Adding a Power Supply enable switch?

Question

I was watching a video from James baldengineer (Bald Engineer), he suggested looking for lab power supplies with enable switches.

Can this functionality be added, just a switch? I am thinking there is special circuitry needed to suppress spikes of current and or voltage during power up, if so is there something off the shelf or a simple circuit that can be recommended.

I thought this would be a great addition.

Thanks for your thoughts.

baldengineer · Answer

Adding a switch would not be much different inserting/removing the cable while the supply is powered.

I'm sure there are protections you could put in place, but I'm not sure how important they would be. It depends on the power supply and the load.

Personally, for work in the < 12 Volts and < 1 Amp range, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Above either of those limits and I would want to do some testing first.

Adding a Power Supply enable switch?

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