Circuits & Schematics Supply - 10

This Design Idea expands the capabilities of a previously published one (Reference 1). The original version featured a current transformer whose secondary winding formed part of an oscillator's tank circuit. Under normal conditions, direct ...

Figure 1 depicts a circuit that detects the opening of a miniature circuit breaker or high-rupture-capability fuse in a high-reliability telecommunications power supply. The circuit generates an alarm when a failure changes the impedance of an ...

Testing and measuring an IC’s or circuit’s performance with regard to power transients is a tricky task to accomplish without some specialized equipment. Not only does the input voltage source need to change in a controlled manner, but ...

Safety fuses or fusible links see wide use in modern electronic equipment to protect the load and the power supply especially batteries against short circuits and excessive load current. Fuses are inexpensive and simple, and a wide range of parts ...

Engineers often face difficult trade-offs when voltage regulators can encounter high-voltage transients that are well above normal input-supply operating ranges. This situation is common in automotive applications in which high-voltage transients ...

If you face the challenge of adding a second, independently controlled light source to an existing ceiling lamp controlled by a wall switch, you may find that stringing a second power line is impossible. First, you can replace the wall switch by ...

If you often need a simple active load (constant-current sink), you can benefit from the simple circuit in Figure 1. The need often arises to measure the life of a battery or other power device under constant-load conditions. The easy-to-build and ...

The MOSFET power switch is commonly the most vulnerable part of a new switched-mode high-power circuit. One threat for this device is exceeding the value of the maximum allowed pulse current. You cannot exceed this limit, even for pulse durations ...

Wireless connectivity is a growing trend in portable consumer gadgets. Unfortunately, designs cannot achieve true mobility because of short battery life, so the power cord still must connect the device to the power grid to get the required energy ...

Many low-cost and portable systems, including small consumer electronic products, operate from unregulated power supplies such as batteries or external, plug-in “power bricks.” These power sources sometimes produce lower-than-nominal ...