Modified 0-30V/0-3A Variable Power Supply

Rev.2.

Parts list
R1
R2
R3
R4, R16
R5, R6, R20, R21
R7
R8, R11
R9, R19
R10
R12
R15
R17
R18
R22
R23, R24
RV1
RV2
RV3
P1, P2
C1
C2, C3
C7
C4
C5
C6, C9
C8
C10

2k2, 2W
82 Ohm, 2W
220 Ohm, 2W
1k, 1/4W
10k, 1/4W
0.47 Ohm, 10W
27k, 1/4W
2k2, 1/4W
1k, 1/4W, a piece of wire for MC34071
56k, 1/4W
100 Ohm, 1/4W
33 Ohm, 1/4W
33k, 1/4W
3k9, 1/4W
0.33 Ohm, 2W
5k trimpot for TLE2141, 10k for MC34071
20k trimpot to calibrate voltage
100k trimpot to calibrate current
10k LIN potentiometer
12000F/63V electrolytic
47F/50V electrolytic
10F/50V electrolytic
100nF polyester
220nF polyester
100pF ceramic
330pF ceramic
100nF ceramic

BR
D5, D6, D9, D10
D7
D8
D11
D12
Q2
Q3
Q4, Q5
U1, U2, U3

6-10A/50V bridge, on a heatsink

1N4148
Two 1N4148 in series
BZX79C5V6, low current 5.6V Zener
1N4001
10V, 1W Zener
BD139, on a pretty big heatsink
BC557 or BC327
2N3055
TLE2141 or MC34071

LED1
Q1, R13, R14
Transformer

LED
Not used
28V, 4.3A, 118VA

Red text is a change from the original design.

The original project had many errors so it did not produce 30VDC at 3A but instead produced about only
25VDC with lots of ripple at 3A.
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Many of its parts overheated especially the old fashioned and tiny transistor Q2 and the transformer.
The unregulated supply was a total of 40.3V without a load but the opamps in the original project have an
absolute max total supply of only 36V.
I corrected some of the problems 5 years ago by using OPA445 high voltage opamps, a more powerful Q2
transistor and a few other changes but then this opamp became hard to find and expensive. So the latest version
uses two types of opamps that are available almost anywhere, do not need a huge negative supply voltage and
have a max total supply of 44V.
The latest version has a small negative supply for U3 and no negative supply for U1 and U2. Most opamps do not
work with a small negative supply or no negative supply. The opamps for the latest version were selected
because they work perfectly with a small or no negative supply voltage, and their outputs go much lower than
ordinary opamps.
The MC34071 is made by Motorola/ON Semi which is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the
world.
The TLE2141 is made by TI which is also one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world.
When I added the 10V zener diode to reduce the supply voltage to Q3 and U3 I added the 100nF capacitor
because all opamps need a supply bypass capacitor. But I forgot to number it. The 10V zener diode is important.
The 5.6V zener diode D8 is extremely important and should be one that is rated at only 5mA. Many zener
diodes are rated at 45mA and should not be used.

About the offset adjust trimpot

RV1 = 5k trimmer adjusts for exactly 0V.
RV2 = 20k trimmer adjusts for exactly +30.0V.
RV3 = 100k trimmer adjusts for exactly 3.0A.
The RV1 trimpot, connected to pin 1 and pin 5 of the output opamp nulls its input offset voltage so that the
power supply has a 0.0V output when the voltage setting pot is at minimum. Measure the output voltage with
the voltage setting pot turned to MIN and adjust the input offset adjustment trimmer on U2 for exactly 0V.
The RV2 trimpot, near the voltage setting pot P1, calibrates the output voltage to be exactly 30.0V when the
voltage setting pot is at maximum. Measure the output voltage with the voltage setting pot turned to MAX and
adjust the gain trimpot for U2 for exactly +30.0V.
The RV3 trimpot near the current regulating opamp calibrates the current to be exactly 3.0A or 5.0A when
the current setting pot is at maximum and the load current is very high. Connect a load for more than 3A.
Measure the output current with the voltage setting pot turned MAX and the current setting pot turned MAX and
set the trimpot near U3 for exactly 3.0A.
(In Picmaster's circuit, RV3 adjusts 0.0V, RV2 calibrates 30.0V max and RV1 calibrates 5.0A max.)

The current regulation works by U3 comparing the voltage across R7, caused by the load's current, with the
voltage across the current-setting pot and its series resistor. When the current in the load exceeds the set
amount then the output of U3 goes low which turns on the LED and reduces the output voltage until the current
in the load equals the set amount. R7 is listed as 0.47 ohms in the original parts list but 3A needs about 0.35 ohms
which is not a standard resistor value. A calibration trimpot is used in the latest version.
The original schematic used R15 but it was useless. Delete it.

The difference between a 3A project and a 5A project:

1) The 28V transformer must be 119W for the 3A project and must be 198W for the 5A project. A little 28V x 3A=
84W or 28V x 5A= 140W transformer will be overloaded.
2) The 3A version uses two output transistors with emitter resistors and the 5A project uses three output
transistors with emitter resistors.
3) R7 is 0.47 ohms/10W for 3A and is 0.27 ohms/10W for 5A.
4) The heatsink for the output transistors must be able to dissipate 109.8W for 3A or 183W for 5A.
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