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Re: [Amps] AL1500 PSU design

To: "pat_f6irf" <f6irf@free.fr>, <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [Amps] AL1500 PSU design
From: "Tom W8JI" <w8ji@w8ji.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:15:17 -0400
List-post: <mailto:amps@contesting.com>
Just what I had in the drawers - not a good reason ???>>

Well I worry about two things. First the time to discharge 
the caps, but that isn't a concern if you don't care. The 
idea is to have the caps bleed off faster than someone can 
remove the cover.

Second while caps do tend to self-equalize because the 
higher leakage component loads down and reduces it's 
voltage, over the long term this tends to reform the better 
parts at higher voltage and the parts with more leakage that 
can use the most reforming coast along. The 50k value was 
picked because it swaps the most leaky to least leaky parts 
enough to bring them within 20-25 volts of each other, and 
after a while they will all reform much closer.

That was actually part of the testing the boards went 
through, although I don't know if they still do.

> I know that for a fact because I wrote the test specs.


Tom, I won't blame you because you are defending your 
baby... it is a
normal "mother" reaction...>>

No, I'm just telling you the parts were leakage selected so 
if you stick random parts in with more headroom you might 
not be doing as much as you think. With a cheap market like 
Ham radio it is all about maximizing the cost savings.

It's been years since I looked at this, but as I recall the 
life of the capacitor is directly proportional to voltage 
(half the voltage twice the life) but is a much larger 
multiplier for core temperature of the electrolytic. The 
rated hours are multiplied by a formula that includes 
voltage and core temperature and the base MTBF time. As I 
recall the biggest problem is temperature because it is not 
a linear function.

Not to pick on what you are doing, but just to give thought 
as to what really happens.

As for the diodes I am very surprised because that is very 
uncommon. Capacitors usually fail when a resistor across one 
opens or one is backwards. That happens at times, but diodes 
and capacitors across them almost never fail.

Fuses are also important. A fuse with a low voltage rating 
will sustain current a long time compared to a 250V fuse, so 
watch the fuses.

The most common cause of the 10 ohm resistor failing is a 
shorted tube.

Yours, since it has unknown history, could have anything 
bad.

73 Tom 


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