R12

VIN +VE0-410-11 06
0 VREG OUT
(SET I MAX) \AZ
lED2 R4 R5 R10
2k7 100k 10k
R1
100k
D3
Nom C1
2u2
C3
10u ri
+L
R8
01 02 1-120k
03 =:=1 C5
100u

R9
R11 R2 R6 1k
4k7 100k 100k
R3
2k2 OS

R8
+111
33R C4a C4b
2200u 4700u
OV 0 00V
NOTE:
01,02 BC549C R12=33R ImAx =20mA +VE LINE SHOWN, -VE LINE
C13-05 BC637 CIRCUR SIMILAR. REPLACE NPN DEVICES
Q6 BC636
R12=10R ImAx =60mA
WITH PNP DEVICES AND VICE VERSA. ALSO REVERSE
02,03 1N4148 R12=6R8 ImA, =100mA POLARITY OF ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS

Figure 8. Improved PSU circuit.

+VIN 4 pass, and also

10. +VREG OUT
would be resented
Ec- by the power supply
C1

the current was

. 05T
C2
ov 1 T OV
Figure 6. Shunt regulator impedance over frequency range 1 Hz to 1 MHz.
other people will hear. However, according to my test instru-
ments, it does a useful job. The circuit shown in Figure 5 can
easily be translated into a -ve rail version by replacing the NPN
transistors with equivalent PNP ones and connecting the elec-
trolytic capacitors (or diode - see later) in the opposite polarity. ment is that there is a time delay of a few seconds, following
The Snag
As all engineers know, there is always a snag and the clever
bloke is the one who comes up with the neatest way of getting
round it. In this case, the snag is that the circuit of Figure 5
simulates a very large capacitor with an equivalent series resis-
tance of less than 0.1 ohms. So, if one were to connect it
across, say, a 20V power supply, on switch -on the circuit would
try to draw a current which would have a peak value of 200A,
decreasing as the internal capacitors charged up to their equi-
librium condition.
If they were allowed to flow, currents of this order
would be fatal to Q3 and Q5, through which they would have to
drawn. In my case,
initial trials were
made using a bench
power supply with
an adjustable
current limit, which I
could set to a suit-
able value. An
adequate engi-
neering answer to
the problem of the
switch -on current
surge, is simply to
include an input current limiting circuit, as shown in Figure 8.
Values for R12 for various current limit levels, up to 300mA, are
shown on the diagram.
A somewhat inconvenient effect inherent in this arrange-
switch -on, as the very large equivalent capacitor is charged
through the current limited supply.
For those who prefer an axe to a rapier, a simple brute force
answer is to limit the surge current duration by connecting a
diode, D1, across R9, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 5 and
by making 03 and Q5 TO220-type small power transistors with
a base -emitter current rating of 4A, although, since these tran-
sistors will have lower values for transition frequency and
current gain than the small signal devices originally used, this
will somewhat lower the performance of the circuit.
A suitable PCB layout is shown in Figure 9, which can be used
with any polarity of power supply by the correct choice of capac-
itor and transistor (NPN/PNP) polarity.

ELECTRONICS TODAY INTERNATIONAL

24