pushbuttons...

[John Larkin]

This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

 

[John Walliker]

On Thursday, 28 September 2023 at 21:09:48 UTC+1, John Larkin wrote:

This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Do you mean that it should have a rotary knob as well?
It certainly has plenty of remote control options including ethernet,
USB, GPIB, serial and analogue input. That means you could add an
external control knob if you want.
John
]

 

[John Larkin]

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:36:43 -0700 (PDT), John Walliker
<jrwalliker@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, 28 September 2023 at 21:09:48 UTC+1, John Larkin wrote:
This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Do you mean that it should have a rotary knob as well?

Yes, so you could look at a scope or something and twirl a knob
without looking at it.

It certainly has plenty of remote control options including ethernet,
USB, GPIB, serial and analogue input. That means you could add an
external control knob if you want.

Or buy a Lambda.

 

[Lasse Langwadt Christensen]

fredag den 29. september 2023 kl. 00.44.13 UTC+2 skrev John Larkin:

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:36:43 -0700 (PDT), John Walliker
jrwal...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, 28 September 2023 at 21:09:48 UTC+1, John Larkin wrote:
This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Do you mean that it should have a rotary knob as well?
Yes, so you could look at a scope or something and twirl a knob
without looking at it.

there\'s an up/down button

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 28 Sep 2023 13:09:31 -0700) it happened John Larkin
<jl@997PotHill.com> wrote in <mclbhihnn1hi4od0bku2qiphqv2k7u0loh@4ax.com>:

This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Why not?
It has left-right up-down buttons too
so can gradualy increase decrease voltage / current settings too ,
I do the same here (buttons not marked):
https://panteltje.nl/pub/gamma_spectrometer_plus_probe_plus_geiger_counter_2_IMG_4185.JPG
top right 2 buttons are PMT voltage up and down, voltage is displayed on the LCD.

 

[whit3rd]

On Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 1:09:48 PM UTC-7, John Larkin wrote:

This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Yeah, it\'s more useful to know the power setting BEFORE you hit the ON switch
sometimes.

As for digital-controlled function generators, don\'t try to phase-lock those things.
There was one at work with a faulty encoder knob, that we sent to get calibrated.
It came back calibrated, of course, but still broken.

A knob that applies a plus/minus ten percent shift was my main need at one point,
and I had to build the power supply myself; nothing available off-the-shelf was that flexible.

 

[John Larkin]

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:03:10 -0700 (PDT), Lasse Langwadt Christensen
<langwadt@fonz.dk> wrote:

fredag den 29. september 2023 kl. 00.44.13 UTC+2 skrev John Larkin:
On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:36:43 -0700 (PDT), John Walliker
jrwal...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, 28 September 2023 at 21:09:48 UTC+1, John Larkin wrote:
This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Do you mean that it should have a rotary knob as well?
Yes, so you could look at a scope or something and twirl a knob
without looking at it.

there\'s an up/down button

I\'d rather grab a knob and turn it once than push a button 20 times.

And I can turn a knob in either direction without looking at the panel
and finding another button to push.

I have an old HP bench supply that\'s great. The voltage control is
concentric knobs, coarse and fine, that one can work by feel.

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:17:45 -0700) it happened John Larkin
<jl@997PotHill.com> wrote in <qb8ehipd9ifvo9hv2ctcgeur83ms4g2kcg@4ax.com>:

On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:03:10 -0700 (PDT), Lasse Langwadt Christensen
langwadt@fonz.dk> wrote:

fredag den 29. september 2023 kl. 00.44.13 UTC+2 skrev John Larkin:
On Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:36:43 -0700 (PDT), John Walliker
jrwal...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, 28 September 2023 at 21:09:48 UTC+1, John Larkin wrote:
This is crazy:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/b-k-precision/9185B/6818942

Why would anybody build a power supply with only pushbuttons?

Do you mean that it should have a rotary knob as well?
Yes, so you could look at a scope or something and twirl a knob
without looking at it.

there\'s an up/down button


I\'d rather grab a knob and turn it once than push a button 20 times.

And I can turn a knob in either direction without looking at the panel
and finding another button to push.

I have an old HP bench supply that\'s great. The voltage control is
concentric knobs, coarse and fine, that one can work by feel.

Yesterday I was using my lab supply
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/pic/pwr_pic/
to test the just arrived MQ4 gas sensor modules.
I needed 5V precisely.
Much nicer to be able to type in voltage and set a current limit I think.
Is is too easy to turn a pot a bit too far or accidently move it.

OTOH that lab supply has been working OK now for many years
used every day, often as battery changer..

 

[Don Y]

On 9/29/2023 12:00 AM, whit3rd wrote:

Yeah, it\'s more useful to know the power setting BEFORE you hit the ON switch
sometimes.

In addition to wanting to know, most folks know what they WANT the
setting to be!

An \"output enable/disable\" control gives you exactly this \"margin\";
a power switch powers up the controls -- with the outputs disabled.
This allows you to talk to the device to ascertain its current
settings as well as command new settings.

As for digital-controlled function generators, don\'t try to phase-lock those things.
There was one at work with a faulty encoder knob, that we sent to get calibrated.
It came back calibrated, of course, but still broken.

A knob that applies a plus/minus ten percent shift was my main need at one point,
and I had to build the power supply myself; nothing available off-the-shelf was that flexible.

Bench space is ALWAYS at a premium, here (some of my prototypes would
completely cover a typical bench, leaving no room for test gear). So,
I always want to be able to \"hide\" those items out of the way -- meaning
their controls and displays are not accessible.

Nowadays, that\'s relatively easy with network hooks into tools.
But, that hasn\'t always been the case...

I rescued three, triple output, digitally programmable power supplies
many years ago. I had no desire to run GPIB to talk to them (costly
cables, I/F card, requires a nearby PC, etc.). So, I hacked the
design to support a serial port as the transport medium. And,
added support for a crude \"programming/sequencing\" language so
I could preload a set of actions and then just command the device
to \"run the program\":
Set V1 12.35V
Set I1 2.00A
Set V2 15.00V
Set I2 1.25A
ENABLE 1
DELAY 5 sec
ENABLE 2
etc. This really makes testing a breeze!

They max out at ~50VDC but that\'s been adequate for all but the
worst case PoE tests that I\'ve had to perform...