High Current 13.

8V Power
Supply
Introduction
Asiscommonlythecase,thissupplywasbornofnecessity.Thereisabsolutelynothingspecial
aboutthecircuit,exceptthatasshown,itisquitecapableofupto20Ampsintermittentlyor10A
continuous.Simplyuseabiggertransformer,bridgerectifierandmorecapacitorsandoutput
transistorstogetmorecurrent.Thebasiccircuitshouldbegoodforupto100Aorso,usinga5A
TO3regulatorIC,butitcanobviouslybeincreasedfurther(ifyoureallydoneeda500A
supply!).Thereisnoreasonthatthesupplycannotbemadesmalleraswell(didIhearsomeone
say"Perishthethought."?).Usingfewertransistorsandasmallertransformeritwillworkfrom
1Aupwards.
Thisisnotaprojectintendedforbeginnersorpoweringopamps(orothersimilarfrivolous
purposes:)itisintendedsolelyforpowering(nominally)12Vcaraudioaccessories.
Regulationisnotespeciallywonderful.Itcouldhavebeenmademuchbetter,butattheriskof
instabilityandincreasedcomplexity,particularlyasthecurrentcapabilityisincreased.Asit
happens,therelativelypoorregulationisactuallyabenefitthesupplyisintendedfortestingcar
poweramplifiersandthelike,andevenwiththeheaviestwire,therewillalwaysbesomevoltage
drop,andthisismimickedverywellbythesupply.
Asaresult,theteststhatarecarriedoutusingthissupplywillbemuchclosertorealitythanifa
supplywithperfectregulationwereused.Itcanalsobeusedasabatterycharger(withcare!),as
thenoloadvoltageisverystable.
Thisprojectrequiresknowledgeofmainswiring.Ifyouareunfamiliarwith(or
justifiablyscaredof)thehouseholdmainssupplyDONOTATTEMPTCONSTRUCTION.

WARNINGNeveruseleadacidbatteriesindoorsunlessextremelygoodventilationis
provided.Donotsmokeorallowanakedflamewithin10metersofachargingbattery,as
highlyexplosivegasesaregeneratedduringcharging.Thesebatteriescontainsulphuricacid,
whichishighlycorrosiveandwillcausesevereburns.Exercisesafeworkingandhandling
practicesatalltimes.

Description
ThepowersupplycircuitisshowninFigures1and2.A7812positive3terminalregulatoris
usedforthemainregulation,andthisisfollowedbyasmanypoweremitterfollowersasneeded
forthecurrentyourequire.Thetransistorsarenotcritical.Iused2N3771devices(50V,20A,
200W)simplybecauseIhadawholebunchoftheminmyjunkbox.Theseareprettymuch
ideal,butIsuggestthatyouusewhateveryoucangetcheaply.Ifyouuse2N3055s(asindicated
intheschematic),expecttousefourtransistorsforthefirst10A,andonetransistorforeach
additional5Apeak(or4Acontinuous)outputcapabilitytoensureanadequatesafetymargin.
Thevoltageratingisunimportant,asthemainsupplywillonlybeabout22Vwithan18V
transformer.

Figure1Basic10APowerSupplyPowerSection

TheLEDsareoptional,butrecommended.2.2kseriesresistors(asshown)willgiveaLED
currentofabout10mA,whichisprettymuchideal.Thesupplyisdesignedtoprovideveryhigh
current,andIuseda300VAtoroidaltransformerandtwobridgerectifiers,oneforeachwinding.
The40,000uFelectrolyticisoneIhadtohand,andprovidesexcellentperformance.Youcanget
awaywithquiteabitlesscapacitanceforthe10Aversion,but(asalways),hummaybecomea
problemifthereisinsufficientcapacitance.Thecircuitshownwillhavearipplevoltageofabout
4Vat20Aload,andthisisquiteacceptableastheregulatorICwillremovethevastmajorityof
thisripplevoltage.Iwasunabletomeasureanyoutputrippleonmyunitatcontinuouscurrents
upto10A,althoughtheremustbesomeitwasjusttoofarbelowthenoisevoltagetomeasure.
Calculatethecapacitanceyouneedfromthefollowingformula...
C=(IL/V)*k*1000uF
whereILisloadcurrent,Visripplevoltage
k=7for100Hzor6for120Hzripplefrequency

Afullloadripplevoltageofupto5Visacceptableforthisapplication,butfeelfreetohaveless.
Asripplevoltageisreduced,thedissipationoftheoutputtransistorswillincrease.This
apparentlystrangebehaviorisbecausetheaveragevoltageacrossthetransistorsisgreaterwith
lowerripple.
Becausethehighestratedbridgerectifierscommonlyavailableare35A,usemultiple
transformers(and/orwindings)andbridgesformorecurrent.Thiswillbealotcheaperthan
tryingtoget100A(ormore)devices,andoverallperformancewillprobablybebetteraswell.
Likewise,usemultiplefiltercapacitorsratherthanasinglelargeunitagain,thesearecheaper,
andwilloutperformasingleverylargecapacitor.Figure1showstherecommendedmethodof
connectingthemultiplewindingsforhighercurrent,whichmaybeduplicatedasmanytimesas
needed.

Figure2Basic10APowerSupplyRegulatorSection

Asyoucansee,theregulatorismadeadjustableoverasmallrange,andwilltypicallygivefrom
11Vto13.8Vatfullload.Withthenoloadvoltagesetto13.8V(nominal12Vbatteryvoltage),
theoutputwillfallto13.5Vatabout1.5A,and12.8Vataround13A.Thisisfairlytypicalofthe
voltagedropsthatcanbeexpectedinacarinstallation.Needlesstosay,ifthesupplyisdesigned
formorecurrent,thentheregulationwillremainaboutthesame,butatthehigherdesign
currents.Thecomponentsmarkedwitha*areoptional,andareforthemetercircuit.Ifyoudon't
needthemeterthesepartscanbeomitted.Personally,Irecommendthatthemeterbeusedsoyou
knowjusthowmuchcurrentisdrawn.Also,notetheresistorsmarkedas5Wwirewound.
Theoutputtransistorsarewiredinparallel,with0.1ohm5Wwirewoundresistorsintheemitter
ofeach.Themoretransistorsyouuse,thebettertheregulationandpeakcurrentcapability.The
resistorsusedtodrivetheoptional(buthighlyrecommended)ammeterneedonlybe1/4Wtypes.
Theseaveragetheindividualemitterresistorvoltages,andtheresultwillbemuchmoreaccurate
thandrivingthemeterfromonlyoneemitterresistor.

Thediode(D1)fromoutputbacktoinputmustbeahighcurrenttypeIsuggesta2Adiode(or
two1AdiodesinparallelasIusedinmyunit).ThisisusedtoensurethattheICisnotdamaged
ifthesupplyisconnectedtoabatterywithoutmainspower.R1andR2,the4.7ohm5Wresistors
feedingtheregulator,providetheonlyelectronicprotectionavailablewhentheICcurrent
exceeds1A,theICinputvoltagewillbereducedandtheoutputvoltagewillfall.Ifyouusea
highcurrent(TO3style)regulator,thenthevalueoftheresistorsmustbereduced,butthediode
willneedtohaveahigherratingtocompensatefortheincreasedcurrentbackintothemainfilter
cap.

Bewarned!Thereisnodiodetoprotecttheunitfromreversepolarityif
connectedtoabattery.Aseriesdiodewouldreduceregulationandbevery
expensive,andaparalleldiodewouldshortthebattery(atypical12Vcar
batterycansupplyseveralhundredampswithease!).Thisisverybadforthe
battery,andnottoogoodforthediode,either(itwillprobablyexplodeand
yes,I'mserious).Anoutputfusecanbeusedifdesired,butitwillnotprotect
againstreversepolarity.
Inaddition,thesupplyisperfectlycapableofmeltingflimsytestleads,orthe
groundleadonanoscilloscope(forexample).Likeallhighcurrentpower
supplies,takegreatcarewhenbuildingandusingthissupply,toavoidtherisk
ofsevereburnsordamagedequipment.
Protectioniswithafuseonly,asthesupplyissufficientlyruggedtowithstandalmostanyabuse
forashortperiod.TheminimalprotectionprovidedbyR1andR2issufficienttoallowthefuse
toblowbeforeanydamageisdonetothetransistors.Ibrieflyconsideredan"electroniccircuit
breaker",butdecidedagainstitveryquicklysinceIneededthesupplyinahurry!
TheunitImadeusedacaseIhadlyingaround,andalthoughtheheatsinkingisnotsubstantial,
itisadequateformyneeds.Mostunitswillneedlessheatsinkthanyoumightimagine,since
evenhighpowercarampswillnotdrawfullpowerallthetime.
Ifyoudodecidetomakea100Aversion(ormore),Isuggestthatyouwillneedquitealarge
amountofheatsinkthiswillnotbearealproblem(otherthanfinancially),sincetherewillbe
plentyofroomthepowertransformer(s)willneedtobeaminimumof1,500VAsothecase
willhavetobequitebig.Thiswillleaveyouwithlotsofspacetoplaywith:)

Construction
Constructionisnotcriticalinthenormalsense.TheregulatorICmustbeonaheatsink,and
needsthecapacitors(asshowninFigure1)mountedascloseaspossibletotheICtoprevent
oscillation.NoPCBisavailableforthisproject,anditisnotnecessary,sincethewiringallneeds
tobecapableofveryhighcurrentsthatwouldjustmeltthetracksoffacircuitboard.Thesmall
signalsection(regulator,transistorandbypasscaps,etc.)canbemountedonatinypieceof
Veroboardorsimilar.
Usetheheaviestwireyoucanforallmainpowerconnections,especiallyfortheoutput.Any
additionalresistanceyouintroducewithyourwiringwillreducetheregulation.Isuggestthat
youkeeptheleadstothe0.1ohmemitterresistorsshort,andmostofthepowerwiringwillbe
prettymuchselfsupportingbecauseofthewirethickness.Wirethecurrentmeterwiththereturn
pointlocatedascloselytothemidpointoftheemitterresistorsaspossible.Theaccuracywill
neverbegreat,butitwillbereducedfurtherifthereisalotofcopperinthecircuit,becausethe
temperaturecoefficientofresistanceforcopperisquitehigh.The100ohmoutput(current
monitoring)resistorswillnotintroduceanyerror.Icalibratedmymeterto10Afullscale,but
calibrationto20AisquiteOK,toallowforthepeakcurrentcapabilityofthesupply.
VR2(anyvaluefrom500ohmsto2kcanbeused)isusedtocalibratethemeter.Useanammeter
andasuitableload,andadjustthepottoobtainthesamereadingastheexternalmeter.Make
surethattheexternalmeteriscapableofhandlingthecurrentyouintendtocalibrateto.The
meterscalecanberemarkedas010Aor020A,andcalibratedaccordingly.
Ifyoudonothaveaccesstoanammetercapableofatleast10A,thencalibrationofthemeter
willrequireaknownaccuratelowvalueresistance,andanaccuratevoltmeter.Youcancalculate
thecurrentbyknowingtheresistorvalueandthevoltage,andadjustthetrimpotuntilyouget
thesamereadingasyoucalculate.Themetermovementisnotcriticaleitheruseanymeterof
100uAto1mAwiththecircuitasshown.Youwillneedtoadjustthefeedresistorvaluesfor
othermovements.
I=V/RWhereIiscurrent,VismeasuredvoltageandRisthetestresistorvalue(inohms)

Typically,youwillneedaresistorofabout1or2ohmstocalibratetheunit.Powerwillbe
extremelyhigha1.25ohmresistorwith12.5Vand10Awilldissipate125W.Eight10W10
ohmresistorsinabucketofwaterwillworkverywell,andwillallowyouto"soaktest"theunit
atfullpowertomakesurethateverythingmanagestostaytogether.
Thevoltagecontrolmaybecalibrated,orjustplaceamarkeronthepanelfor13.8V.Ifdesired,a
voltmetercanalsobeincludedinthecircuitifused,thisshouldbewiredtotheoutput
terminals.

Appendix
Theauthor'sunitisshowninFigures3and4.Itwasdesignedasa10Asupply.AsImentioned,
thecaseisoneIhadlyingaround,andalthoughIcan'tusemineatitspeakof20Aforextended
periods(notenoughheatsinking),itservesthepurposethatIneededitfor,whichwastotest
somecaramplifiersIhad(alsolyingaround).Ihavefoundittobeextremelysatisfactory,and
sinceitcanbecompletedinanafternoon,thismakesitasimpleprojectthatshouldgivemany
yearsofservice.

Figure3PrototypeSupply(FrontPanelInsideView)10AVersion

ThemeterwasalreadyinthecaseIused,thetoroidaltransformerisclearlyvisible,aswellasthe
filtercapacitor.Thebridgerectifiersareontheverticalaluminumbracketbetweentransformer
andfiltercap.Thecontrolelectronics(regulator,transistorandsmallcaps)areonthepieceof
Veroboardjusttotherightofthemeter.Thecapontheextremerightistheoutputcapacitor.The
regulatoristhermallyconnectedtothefrontpaneltoprovideheatsinking(don'tforgetthe
insulationwasherandbushes!).

Figure4PrototypeSupply(RearPanelInsideView)10AVersion

Intheaboveview,thepowertransistormounting,emitterresistorandmainsinputcanbeseen.
Thesmallroundthinginthetopcenterofthephotoisthemetersettingtrimpot.Notetheshroud
overtheIECmainsinlettopreventcontactwiththe240V,althoughifyoulookcarefully,you
willseethatthefusehasnoshroud(naughty,naughty.Verynaughty!)PleasedoasIsay,notas
Ido!Allmainsconnectionsshouldbeprotectedagainstcontact(Iwillgetaroundtoitoneday
Ipromise).
Fromthisangleyoucanseethatthefiltercapisanoldcomputergradeunit(salvagedfrommy
trustyjunkbox),andyoucanalsoseethatIonlyusedthreepowertransistors.AsImentioned
before,Iused2N3771devices,andthesearemuchmorepowerfulthanthe2N3055sIsuggested,
butareprobablyveryhardtoget(andalmostcertainlyexpensive).ThelittleheatsinksIusedare
justvisibleattheback.Thematingsurfaceswerecarefullyfiledsotheywerecompletelyflat,
andarethermallybondedtothealuminumbackplatewithheatsinkcompoundandlotsof
pressurefromthetransistormounting.

ProtectingYourEquipment
Thereisnodoubtthataunitsuchasthismaybeusedforpoweringcaramplifiersandpossibly
othergearaswell,andmosthavelimitedornoprotectionagainstreversepolarity.Ifthesupply
islikelytobedisconnectedandreconnectedwithanydegreeofregularity,thereisarealchance
thatatsomestage,itwillbeconnectedwithreversepolarity.

Figure5ReversePolarity&OverVoltageProtection

Thepolaritydetectorusesarelay(ratedforatleastthemaximumequipmentcurrent.Shouldthe
supplybeconnectedthewrongway,therelaycannotclose,becauseD1preventsitfromgetting
anypower.The'Reverse"LEDwillcomeon,andtheequipmentissavedfromthe
embarrassmentofallowingitsmagicsmoketoescape.Aproperconnectionwillcausethe
"Correct"LEDtolight,therelaywillclose,andpowerismadeavailabletothecircuitry.The
relaycoilshouldberatedfortheequipmentvoltage(typically12Vforthisapplication).
Becausenoequipmentcaneverbe100%failureproof,expensiveequipmentmayalsobenefit
fromovervoltageprotection.Shouldtheoutputofthesupplyexceedabout16V(withthevalues
asshown),theSCRwillconduct,shortcircuitingthesupplycommonlyreferredtoasa
crowbarcircuit.Thiswillcausethefusetoblowbeforetheequipmentisdamaged(afaultinany
powersupplycancausethevoltagetorisetothefullunregulatedvalue).TheSCRneedstobe
abletoconductanonrepetitivepeakcurrentthatisatleast5timesthefuserating...preferably
higher.TheC122isratedfor8Acontinuous,butwillhandleover80Afor10ms.The"F"refers
tothevoltagerating(Fmeans50V),butanyvoltageisfine.Thepreferreddeviceisthe
BT152400R,whichcanhandle200Afor10ms.Itmaybepossibletoobtainanevenbigger
device,buttheoptionsshownareagoodstartingpoint.

ThecircuitryshowninFigure5belongsintheequipmentbeingpowered...notthepower
supply.Thesamecircuitshouldbeaddedtoeachpieceofgearyouexpecttoconnecttothe
supply.Notethatcarequipment(amplifiers,CDplayers,etc.)aredesignedtobeabletocope
withhightransientvoltages,whichcanbeupto40Vforanominal12Vsystem.
Donotincludetheovervoltageprotectioninanysuchequipmentthatislikelytobeconnected
toacar'ssupply,asthecircuitisguaranteedtotriggeratsomepoint.Thecrowbarcircuitmaybe
wiredintothepowersupplyoutputcircuitifyouprefer.Makeabsolutelycertainthatthesupply
variablecontrolcannotallowtheoutputtoexceedthecrowbartriggervoltage!
Morecomplexcrowbarcircuitscanbeusedthatincludeatimedelaytorejecttransientpulses,
buttheseareoutsidethescopeofthisarticle.
MakingMorePowerfulUnits
Sincemanyreadersmaywanthigherpowerthantheunitshown,herearesomeguidelinesfor
biggerunits.

Don'texpecttobuilda100Aversion(ormore)inoneafternoon.
Useone2N3055foreach5Aofpeakoutputcurrent(4Acontinuous)Eachtransistor
willdissipateabout40W
Assumingacurrentgainof20forthe2N3055s(fairlytypical),one5ATO3regulator
willdriveupto100A(use25transistors)
Formorecurrent,useaboostcircuitaroundtheregulatorIC(upto500Aoutput,with
100transistors!).Ishallleavedetailsoftheboostcircuittoyou(itisverycommonly
used,andmanyexamplesexistontheNet).
Considerusinghigherpowertransistorstoreducecomponentcount.Thecostwill
probablybehigherthough,andheatsinkperformancewillnotbeasgoodduetohigher
thermalresistancebetweenjunctionandheatsink.
Usemultipletransformersandbridgerectifiers,ratherthanasinglereallybigoneofeach
Thetransformer(s)needtoberatedat300VAforeach10Acontinuous.100Arequires
3kVA
Transformerscanbeoverloadedbyupto200%forshortperiods(50%ofthetimeon
load,and50%off).Otheroverloadratioscanbecalculated(butexcessorcontinuous
overloadisnotrecommended!)
SeethearticleonPower Supply Designtolearnaboutcapacitorripplecurrent(this
willbeextreme!)
SeethearticleonHeat sinkstolearnmoreaboutthebestwaytomountthetransistors.

Theaboveisnotextensive,butyougettheidea.formostapplications,theunitshownwillbe
sufficient.Idoubtthattoomanyconstructorswillwanttobuild500Asupplies,butifyoudo
haveaneedforsuchamonster,thenthiscircuitshoulddothejobquitewell.Hmmm...500Aat
13.8Vis6.9kWI'malmosttemptedtobuildoneforthehellofit(justkidding ).
Evena1kA(1,000amps)unitisnotimpossiblewithafewminormodifications(includingthe
regulatorboostcircuit),butforanythingoverthebasic10Aunitshown,someextraheavyduty
connectorsandfuseswillbeagoodidea.Iamdoubtfulthatthiswillbeneededformostnormal
applications
Forwhatit'sworth,ifyoudoneedmuchbeyondthebasic10Asupply,usethesupplyasshown
connectedtoacarbattery.Itcansafelybeleftconnectedpermanentlyifthesupplyissetto
13.8V(checkthetemperaturethoughleadacidbatterieshaveatemperaturedependent"float
charge"voltage).Theunitisthenabatterycharger,butwillnotintroduceanyhumontothe
batteryoutputvoltage(unlikeconventionalchargers,whicharenotsmoothed).
IqbaluddinKhan
923219207460
mailto:Iqbalsound@yahoo.com
http://asia.groups.yahoo.com/group/Engineers_Electronics_Pakistan/