Thursday, February 20, 2020

Construct your own DC Power Supply Mark III - The Trivium

بسم الله الحمدلله والصلوة والسلام على رسول الله

Hi guys... I've been using my Variator and Phaserion for as long as I can remember doing projects. Especially Phaserion which was used to power up so many things, even charging drill batteries. I also learned loads making a display for Phaserion. Great days. 

Nowadays my Phaserion will need to be rested and probably reconstructed. Here are the things I learned these past few years with the devices:

  1. It was not elegantly done I have to say, in retrospect. Its main issue was the stability of the output which I felt is probably due to the trimpot which was quite susceptible to temperature and physical disturbances. What I mean is: If you're just stirring things up and make the gizmo move a bit, the voltage output becomes a lot unstable. 
  2. The connector wires coming out of it is kinda falling apart. This is well... because the rubber insulation is crappy. I don't know why they make this things turn gooey and slimy and sticky after some time. It's like it's made to be replaced. I know the business side to this, but really guys... everyone knows that's bad business. Look at the Japs. Their stuff lasts, and so do their legacy.
  3. The crocodile clips were also losing grip. I've seen this in many crocodile clips too.. so not much to say. But the ones I had were kinda kiddie types. So we'll have to move on to higher quality ones.
After a while I wanted to be better. So enter a HP adapter which was used to power up a printer. It has been in my collection for quite a long time. It had great engineering in many ways, good casing, stable electronics, etc (well... it's HP, what more can I say). Here's the fella:



The adapter has two rails: one 32V which gives out 500 mA max output current, and the 15V rail which gives out 530mA. I'll use the 32 rail.

Okay, so I've gathered some stuff over the years which will greatly improve my outlook. Here are some of the things:




  1. High-grade quality crocodile clips and wires: These clips are from salvaged grounding straps used in electronics factories. I coupled them with telephone cords; they seem to be one of the sturdiest cables I've ever seen so we'll go with it. Another advantage: the cables come with the receptacles so it'll be super easy to connect or disconnect them on demand! 
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