New toy arrived today! Power Design 6010

[skyjumper]

My new (to me of course) Power Design 6010 just arrived! he carrier left it out in the snow storm without a plastic bag of course. he cardboard box was ruined but the machine is fine. This thing looks to be in pretty good shape, other than some cosmetic damage along the outside of the case. It was about $64 delivered I think.

I put my DVM on it and I was able to dial in the voltages most important to me, 3.3, 5.0, 12.0, 13.8. It seems to sit still, although any drift is probably attributable to my crummy Radio Shack DVM. Not easy to get it exact though. I probably should have gotten a supply with a smaller voltage range or those fancy caliper dials. Well, heck, the price was right and ya can't have too many power supplies, can you?

I'm guessing someone did some work on it, first because it is so clean and second because the big power transistors seem to be from different manufacturers.

I have a pile of questions about it, but just one first - does anyone know where I can find  manual for it?

And if i were to ask one more, how can I figure out how old it is?

Here is some PSU porn:

[dadler]

My new (to me of course) Power Design 6010 just arrived! he carrier left it out in the snow storm without a plastic bag of course. he cardboard box was ruined but the machine is fine. This thing looks to be in pretty good shape, other than some cosmetic damage along the outside of the case. It was about $64 delivered I think.

I put my DVM on it and I was able to dial in the voltages most important to me, 3.3, 5.0, 12.0, 13.8. It seems to sit still, although any drift is probably attributable to my crummy Radio Shack DVM. Not easy to get it exact though. I probably should have gotten a supply with a smaller voltage range or those fancy caliper dials. Well, heck, the price was right and ya can't have too many power supplies, can you?

I'm guessing someone did some work on it, first because it is so clean and second because the big power transistors seem to be from different manufacturers.

I have a pile of questions about it, but just one first - does anyone know where I can find  manual for it?

And if i were to ask one more, how can I figure out how old it is?

Here is some PSU porn:

OKAY, I'll post some pics as soon as I figure out how but here are some dropbox links:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9r39na5iu6xap42/2015-03-28%2016.15.58.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1a9ql7v664nonfp/2015-03-28%2016.16.36.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdztmcs56qm91ft/2015-03-28%2016.20.41.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvi9zqot5zz9fds/2015-03-28%2016.20.50.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4g3g1d5p4alz53l/2015-03-28%2016.21.13.jpg?dl=0

You can embed Dropbox links as images by changing the URL to:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4g3g1d5p4alz53l/2015-03-28%2016.21.13.jpg

And placing IMG tags around the link.

Basically change "www.dropbox" to "dl.dropboxusercontent" and remove the "?dl=0" at the end. Then Dropbox will send the proper content-type and return the image data directly. Just a trick to embed shared Dropbox images directly.

[c4757p]

Nice. I have a similar one (50V 500mA, don't remember the model number). I don't use it for 3.3V stuff though, too afraid I'll bump the voltage knob - doesn't take much to send a 50V supply with a single-turn pot soaring!

Can't find the manual quickly, but you shouldn't need it. Simple linear supply.

Curious about the three power transistors - all the same part number, all different manufacturers...

[dom0]

They were probably replaced due to thermal failure (three TO-3 SPEs, but then just the small case as a heatsink?). The worn nuts + different manufacturers are a dead giveaway...

[skyjumper]

Can't find the manual quickly, but you shouldn't need it. Simple linear supply.

Well... I'm trying to figure out if I can adjust the meter, its reading about 2 volts too high. And what's the DC Sense stuff on the back for?

Good point about the three volts and hitting the knob. I'm thinking of supplementing this one with a digital one, or maybe building a digital one similar to the one Dave designed in his 12 part blog. No hurry though, this will do for a while. I have a scope coming in a few weeks, can't wait to measure its ripple and see if its in the specs listed on the back.

[dom0]

Most scopes will have a rather hard time reliable measuring 1 mVpp noise...

Sense is for, well, remote sensing to compensate for the resistance of the supply leads. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_%28electronics%29

[skyjumper]

You can embed Dropbox links as images by changing the URL to:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4g3g1d5p4alz53l/2015-03-28%2016.21.13.jpg

And placing IMG tags around the link.

Thanks!

[skyjumper]

Most scopes will have a rather hard time reliable measuring 1 mVpp noise...

Sense is for, well, remote sensing to compensate for the resistance of the supply leads. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_%28electronics%29

Ah, simple enough, thanks.

I just noticed something else thats a bit concerning...

I would think with a current limited supply that I could short the output and it would hold its voltage. Not so. If I do that the output goes away and the "current mode" light comes on. What does that mean?

[dom0]

It's exactly supposed to work that way. Since you short the output, the load resistance is low. Thus the current is limited by the supply, dropping the voltage (Ohm's law).



Red curve: ideal voltage source
Blue curve: (a tiny bit, but not much, idealized) lab supply with constant voltage constant current characteristic

[Whales]

In your pictures the sense terminals are not hooked up.  Although it's better to do a proper 4-wire connection, if you don't you should at least jumper them across to the outputs on the back or the sense terminals won't read anything at all.  This may be causing the '2v off' symptom, as the unit is not getting any (enough) feedback to properly know what it is outputting.

[skyjumper]

In your pictures the sense terminals are not hooked up.  Although it's better to do a proper 4-wire connection, if you don't you should at least jumper them across to the outputs on the back or the sense terminals won't read anything at all.  This may be causing the '2v off' symptom, as the unit is not getting any (enough) feedback to properly know what it is outputting.

Not hooked up? There are shorting links across what appear to be terminals that are supposed to be shorted for local sense. From reading the back of the supply it seems its set up right, but how should it be hooked up?

[skyjumper]

It's exactly supposed to work that way. Since you short the output, the load resistance is low. Thus the current is limited by the supply, dropping the voltage (Ohm's law).

Hm, that's right, if E = IR and R = 0, well, anything times 0 is zero so then E would go away. Thanks!

[Whales]

In your pictures the sense terminals are not hooked up.  Although it's better to do a proper 4-wire connection, if you don't you should at least jumper them across to the outputs on the back or the sense terminals won't read anything at all.  This may be causing the '2v off' symptom, as the unit is not getting any (enough) feedback to properly know what it is outputting.

Not hooked up? There are shorting links across what appear to be terminals that are supposed to be shorted for local sense. From reading the back of the supply it seems its set up right, but how should it be hooked up?

  I didn't see the metal plates as connecting.