element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • About Us
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Experts, Learning and Guidance
  • Technologies
  • More
Experts, Learning and Guidance
Ask an Expert Forum Power Supply for Home lab?
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Leaderboard
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join Experts, Learning and Guidance to participate - click to join for free!
Actions
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 136 replies
  • Subscribers 300 subscribers
  • Views 15564 views
  • Users 0 members are here
  • diy_power_supply
  • function_generator
  • power_supplies
  • diy
  • voltage/current
  • power_supply
  • power_meter
  • variable_power_supply
Related
See a helpful answer?

Be sure to click 'more' and select 'suggest as answer'!

If you're the thread creator, be sure to click 'more' then 'Verify as Answer'!

Power Supply for Home lab?

mudz
mudz over 9 years ago

Hi,
I am starting this year with different projects. Indeed, I need a power supply which I felt for so long is the main missing component in my small home lab. Currently, I am using PC SMPS, Transformers, and different adaptors to power up different projects and kits.
Many times I felt need of a variable power source but I did that with two different power supplies, but it is time consuming. And many more things to say but its just a waste of time to write and for yourself to read...... Now Its too much and I'm going to build one good power supply. Previously I'm fulfilling my power supply needs by using a adaptor and then using a voltage regulator(7805, 7809, 7812, LM317..) afterward for my projects.
So, what do you suggest?

Also I'm going to include few more additions to it like function generator, power consumption meter.
So what do you suggest what will be the best thing to make a good power supply?

An IC?

A Microcontroller? like PIC

Just build a box consisting a transformer/adaptor with voltage regulator and few pots?

Do tell me which will be better to use? A microcontroller or IC available in market for specific task for example Function generator IC? I'm confused should I go with a microcontroller and make my own program to do these tasks or should I buy an IC for individual task and then using a controller to control all?

 

 

mudz

  • Sign in to reply
  • Cancel

Top Replies

  • Robert Peter Oakes
    Robert Peter Oakes over 9 years ago +3
    I know this is self promoting but I am in the middle of a set of tutorials on building a LAB / Bench power supply and accessories I start with the basic building blocks, explaining in practical terms what…
  • michaelkellett
    michaelkellett over 9 years ago +2
    There is no best - it depends what you are doing - I have loads of different power supplies (it's my work not just a hobby so they can be paid for if needed.) My favorite general purpose supply is a rather…
  • Robert Peter Oakes
    Robert Peter Oakes over 9 years ago in reply to mudz +2
    I would suggest starting with a basic naalog design (As I have shown in my series), understand its operation, then it should be a simple extension to add DAC and ADC monitoring this way it seperates the…
Parents
  • Robert Peter Oakes
    Robert Peter Oakes over 9 years ago

    The Main reason folks build there own is first and formost for the experiance  (Kinda New EE 101) , it can teach you a whole load about electronics, OpAmps, Power Transistors, Feedback, Transient Response, Voltage References, Temperature stability to name just a few and at the end of it you have something usefull

     

    The second reason is because you have a few of the expensive parts laying arround already and there just the ticket to build a PSU on a budget, Im talking about perhaps a transformer from an old AMP, got a box to put it in, have an LCD or LED display to show the volts and amps (Or an analogue one) etc. Then the cost is minimal for the rest and you still get the benefit of learning and something usefull

     

    If the reason you need one is purly professional / Must have one for the hobby but are an experianced EE then yes, often much cheaper to simply buy one, albeit low end.

     

    My series on building one is aimed at the folks wanting to learn and gain the experiance, and now im going to extend this to making it fully programable, even remotly so it will potentially be comparable with ones exceeding many hundreds of dollars.

     

    Peter

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +2 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • COMPACT
    COMPACT over 9 years ago in reply to Robert Peter Oakes

    You can't go wrong with an LM317 operating in Linear regulation mode!

    Making its voltage programmable is as simple as incorporating a I2C/SPI/Serial controlled resistor.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • uscdadnyc
    uscdadnyc over 9 years ago in reply to COMPACT

    IDK (I Don't Know) about Photons possibly having Mass? At certain Levels/Situations Matter/Energy are interchangeable (E=MC2 ). I guess I should continue that MOOC QM course I started  at www.coursera.edu. the QM course offered by the USA university of Maryland. I got as far as the Time-dependent Schrodinger Equation. But stopped b/c #1) I had got my Answer to the Q: Why QM? A (being): small semiconductor geometries are subject to QM Effects. #2) The math was getting Hairy and I suddenly remembered that I had given away my Math Bible, Krezszig "Advanced Engineering Mathematics" C2 . {sorry about the artifact, I am slowly starting to use the Equations Editor). W/O much success as evident by my mistakes here.

    AAR Thx for posting the Ponder(ables)/In-Ponder(ables) to which I may/may-not be able to add to the discussion.

     

    USCDADNYC, , NY NY USA

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • michaelkellett
    michaelkellett over 9 years ago in reply to uscdadnyc

    Kreyszig  - I'm keeping mine just in case - which shows what a hoarder I am since I have opened it exactly once with the intention of looking something up in the last 42 years !

     

    MK

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • uscdadnyc
    uscdadnyc over 9 years ago in reply to michaelkellett

    To MK:Was your edition of AEM "red" in color and about 6.5"x9.5"x2.5" (17x24x6cm). How I miss that book, I guess I can get a copy over the Internet.What book did you have for Fresh/Soph General Physics? What Calculus Text? US or outta country Higher Ed institution? I was BSEE 73' Syracuse University, JD 1990 NYLS.

    You might saw I went from a 2nd Rate Engr School to a 3rd Rate Law School. My trajectory is definitely downward.

    WRT "Hoarding", I take an approach similar to the NYS EPTL (Estates Powers, Trust Law) by analogy. You cannot execute a "Will" w/o knowing the metes & bounds of your Personal/Real (land) Property. Similarly, if you know what you have and can show a compelling reason to "keep" such, in my eyes, it is Not Hoarding. IDK about in other jurisdictions outside of NYS (USA), but this is pretty much English Common Law based. So you guys/gals in NZ and/or Aussie Land are covered

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • uscdadnyc
    uscdadnyc over 9 years ago in reply to uscdadnyc

    BTW anybody else going to participate in that "power electronics" MOOC at www.coursera.edu? We can use this forum to exchange Q's/comments. And maybe

    exchange "GOOD" (if at all possible) Puns/Jokes. LOL

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • DAB
    DAB over 9 years ago in reply to uscdadnyc

    Hi Edward,

     

    Unfortunately, E = mc^2 does not mean matter and energy are interchangeable.

    This is a often repeated but wrong interpretation of what Einstein really said.

     

    The full context of his equation says that the maximum kinetic energy E of a mass object m occurs when it is travelling at the speed of light c.

     

    Mass and energy are separate items and both are 100% conserved in all reactions.

     

    The equation also indicates that there can be NO massless sources of energy.

     

    So the faster a photon vibrates, then the less mass it has.  This fact means that Planck's radiation law is wrong as he has higher frequency photons with more energy, which is not confirmed when you include the mass.

     

    So if you are going to use Quantum Mechanics, you first need to throw away all of your massless objects and replace your discrete quanta as individual photons.

     

    Oh and by the way, the standard atomic model is also wrong.

     

    DAB

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • COMPACT
    COMPACT over 9 years ago in reply to DAB

    Seven!

     

    It's my cat playing dice again!

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • uscdadnyc
    uscdadnyc over 9 years ago in reply to DAB

    DAB wrote>>...

    Unfortunately, E = mc^2 does not mean matter and energy are interchangeable.

    This is a often repeated but wrong interpretation of what Einstein really said.

     

    The full context of his equation says that the maximum kinetic energy E of a mass object m occurs when it is travelling at the speed of light c.

     

    ELY reply>> Forgive my stating the special case of Einstein's Famous Equation. Where v is negligible when compare to c. My bad.I guess I should stated the formula as: [having tbl w/ the equation editor, so this longhand] E = (M x c(sqrted)/ Sqroot (1- ( v(sqrted)/c(sqrted)). Is this what you are alluding to?

    AAR I had to open up my Atomic Physics Text from Fall 71 or Spring 72 for this one

    AAR2 I have just about exhausted my knowledge of (atomic/relativistic) Physics. Maybe I should proceed ahead (from where I stopped) WRT that QM MOOC. Could you (DAB) look at the curriculum to see if any of the concepts are worthwhile. Link is: https://www.coursera.org/course/eqp

    Will any of this gobbly-gok help me understand what is behind the science/math of your Premise(s)/Theories ? Not to slight you, but I would prefer a Third Party Source for the Basic Science involved. Can you refer me to a "Mainstream" Source? I don't want this to become  a  PHD level learning experience. Just the Basics, if at all possible.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • COMPACT
    COMPACT over 9 years ago in reply to uscdadnyc

    Two!

     

    Cat's Eyes!

     

    The cat's at it again!

     

    As a forearm to the head - Ancient Egyptians measured Qubits in Cubits.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • COMPACT
    COMPACT over 9 years ago in reply to COMPACT

    Both QEIIs are World renowned wave motion experts.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • COMPACT
    COMPACT over 9 years ago in reply to COMPACT

    One QEII has no power and only reigns.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
Reply
  • COMPACT
    COMPACT over 9 years ago in reply to COMPACT

    One QEII has no power and only reigns.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
Children
  • DAB
    DAB over 9 years ago in reply to COMPACT

    Does that mean that she does not precipitate?

     

    DAB

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube