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Frustrated with understanding power supplies... DIY solutions

Dilliw

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Mar 5, 2018
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For his Amp Camp Amp Nelson Pass used generic laptop bricks. He did that primarily for the safety of beginner DIY amp builders but had this to say about it:

"We have to seriously consider safety as a constraint with regard to the power supply circuitry for the amplifier. We assume that most of the participants in this project do not have the skills to safely connect the components which make up an amplifier power supply to the AC power line.

I addressed this by choosing a commercially available switching supply of the type you routinely see powering up your portable computer. There are literally tons of surplus supplies available for this purpose, providing regulated 19 volts DC at more than 2 amps or so on their output and having their input going safely to the wall AC power outlet through a safety approved power cord. These supplies are isolated for shock safety and are also short-protected. At 19 volts output they do not represent much of a hazard to humans.

What? An audiophile component with a switching power supply? Get over it – it works fine."


His test of the ACA's concluded, "the output noise with the switching supply comes in around 100 uV."

http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_amp_camp_1.pdf
 
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