0 - 300V Adjustable Power Supply

0 - 300V Adjustable Power Supply

Introduction

To prevent my high voltage experiments to go up in smoke completely, I designed
a simple circuit which can provide an adjustable voltage source of 0 to 330 Volt..
The supply is short-ciruit proof: the current is limited to about 100mA.

Circuit description

TR1 is a 1:1 mains transformer; it is included for safety.

The mains voltage from TR1 is rectified with bridge D1 (1Amp / 500V) and large elcap C1.

T1 is switched as a source follower: the source of T1 will follow the voltage of the
wiper of R3. D2 is included to protect the gate of T1; although in theory not necessary
I strongly recommend to include it!

T2 and shunt resistor R2 build the current limiter. When the output current becomes too high, T2 will discharge
the gate of T1. This will prevent the current to become too high.
The value of R3 has been determined experimentally; it depends also on the Hfe of T2 so you may need to tune the value of R2.

Note that T1 needs a large heatsink: in worst case T1 will dissipate 330V x 100mA = 33Watt!
Instead of a BUZ 326 (400V/10.5Amp) you can also use an IRF740 (400V/10Amp).
The output impedance of the power supply is determined by the beta of T1, so the larger the MOSFET
the lower the output impedance!

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0 30 Volt Power Supply

linear power supply, shown in the schematic, provides 0-30 volts, at one amp, maximum, using a discrete transistor regulator with op amp feedback to control the output voltage. The supply was constructed in 1975-6 & has a constant current mode that is used to recharge batteries.

With reference to the schematic, lamp, LP2, is a power on indicator. The other lamp (lower) lights when the unit reaches its preset current limit. R5, C2, & Q10 (TO-3 case) operate as a capacitor multiplier. The 36 volt zen-er across C2 limits the maximum supply voltage to the op amps supply pins. D5, C4, C5, R15, & R16 provide a tiny amount of negative supply for the op amps so that the op amps can operate down to zero volts at the output pins (pins 6). A more modern design might eliminate these four parts & use a CMOS rail-to-rail op-amp. Current limit is set by R3, D1, R4, R6, Q12, R10, & R13 providing a bias to U2 that partially turns off transistors Q9 & Q11 when the current limit is reached. R4 is a front panel potentiometer that sets the current limit, R22 is a front panel potentiometer that sets the output voltage (0-30 volts), & R11 is an internal trim-pot for calibration. The meter is a one milliamp meter with an internal resistance of 40 ohms. Switch S1 determines whether the meter reads 0-30 volts, or 0-1 amp.

A more new schema might use a single IC regulator, such as the MC78XX, or MC79XX series, immediately after the half wave rectifier, to replace about 30 parts, or at least a high precision zen-er diode to replace D10 as the voltage reference. The LM4040 is such voltage reference & has excellent stability over temperature. IC regulators such as the MC78XX series may finally become obsolete as newer IC regulators are designed, however, discrete transistors, op-amps, & zeners are more generic, have an extended production lifespan, & permit the designer to demonstrate that they understands the principles of linear regulated power supply operation.

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