AC/DC converter
AC/DC converter
(OP)
I see a flood of AC/DC converters out there but is there an off the shelf product that does a straight AC to DC conversion at the same voltage (over an AC input range between 0-120V). So I can plug this converter into a wall outlet at 120V AC and then plug something else into this converter (power plug type) and get 120V DC (or at least close to that), but also if the input AC falls to say 40V I still get 40V DC (or at least close to that) outputted. any ideas if there is a specific commercial name for this? Thanks!





RE: AC/DC converter
TTFN

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RE: AC/DC converter
got some projects i'm working on that require more and more electronics, thought i'd brush up on my knowledge. and experiementing and hands-on knowledge is the way I learn best. just trying to make a general testing setup for learning.
RE: AC/DC converter
I'm picturing a simple rectifier, followed by a smoothing capacitor, followed by a pair of resistors to bring the voltage down to 71% of peak input voltage.
A.
RE: AC/DC converter
RE: AC/DC converter
But long before the idea of an SMPS existed, we had what are now called "Linear Power Supplies". Linear meant the output voltage could be varied in a linear fashion with the input voltage. That is what you are looking for, and they are still made.
Output voltage of a power supply is always going to be roughly 1.41x the input AC voltage, because what we call the AC "voltage" is the RMS value, not the true peak, but the converter converts at the true peaks of the sine wave. Most power supplies will come with a trimming adjustment to give you a lower level output than peak, however they will also come with "regulation" that will compensate as much as it can to again try to maintain that setting. What you will want to look for is going to be referred to as an "unregulated linear power supply", or at least one where the regulation can be disabled. They are made, most often for the scientific community, but will be more rare than the stuff you can pick up anywhere.
"Will work for (the memory of) salami"
RE: AC/DC converter
"Will work for (the memory of) salami"
RE: AC/DC converter
If isn't in demand, it isn't off the shelf. However just about anything you want can be made from off the shelf assemblies with a little modification. Generally you have to limit the operating range. There are the same limitations in the mechanical world. The last ME I worked with thought electronics was a pretty inexact science. He said everytime we had something that didn't work we just added a capacitor to fix it.
RE: AC/DC converter
Unless the PS happens to include a transformer.
RE: AC/DC converter
For example, if I am plugged into a 12 VDC car-type lead battery, how can I get an 18 VDC appliance to charge up?
My drills are 18Volt, but they recharge from a standard 120 VAC source - as you've written above, that is rectified down very easily.
But going up on the DC side? Surely they don't go
low volt DC-> lower volt square wave AC -> transformer -> higher volt square wave AC -> re-rectify to higher volt DC do they?
RE: AC/DC converter
xnuke
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RE: AC/DC converter
TTFN

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