve of some new IDE. Sensors mainly depend on whether I can think of some projects I would like to use them for. Test equipment depends on whether my instrumentation has that particular gap. SBCs probably need to introduce a new level of power or feature set. FPGAs would need some attractive added kit to make the effort worthwhile. AI would need to lower the learning curve barrier.

Why haven't you enrolled in a power-management & related RoadTest?  Other:  Lack of expertise and lack of an application to use it (the board, chip, etc.)

When you enroll in a RoadTest, what is your personal favorite?  I chose Test Equipment but really anything that I can find a real world application for (meaning also within my skill set)..

Before starting being included in the Roadtest program, I found very helpful this recording: /learn/events/w/documents/3378/webinar-recording-how-to-write-a-winning-roadtest-application
To me also has been very helpful (as you're doing) comparing my past failed attempts with actual roadtests when they are published, looking on aspects my application was lacking.

The problem with PMIC roadtests is that the range of parts is large and individual parts (especially the kind that manufacturers would like road tested) tend to have small areas of application.

When most of us want a PMIC it's part of a bigger project and we wouldn't want to compromise work on the project by using a not quite right part that happens to be on a road test.

Gough Lui has done some great non-project road tests where he has put  a lot of work into doing  testing purely to investigate the part - most people lack at least one of resources, time,  or interest to do this.

So I think to get more interest in PMIC Road Testing you'll need to sweeten the deal somehow. Possibly challenges where the PMIC is a key part of the thing.

I have a current example for this  - I'm repairing an old HP instrument and the LM309K TO3 voltage regulator has failed. I'll probably just use a TO220 7805 regulator bodged in but the idea of making a TO3 shaped board with an AD Silent Switcher chip on it is appealing as project/challenge.

But I think PMICs might be more suitable in challenges than straight Road Tests. In all cases the value of the chip is not going to be a motivator (unless it was an actual real TO3 LM309 ).

MK

A PNIC evaluation kit might be more attractive if it contained enough parts to build a complete power supply with appropriate protection.