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Aside from the fact that the TL431 is adjustable, does
it have any advantages over a Zener ?
it have any advantages over a Zener ?
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Well, I believe it has lower resistance, or in other words, the V-IAside from the fact that the TL431 is adjustable, does
it have any advantages over a Zener ?
Well, in this URL below it's acting like an emitter follower. ButZener? Never used it for that.
But it makes a great audio amplifier!
--Bought a bunch for pennies apiece on ebay...
See http://www.techlib.com/electronics/audioamps.html
Bruce
www.elmerdude.com
One advantage of the TL431 over a typical zener is that it is much more precise.Aside from the fact that the TL431 is adjustable, does
it have any advantages over a Zener ?
I tested the parts. The LM386 at 46dB gain specified uses about 5mAWell, in this URL below it's acting like an emitter follower. But
that bad thing about it is that it's Class A, i.e. the current drain
from the battery is high, and the same no matter what the speaker
volume is. So it's wasteful of battery power. The first few circuits
in this URL that use complementary output transistors are Class AB or
B, so they take only a few mA idling current when the volume is very
low. A better chip to use is the LM386, which can also be found on
Ebay for cheap. It takes a minimum of parts, and can put our a half
watt I believe, at 9V. But then these are really a radical departure
from a true crystal radio. Even the single chip MK484 radio is
getting a lot more exotic compared to an xtal radio.
I may never build another general purpose audio ampZener? Never used it for that.
But it makes a great audio amplifier!
Bought a bunch for pennies apiece on ebay...
See http://www.techlib.com/electronics/audioamps.html
Bruce
www.elmerdude.com
Thanks. I fiddled with a test circuit today, and theIn article <3FE7EA6C.6D25E513@bellatlantic.net>,
ehsjr@bellatlantic.net mentioned...
Aside from the fact that the TL431 is adjustable, does
it have any advantages over a Zener ?
Well, I believe it has lower resistance, or in other words, the V-I
curve is straighter. So it should give less variation in voltage as
the current changes.
But obviously the 431 costs more and can't handle as much current. So
it depends on what you're using it for. If you're using it for a
reference, then the 431 is a better choice. If you're using it for a
Q & D regulated PS for something like an oscillator, then the zener is
the common choice, especially if you use a zener that's close to 6V,
where the tempco is at its minimum. But today a 78L05 or 78L08 is a
convenient way to get a stable voltage at less than 100 mA, for an
osc, for example.
And now they (Maxim, LTC, etc.) have micropower references that need
only a few tens or hundreds of microamps. If you try to run a zener
at that low a current, you'll be lucky to get a fraction of its rated
V.
I bought a hundred 1N4734A 5.6V zeners on Ebay for $3.50 and a buck
and a quarter shipping. That's a nickel apiece, a lot cheaper than
the 431.![]()
If you're talking about the followup I posted about what the circuitsWell, in this URL below it's acting like an emitter follower. But
that bad thing about it is that it's Class A, i.e. the current drain
from the battery is high, and the same no matter what the speaker
volume is. So it's wasteful of battery power. The first few circuits
in this URL that use complementary output transistors are Class AB or
B, so they take only a few mA idling current when the volume is very
low. A better chip to use is the LM386, which can also be found on
Ebay for cheap. It takes a minimum of parts, and can put our a half
watt I believe, at 9V. But then these are really a radical departure
from a true crystal radio. Even the single chip MK484 radio is
getting a lot more exotic compared to an xtal radio.
I tested the parts. The LM386 at 46dB gain specified uses about 5mA
quiescent current. The TL431, dependending on how you set it up, uses
more. That is correct. I set it up to use about 7mA quiescent and get
at least 40dB gain plus the advantage in my regen circuit of being a
more efficient rectifier than a germanium diode. The two are about
equal in performance as a small radio amplifier. The TL431 is not
nearly as bad as you make it sound.
The Tl431 is a bit noisier, will drive stereo headphones, but not an 8
ohm load. But as a three terminal device folks are finding it very
easy to solder into a circuit. The kit is designed for kids and they
are having great success. So it not the ultmate answer to every small
audio amplifier question, but it is a very good one.
And I payed less than a nickel each for my TL431 parts.
Bruce
www.elmerdude.com
For Gp amps, that's true, but for some amps, building your own canBruce Kizerian wrote:
Zener? Never used it for that.
But it makes a great audio amplifier!
Bought a bunch for pennies apiece on ebay...
See http://www.techlib.com/electronics/audioamps.html
Bruce
www.elmerdude.com
I may never build another general purpose audio amp
from scratch again. For less than 5 bucks, you can
get a kit of all parts for a LM386 amp or a TDA7052
amp at Marlin Jones - KT 6017 and KT 6027 respectively.
http://www.mpja.com/listitems.asp?dept=68&main=61
I built both, and they work real well.
That said, you've whet my appetite to play with the
TL431 as an audio amp.
Don't be afraid to use the TL431 itself as the comparator. In other"Watson A.Name - Watt Sun, Dark Remover" wrote:
In article <3FE7EA6C.6D25E513@bellatlantic.net>,
ehsjr@bellatlantic.net mentioned...
Aside from the fact that the TL431 is adjustable, does
it have any advantages over a Zener ?
Well, I believe it has lower resistance, or in other words, the V-I
curve is straighter. So it should give less variation in voltage as
the current changes.
But obviously the 431 costs more and can't handle as much current. So
it depends on what you're using it for. If you're using it for a
reference, then the 431 is a better choice. If you're using it for a
Q & D regulated PS for something like an oscillator, then the zener is
the common choice, especially if you use a zener that's close to 6V,
where the tempco is at its minimum. But today a 78L05 or 78L08 is a
convenient way to get a stable voltage at less than 100 mA, for an
osc, for example.
And now they (Maxim, LTC, etc.) have micropower references that need
only a few tens or hundreds of microamps. If you try to run a zener
at that low a current, you'll be lucky to get a fraction of its rated
V.
I bought a hundred 1N4734A 5.6V zeners on Ebay for $3.50 and a buck
and a quarter shipping. That's a nickel apiece, a lot cheaper than
the 431.
Thanks. I fiddled with a test circuit today, and the
TL431 outperformed 2 zeners in series - a 5.1 and a 6.2
by about 50 mV. But I reached the limit of my test
setup, so the ~50 mV isn't a solid figure. The circuit
was simple - the base of a 2N2904 is fed by the zeners
or the TL431 circuit thru 1K to drop a relay out when
voltage is reduced to 12.00. Trouble is, the supply I
used is not that precise. In any event, in numerous
tests I got worst case of 12.03 dropout with the TL431
and 12.08 with the zeners, and the dropout voltage
varied more often with the zeners, too.
Good advice (as usual). I changed relays - the first one drewDon't be afraid to use the TL431 itself as the comparator. In other
words, connect the relay between the 'cathode' of the Tl431 and the
supply, with a spike clamping diode across the relay coil. Then just
divide the supply voltage down to the 2.5V with two resistors or a
pot, with the wiper connected to the adjust terminal of the TL431.
Well, I re-thought this - I only need adjustment precision,Sigh. I think I'm going to have to build a more precise
power supply, too, in order to get more solid data. I do
not have precise control below 100 mV, and it looks like
I need precision down to 1 mV for these tests. Is there a
simple "add-on" circuit I can use?
I've bought a couple HP 6214 and 6216 PSes on ebay, and they have a"Watson A.Name - Watt Sun, Dark Remover" wrote:
Don't be afraid to use the TL431 itself as the comparator. In other
words, connect the relay between the 'cathode' of the Tl431 and the
supply, with a spike clamping diode across the relay coil. Then just
divide the supply voltage down to the 2.5V with two resistors or a
pot, with the wiper connected to the adjust terminal of the TL431.
Good advice (as usual). I changed relays - the first one drew
about 160 mA, the new one draws about 70 - and fiddled. Your
idea works. But I'm leery of using just a pot - I put a fixed
resistor between the pot and + - I dunno what would happen to
the 431 if the adj terminal was connected directly to +. Anyway,
that worked. The reason I was using the transistor was to
supply the bigger relay, because max for the 431 is 100 mA.
The adjustment on the pot is damn touchy - with the values I
fiddled with, a 1 ohm swing on the pot makes a lot of difference.
(I'm calling 100 mv a lot of difference). I may have to table
further experiments until I can dig up a 20 turn pot at
500 ohms - I can series resistors with it to get it to the
sweet spot. I can also fiddle with the fixed R.
Sigh. I think I'm going to have to build a more precise
power supply, too, in order to get more solid data. I do
not have precise control below 100 mV, and it looks like
I need precision down to 1 mV for these tests. Is there a
simple "add-on" circuit I can use?
I guess that's essentially what I've done to my supply, inI've bought a couple HP 6214 and 6216 PSes on ebay, and they have a
dual concentric pot with coarse and fine V adj. The coarse is a 5k
pot, and the fine is a 50 ohm pot in series with it. The fine does
almost nothing, unless the situation is like what you're doing. ;-)
Yup - the TL431 circuit uses a pot on the low side - 500 ohmDon't forget to include some bypass caps to minimize the noise and
maybe add some delay or hysteresis.
I just realized that you might have the pot on the lower end of the
divider. If so, then you're adjusting only 2.5V, which may cause it
to be real tetchy. Might be better to put the pot in the high side,
with a series resistor.