Placid-BP Bipolar Shunt Regulated Power Supply

Russ White · 02:06 AM

Hey Folks,

Here is the Placid-BP under test.

Just wanted you to see that the new boards are here and they are tested. It is working perfectly. I have it set up to drive both sides of a BUF32S at 15V rails.

It is very easy to calculate fixed Rs to set the standing current and output voltage, but you can also use pots and make it adjustable. Fixed Rs are just a bit less noisy if you know what you are aiming for already.

My calculations proved very close, I ended up with +14.94 and -14.75V. Not too bad.

I sounds great, and is nice and stable.

There are two green LEDs per rail that set the reference voltage. Those can be replaced with other references if you need, but the LEDs are a very low noise reference. It would be hard to do any better.

There is also an RC filter prior to the opamp which drives the CFP shunt.

The shunt employs a shaped compensation scheme that keeps the regulator stable even into large capacitances (I have tested 1000uf low ESR Pannasonc FMs). You typiclaly do not want to load a shunt reg with a very high capacitance. It defeats the purpose.

The CCS and Shunt transistors are situated so that they can be mounted directly to a suitable chassis where vertical space is at a premium.

More details to come shortly. I have two more new circuits to test.

Cheers!
Russ

TheShaman · 2nd September 2009, 06:02 AM

Good job, Russ.

An objective and subjective comparison to LCBPS would be appreciated!

Beefy · 2nd September 2009, 11:22 AM

They look like pretty tall heatsinks! Here's hoping I can get away with the regular 1 inch ones to allow for easy stacking......

BrianDonegan · 2nd September 2009, 01:01 PM

1-inch heatsinks will work in many situations. The kits will ship with 1.5" heatsinks to allow more flexibility. There will be times when you may need something larger (2" or chassis). Shunts generate heat. Stacking may or may not be a good idea, depending on what you want to do, and the case you are using.

Beefy · 2nd September 2009, 01:12 PM

I was thinking along the lines of dual mono supplies for Buffalo. I'll just wait for more info to come out before I make any decisions......

tailspn · 4th September 2009, 08:52 PM

Hi Russ,

I have need for a bipolar +/- 24V supply at 500MA. Can a Placid with adequate heat sinking accommodate that need? The current is fairly static. If required, I would parallel the pass transistors, say with hard wires and low value sharing resistors. I anticipate using a forced air cooled tunnel heatsink.

Thanks,
Tom

Beefy · 4th September 2009, 09:28 PM

Obviously I'm not sure whether Placid could handle it...... but if it can't then the Sigma22 is a perfect option; assuming it fits in your case, no modifications would be necessary.

http://www.amb.org/audio/sigma22/

tailspn · 4th September 2009, 11:18 PM

Thanks Beefy. Unfortunately the Sigma 22 is not a shunt regulated power supply. There's no problem finding series regulated supplies to fit my power needs, and I've built a bunch of them, including the Sigma 22. There's even a great thread here on DIY about optimizing the 317/337 that looks very interesting:

Another look at the LM317 and LM337 regulators

Thanks again,
Tom

Beefy · 5th September 2009, 12:24 AM

And the practical difference is.........?

I've read a little bit on shunt versus series, and from what I can see they are basically just two different sides of the same coin.

tailspn · 5th September 2009, 01:06 AM

Actually not. It's all about supply impedance symmetry. A series regulator turns on more to supply current to a dropping load voltage caused by the load drawing more current. However, when the load voltage is rising, caused by its drawing less current, the series regulator delivers less current, but it's the load that has to absorb the excess energy. That's OK as long as the load can absorb the excess faster than it can be reduced. Otherwise, the voltage at the load rises. In effect, the output voltage of a series regulator only regulates in one direction, ie, when the load is asking for more current. In the other direction, the regulator is coasting.

A shunt regulator regulates in both directions, both by supplying more current, and absorbing excess current from the load. the effect is a much more constant source impedance as seen by the load.

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2nd September 2009, 06:02 AM	#2
TheShaman diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Crete	Good job, Russ. An objective and subjective comparison to LCBPS would be appreciated!

2nd September 2009, 11:22 AM	#3
Beefy diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	They look like pretty tall heatsinks! Here's hoping I can get away with the regular 1 inch ones to allow for easy stacking......

2nd September 2009, 01:01 PM	#4
BrianDonegan diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Rock Ridge	1-inch heatsinks will work in many situations. The kits will ship with 1.5" heatsinks to allow more flexibility. There will be times when you may need something larger (2" or chassis). Shunts generate heat. Stacking may or may not be a good idea, depending on what you want to do, and the case you are using.

2nd September 2009, 01:12 PM	#5
Beefy diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	I was thinking along the lines of dual mono supplies for Buffalo. I'll just wait for more info to come out before I make any decisions......

4th September 2009, 08:52 PM	#6
tailspn diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Boston USA	Hi Russ, I have need for a bipolar +/- 24V supply at 500MA. Can a Placid with adequate heat sinking accommodate that need? The current is fairly static. If required, I would parallel the pass transistors, say with hard wires and low value sharing resistors. I anticipate using a forced air cooled tunnel heatsink. Thanks, Tom

4th September 2009, 09:28 PM	#7
Beefy diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	Obviously I'm not sure whether Placid could handle it...... but if it can't then the Sigma22 is a perfect option; assuming it fits in your case, no modifications would be necessary. http://www.amb.org/audio/sigma22/

4th September 2009, 11:18 PM	#8
tailspn diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Boston USA	Thanks Beefy. Unfortunately the Sigma 22 is not a shunt regulated power supply. There's no problem finding series regulated supplies to fit my power needs, and I've built a bunch of them, including the Sigma 22. There's even a great thread here on DIY about optimizing the 317/337 that looks very interesting: Another look at the LM317 and LM337 regulators Thanks again, Tom

5th September 2009, 12:24 AM	#9
Beefy diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	And the practical difference is.........? I've read a little bit on shunt versus series, and from what I can see they are basically just two different sides of the same coin.

5th September 2009, 01:06 AM	#10
tailspn diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Boston USA	Actually not. It's all about supply impedance symmetry. A series regulator turns on more to supply current to a dropping load voltage caused by the load drawing more current. However, when the load voltage is rising, caused by its drawing less current, the series regulator delivers less current, but it's the load that has to absorb the excess energy. That's OK as long as the load can absorb the excess faster than it can be reduced. Otherwise, the voltage at the load rises. In effect, the output voltage of a series regulator only regulates in one direction, ie, when the load is asking for more current. In the other direction, the regulator is coasting. A shunt regulator regulates in both directions, both by supplying more current, and absorbing excess current from the load. the effect is a much more constant source impedance as seen by the load.