On Wednesday, Jun 2, 2004, at 08:53 US/Pacific, Matthew Brush wrote:

> I made my bench supply with an old 250W AT power supply from an old
> computer.  It works great and has some good voltages (+/-5v, +/-12v,
> +/-3.3v).  Another great thing is that it can put out a lot of power,
> more then I've ever needed.

Hmm.  When I said a power supply, I mean a LAB-style power supply.  One
with variable voltage (0-30V) and variable current limit (0-3A,
typical), and meters so you can see what's going on.  I find this to be
very useful; for instance when initially connecting some circuit, I set
the current limit to about what I expect it to draw, and if it goes
into limit, I start to suspect something wrong in my circuit.  A power
supply that merely provides common voltages at "more current than
you'll ever use" is not nearly as useful.  IMO, of course.

Given the additional background from the original poster, I'm not sure
that would be the best thing.  You need expectations and some initial
background to use the power supply effectively.  The supply is a sort
of engineering tool  A scope, on the other hand, is a better learning
tool.

I'd say it depends on whether he can afford a scope...

BillW

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