RussellMc wrote: > Brent Brown wrote: >=20 > Neil wrote: > > > > > I've been avoiding tying anything to the positive side of the load as > > > that would be outside of the circuit. > > > > The flyback diode can only work (in the mode where it maintains inducto= r > > current > > and minimses energy loss during PWM off periods) if it is across the > > inductive load. > > Appreciate that it may be inconvenient to place it there, but that's wh= ere > > it must go. > > > > > Yes, but ... :-). >=20 > I know you (Brent) know this: I feel like I should know, but I'm still not quite getting it yet, thanks f= or your patience=20 :-) > The diode must be ELECTRICALLY across the load but can be from load to > ground if the power supply impedance is such as to allow the recirculatin= g > (off) current to flow through it with minimal impediment. I can picture this working with the zener diode fine, but not with a conven= tional=20 diode - as Neil said he replaced the zener with a regular at some stage. Su= rely the=20 conventional diode would be the wrong direction to become forward biased to= allow=20 the inductor current, which does not change direction, recirculate through = the power=20 supply? Perhaps we're picturing different things. =20 > Also, the current resistor must be in series with the diode and it is > easier to have it ground referenced to allow a single ended comparator to > sense current. If the diode is "across the load" in such a way that it's > not ground referenced (except for sense R) then the sense resistor also > must be not ground referenced and the comparator must do a differential > comparison of the voltage across the floating sense resistor wrt the > reference. No doubt the rest will make sense once I get the first part right. --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .