[Coco] Benchtop Power Supply Recomendations Requested

[Tormod Volden]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2015 at 6:23 PM, Steve Batson wrote:
>
> How about putting a fuse in the circuit rated at the max current you
> would want going to whatever is being connected. This might not be
> ideal for every situation since some damage may be done before the fuse
> blows though. Current Limiting could be done with resistors. For some
> quick test stuff, I'd be ok with an ATX supply, however if I was doing a
> lot of tinkering, the power supply recommended would certainly be a good
> bet and the price is right.

Fuses are too slow compared to how fast integrated circuits will
break, they are not very precise, and it is awkward to change fuses
for every new current. Current limiting with resistors will alter the
voltage as the load changes and the whole point of a stabilized power
supply would be gone.

Since the question was asked here on this list, I assume it is meant
for powering computers and computer accessories which are relatively
fragile devices. They can be complicated also, so you want to be able
to trust your power supply at least.

For anyone not 100% sure what they are doing, get a proper lab power
supply and forget about the ATX PSU hacks. The original poster stated
he was not an electronics guy. If you are clever enough to live with
all the shortcomings of an ATX PSU and can deal with the strange
effects that may arise (oscillations, minimum load, etc), you would
probably not look for advice here.

Regards,
Tormod