I am wary of trying to build my own power supply for various chip amp and discrete amplifiers and I was naively wondering if I could use a fixed 13.8 volt linear power supply 10 A, such as:
https://www.velleman.eu/products/view/?id=420118
Would it give enough noise free power for various designs like the LM3886 or ESP 3A. Thank you for any help.
Grenny
https://www.velleman.eu/products/view/?id=420118
Would it give enough noise free power for various designs like the LM3886 or ESP 3A. Thank you for any help.
Grenny
There are many choices in power supplies for 12, 15, 18, 24 and other voltages.
For noise free, use a battery, a charged 12V nominal lead acid battery is about 13.8 Volts.
Charge it when not in use.
3886 needs a higher voltage, I think.
This supply will be expensive compared to a good SMPS, and 13.8 is too low, you need 24 and up for most chip amps.
4440, 2030 and car amp chips will work, they usually work at up to 16V.
First decide what you want to do, then purchase the supply.
For noise free, use a battery, a charged 12V nominal lead acid battery is about 13.8 Volts.
Charge it when not in use.
3886 needs a higher voltage, I think.
This supply will be expensive compared to a good SMPS, and 13.8 is too low, you need 24 and up for most chip amps.
4440, 2030 and car amp chips will work, they usually work at up to 16V.
First decide what you want to do, then purchase the supply.
Thank NareshBrd,
I would then ask, is there a linear power supply that I could buy and and use as a basis for building the amp?. I was giving the LM3886 as an example, but I'm not looking at building very high powered amps. Thanks.
I would then ask, is there a linear power supply that I could buy and and use as a basis for building the amp?. I was giving the LM3886 as an example, but I'm not looking at building very high powered amps. Thanks.
Depends where you live. In the USA, there's lots on the used market that are great units and reasonably priced. Since they dont make them anymore, used / New Old Stock is the way to go.
That would power car-sound chips. 2 Watts in 8 Ohms, 4W in 4 Ohms, maybe 18 Watts two channels bridged on 4 Ohms.
LM3886 might not even turn-on? (It has a low-voltage mute.) You want 40V to 80V total, preferably as two 20V-40V rails.
You can have a LOT of fun with the 12V car-sound chips. They work even better in the home because they don't have to compete with the potholes, ratty muffler, and truck/bus blatt. I have actually nailed (strapped) a car booster-amp to the top of a 12V 6A "for CB" power supply and the guy was the envy of the whole office.
Get an old car amp / radio / whatever, and connect it to a 12V / 10A transformer / rectifier, and be done with it.
Very common solution here for people wanting to use car units at home, some people even made boom boxes, speakers on either side of the unit, plywood enclosure.
The thing on the rectangular aluminum section in my picture, above the amp, is another amp...the section is the heat sink.
0-12V / 750 mA transformer, feeding a 6283 amp board (it has rectifier and smoothing cap on it), cost me all of 1.5 US Dollars, the section was free from scrap, wire and labor were mine.
Still too loud for my hall, and that is 240 square feet.
Think what a higher powered supply will give you, with the proper circuit.
Very common solution here for people wanting to use car units at home, some people even made boom boxes, speakers on either side of the unit, plywood enclosure.
The thing on the rectangular aluminum section in my picture, above the amp, is another amp...the section is the heat sink.
0-12V / 750 mA transformer, feeding a 6283 amp board (it has rectifier and smoothing cap on it), cost me all of 1.5 US Dollars, the section was free from scrap, wire and labor were mine.
Still too loud for my hall, and that is 240 square feet.
Think what a higher powered supply will give you, with the proper circuit.
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Astron linear supplies were/are commonly used for 2-way radios by hams, CB, marine, and commercial users. They're dead simple, built with 1970s electronics, so a broken one should be easy to fix. Maybe less common in Europe, but there's likely to be some equivalent. Take a look at amateur radio buy and sell forums or classifieds, or visit a ham festival that has a swap meet.
Or you might get away with a Wii power brick; I run my T-amp off one (paid a buck for it at a thrift store).
Or you might get away with a Wii power brick; I run my T-amp off one (paid a buck for it at a thrift store).
Nope. 12.6V nominal... 13.8V is the float charge voltage. 🙂
Here's a PSU/charging circuit...
Normal charge is 2.2 V/ cell, so 13.2V.
13.8 is the minimum (2.3V per cell) needed to charge, 2.4 is better (max. really) for cyclic charge. 2.3V per cell is for trickle (float) charge. So 13.8 is correct for a nominal 12V battery .
I built a circuit based on 339, controlling a relay, that switches the charger on and off, and is not depending on battery rating.
It was for emergency LED lights...I think I can make one for 3.7.
The circuit above looks fairly heavy duty, for auto or fork lift batteries.
Anyway, OP has been quiet, it seems like we say here, 'have grass, so buy cow/ buffalo'. He / she wanted or has supply, and was thinking what to do with it...
13.8 is the minimum (2.3V per cell) needed to charge, 2.4 is better (max. really) for cyclic charge. 2.3V per cell is for trickle (float) charge. So 13.8 is correct for a nominal 12V battery .
I built a circuit based on 339, controlling a relay, that switches the charger on and off, and is not depending on battery rating.
It was for emergency LED lights...I think I can make one for 3.7.
The circuit above looks fairly heavy duty, for auto or fork lift batteries.
Anyway, OP has been quiet, it seems like we say here, 'have grass, so buy cow/ buffalo'. He / she wanted or has supply, and was thinking what to do with it...
