This timer circuit is designed to switch on a 12 V load in a solar-powered installation for a preset period at the press of a button. When the period has expired a latching relay disconnects... Read more
Like the author you may keep some 12 V leadacid batteries (such as the sealed gel cell type) in stock until you come to need them. A simple way of charging them is to hook up a small unregul... Read more
On the author‘s bench lay two ICs, waiting to be tried out: an LM3404 switching regulator (only available in a surface mount package, unfortunately), and a U2352 PWM IC. Together they could... Read more
The backlights used in some LCD panels are not exactly economical: typical current draws of 20 mA to 100 mA are common. Normally the current is determined by a series resistor, which leads t... Read more
When you want to power an electronic device from solar panels, broadly speaking there are currently two approaches. The first, very conventional method (described elsewhere in this double is... Read more
This device is designed to be a simple, inexpensive ‘comparator’, intended for use in a solar cell power supply setup where a quick ‘too low’ or ‘just right’ voltage indicator is needed. The... Read more
The PTN78060 is a series of high-efficiency, buck-boost, integrated switching regulators (ISR) from good old Texas Instruments (TI). The caseless, double-sided package has excellent thermal... Read more
This power supply was designed for use with the ‘Simple hybrid amp’ published elsewhere in this issue. It is of course suitable for use in other applications as well. We’ve used a cascade ge... Read more
There are many circuits for low voltage regulators. For higher voltages, such as supplies for valve circuits, the situation is different. That’s why we decided to design this simple regulato... Read more
This current-limiting circuit, shown in this example as part of a small bench power supply, could in principle be used in conjunction with any dual-rail current source. The part of the circu... Read more
