3 ms·

If you tinker with electronics, buy a dc power supply. I've been meaning to buy one for years, and only bought one recently at an estate sale for 30 buck. It'

If you tinker with electronics, buy a dc power supply. I've been meaning to buy one for years, and only bought one recently at an estate sale for 30 buck. It's just so convienant having the right voltage for testing, and repair.

sokoloff 5y ago
Not only the right voltage, but a bench supply will have current limiting as well. (It will be constant voltage up to a settable current limit and then will let the voltage drop off to maintain that max current set. You can short the output together and set the max current.)
- lmilcin 5y ago
  > You can short the output together and set the max current. Please, read user manual first. Not all bench supplies are safe to be shorted. Also there might be a small current peak that might be damaging your device over time without you even noticing it. For example, my PSU has a special button to press and you dial in current limit while the button is pressed. You can do it without interrupting supply to the load but more importantly it does not stress components.
mindcrime 5y ago
Another really useful thing to have is a programmable load[1]. It's sort of the inverse of a power supply... it's a power sink that you can control. It's really handy to dial up a constant current setting and plug in a power supply that is under test, and observe how it behaves. They're good for testing batteries, solar panels, and most power supply related things. One example that I'm familiar with (it's what I use on my bench at home) is the Rigol DL3021A[2]. There are a lot of choices out there though, spanning a wide range of price / capability / power handling points. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_load https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_load [2]: https://www.rigolna.com/products/dc-power-loads/dl3000/ https://www.rigolna.com/products/dc-power-loads/dl3000/

sokoloff 5y ago

Not only the right voltage, but a bench supply will have current limiting as well. (It will be constant voltage up to a settable current limit and then will let the voltage drop off to maintain that max current set. You can short the output together and set the max current.)

lmilcin 5y ago
> You can short the output together and set the max current. Please, read user manual first. Not all bench supplies are safe to be shorted. Also there might be a small current peak that might be damaging your device over time without you even noticing it. For example, my PSU has a special button to press and you dial in current limit while the button is pressed. You can do it without interrupting supply to the load but more importantly it does not stress components.

mindcrime 5y ago

Another really useful thing to have is a programmable load[1]. It's sort of the inverse of a power supply... it's a power sink that you can control. It's really handy to dial up a constant current setting and plug in a power supply that is under test, and observe how it behaves. They're good for testing batteries, solar panels, and most power supply related things. One example that I'm familiar with (it's what I use on my bench at home) is the Rigol DL3021A[2]. There are a lot of choices out there though, spanning a wide range of price / capability / power handling points. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_load https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_load [2]: https://www.rigolna.com/products/dc-power-loads/dl3000/ https://www.rigolna.com/products/dc-power-loads/dl3000/