CHAPTER 2

POWER SUPPLY
2.1

Building the 5V Regulated Power Supply

2.2Transformer Output
2.3Rectifier Output
2.4Smoother Output

POWER SUPPLY
A simple power supply circuit that includes each of these blocks in given in
figure 4. The following articles in this series look at each block of the
Power Supply in detail, but if you just want to build a 5Vregulated Power
Supply
2.1 Building the 5V Regulated Power Supply

Figure gives a strip board layout for the 5V regulated power supply shown in figure 4. The
layout does not include the transformer block, so the input to the board needs to be 7 - 35V AC
from a suitable transformer. The layout includes space for two optional 2-way screw terminal
blocks to make connecting up the power supply easier.

If the input voltage is 9V AC, you will be able to draw 1A from the power supply. For the
maximum input voltage of 35V you will be able to draw 0.1A.

2.2 TRANSFORMER OUTPUT

A suitable ready-built mains power supply unit, such as those used to control model trains, will
include a transformer. I wouldn't recommend building your own due to the safety considerations
when dealing with mains voltages. If such a unit does not incorporate smoothing, rectification,
and regulation, then you will need to build these blocks as described in part 1 of this series.

If the unit does not have a fuse or a cut-out on the output of the transformer, you will also need to
add a fuse of an appropriate rating. This fuse is in addition to the mains fuse in the unit's plug
and is needed to protect the low voltage winding of the transformer and any circuits you connect
to it. Although we won't be building the transformer block of our 5V regulated power supply, it
is interesting to know how it works.

How Transformers Work

A transformer consists of two coils (often called 'windings') linked by an iron core, as shown in
figure 1. There is no electrical connection between the coils, instead they are linked by a
magnetic field created in the core.
Transformers are used to convert electricity from one voltage to another with minimal loss of
power. They only work with AC (alternating current) because they require a changing magnetic
field to be created in their core. Transformers can increase voltage (step-up) as well as reduce
voltage (step- down).

Alternating current flowing in the primary (input) coil creates a continually changing magnetic
field in the iron core. This field also passes through the secondary (output) coil and the changing
strength of the magnetic field induces an alternating voltage in the secondary coil. If the
secondary coil is connected to a load the induced voltage will make an induced current flow. The
correct term for the induced voltage is 'induced electromotive force' which is usually abbreviated
to induced emf.

The iron core is laminated to prevent 'eddy currents' flowing in the core. These are currents
produced by the alternating magnetic field inducing a small voltage in the core, just like that
induced in the secondary coil. Eddy currents waste power by needlessly heating up the core but
they are reduced to a negligible amount by laminating the iron because this increases the
electrical resistance of the core without affecting its magnetic properties.

Transformers have two great advantages over other methods of changing

voltage:

They provide total electrical isolation between the input and output, so they can be safely used to
reduce the high voltage of the mains supply. Almost no power is wasted in a transformer. They
have a high efficiency (power out / power in) of 95% or more.

2.3 Rectifier Output

The purpose of a rectifier is to convert an AC waveform into a DC waveform. There are two
different rectification circuits, known as 'half- wave' and 'full-wave' rectifiers. Both use
components called diodes to convert AC into DC.

A diode is a device which only allows current to flow through it in one direction. In this
direction, the diode is said to be 'forward-biased' and the only effect on the signal is that there
will be a voltage loss of around 0.7V. In the opposite direction, the diode is said to be 'reverse-
biased' and no current will flow through it.

The Full-wave Rectifier

The circuit in figure addresses the second of these problems since at no time is the output voltage
0V. This time four diodes are arranged so that both the positive and negative parts of the AC
waveform are converted to DC. The resulting waveform is shown in figure.
When the AC input is positive, diodes A and B are forward-biased, while diodes C and D are
reverse-biased. When the AC input is negative, the opposite is true - diodes C and D are forward-
biased, while diodes A and B are reverse-biased.

One disadvantage of the full-wave rectifier is that there is a voltage loss of 1.4V across the
diodes. Why not 2.8V as there are four diodes? Remember that only two of the diodes are
passing current at any one time

While the full-wave rectifier is an improvement on the half-wave rectifier, its output still isn't
suitable as a power supply for most circuits since the output voltage still varies between 0V and
Vs-1.4V. So, if you put 12V AC in, you will 10.6V DC out.

2.4 Smoother Output

Most circuits will require 'smoothing' of the DC output of a rectifier, and this
is a simple matter since it involves only one capacitor, as shown in figure.

The output waveform in figure shows how smoothing works. During the first half of the voltage
peaks from the rectifier, when the voltage increases, the capacitor charges up. Then, while the
voltage decreases to zero in the second half of the peaks, the capacitor releases its stored energy
to keep the output voltage as constant as possible. Such a capacitor is called a 'smoothing' or
'reservoir' capacitor when it is used in this application.

RIPPLE

If the voltage peaks from the rectifier were not continually charging up the capacitor, it would
eventually discharge and the output voltage would decrease all the way down to 0V. The
discharging that does occur between peaks gives rise to a small 'ripple' voltage. The amount of
ripple is affected by a combination of three factors:

The value of the capacitor. The larger the capacitor value, the more charge it can store, and the
slower it will discharge. Therefore, smoothing capacitors are normally electrolytic capacitors
with values over 470μF.

The amount of current used by the circuit. If the circuit connected to the power supply takes a lot
of current, the capacitor will discharge more quickly and there will be a higher ripple voltage.
The frequency of the peaks. The more frequent the voltage peaks from the rectifier, the more
often the capacitor will be charged, and the lower the ripple voltage will be. If you want to
calculate the ripple voltage, you can use this formula...

Where Vr is the ripple voltage in Volts, I is the current taken by the circuit in Amps, C is the
value of the smoothing capacitor in Farads, and F is the frequency of the peaks from the full-
wave rectifier, in Hertz. This frequency will be double the normal mains frequency, i.e. 100Hz in
the case of the UK mains supply, or 120Hz in the case of the US mains supply.
The ripple voltage should not be more than 10% of Vs - if it is, increase the
value of the smoothing capacitor.
Lots of circuits will work fine from a smoothed power supply, but some
must have a completely regular supply with no ripple voltage
2.5 Regulator Output

While there are many circuits that will tolerate a smoothed power supply, some must have a
completely regular supply with no ripple voltage. This article discusses regulator ICs which can
provide this regular power supply. There are many types of regulator IC and each type will have
different pin- outs and will need to be connected up slightly differently. Therefore, this article
will only look at one of the common ranges of regulator, the 78xx series.

There are seven regulators in the 78xx series, and each can pass up to 1A to any connected
circuit. There are also regulators with similar type numbers that can pass a higher or lower
current, as shown in the table below. In addition, variable regulators are available, as are
regulators that can provide negative regulation voltages for circuits that require them.

Name
Description
Specifications
Number of components
required
RES
Resistor
1K=4,
22OHM=1, 1.5K=1,
10K=1,100K =1, VAR
20 K =1
9
CAP
Capacitor
0.001,6.8,4.7,100=2,
0.01=2 micro farads
7
VDC
Dc voltage
source
5 volts
2
GND
Ground
0 volts
3
REL
Relay
-
1
IC 555
Timer
-
2
LED IR
Infra-red LED
-
1
TRANS
Transistor
BC548
-
2
PIN OUT

The 555 comes in 2 packages, either the round metal-can called the 'T' package or the more
familiar 8-pin DIP 'V' package. The 556 timer is a dual 555 version and comes in a 14-pin DIP
package, the 558 is a quad version with four 555's also in a 14 pin DIP package.

6.3 IR SENSOR TSOP 1738

A sensor is a type of transducer, or mechanism that responds to a type of energy by producing

another type of energy signal, usually electrical. They are either direct indicating (an electrical
meter) or are paired with an indicator (perhaps indirectly through an analog to digital converter, a
computer and a display) so that the value sensed is translated for human understanding. Types of
sensors include electromagnetic, chemical, biological and acoustic.

In order to act as an effectual sensor, the following guidelines must be met:

 The sensor should be sensitive to the measured property.
 The sensor should be insensitive to any other property.
 The sensor should not influence the measured property.
Features of IR SENSOR used:
 Photo detector and preamplifier circuit in the same casing.
 Receives and amplifies the infrared signal without any external
component.

 38 kHz integrated oscillator.

 High sensitivity.
 High level of immunity to ambient light.

 Improved shielding against electrical field interference.

 TTL and CMOS compatibility.

Automatic IR Tap Controller

5.3SPECIFICATION OF IR LED 38:
Peak Emission Wavelength
3.8 µm
Spectral Bandwidth (FWHM)
0.4 µm
Radiant Output Power
60 µW
Output current (maximum)
200 mA
Operating currents
500-600 mA
Rise time
200 ns
Field of View
60

5.1SPECIFICATIONS OF IC555
Supply voltage (VCC)
4.5 to 15 V
Supply current (VCC = +5 V)
3 to 6 mA
Supply current (VCC = +15 V)
10 to 15 mA
Output current (maximum)
200 mA
P Power dissipation
600 mW
Operating temperature
0 to 70° C
5.2SPECIFICATION OF IR SENSOR TSOP 1738
Supply voltage (VCC)
5V
Integrated Oscillator
38 KHz
Output Voltage (active at level 0)
5V
Output current (maximum)
200 mA
P Power Consumption
0.4 to 1.0 mA
Operating temperature
-25 to 80O C
Angle of Detection
90O
Dimensions of Casing
12.5 x 10 x
Thickness 5.8