I have a device with an input rating of 23 to 56V DC with a maximum current of 0.5 amperes. Is it possible to supply this device with a power supply with an output rating of 48V DC with 1.0 ampere?
1228
Power supplies are available in a wide range of voltage and current ratings.  If I have a device that has specific voltage and current ratings, how do those relate to the power ratings I need to specify?  What if I don't know the device's specs, but am replacing a previous power supply with particular ratings?  Is it OK to go lower voltage, or should it always be higher?  What about current?  I don't want a 10 A supply to damage my 1 A device.
21809
I am using an USB port as a power supply. Is there a way I can take the weak 5V of a regular laptop USB and transform if to 100V+ while begin in the smallest package possible. I've heard of boost converters but they are usualy too big. I want something that has the size of like a normal USB key.   What I want to do is to charge up around 5 capacitors at 100+V and then discharge them later. Power efficiency not a concern for me.  It would be helpful to include a schematic of the circuit.
89416
I'd like to be able to protect my ADC from input voltages higher than 5V. What's the simplest protection circuit I could build to have an output like shown below?
110230
The AC adapter supplied with my laptop is designed to accept voltage in the range of 100-240VAC at 50-60Hz, but the AC cable that plugs into the adapter unit itself is only rated to 125VAC 7.5A 2.5A.  I know the adapter can accept 220V power, but is it safe to use this cable with the AC adapter to plug into a 220V socket?  Edit: The part in question is a 90W HP Smart AC Adapter.  The laptop does not cause the AC adapter to draw more than about 80 watts from the socket (as measured with a Kill A Watt meter).  Edit 2: The amperage rating of the cable as marked on the attached label is 2.5A, not 7.5A.
21243
I'm looking for a high current DC switch (able to switch something like 5V@30A) and I've encountered several DPDT that might do what I need, however they are only rated for AC applications (3A@250VAC or 6A@125VAC). Are these rating convertible to DC? or is that something that only the facturarer would know?
100732
My DAC can only output voltages between 0-5 V and I want to linearly shift the range to -2.5 to 2.5 V. For example, a 2.5 input would (ideally) lead to a zero volt output. Likewise, a 5 V input would lead to a 2.5 V output. What circuit would be ideal for this? Thanks in advance!
78238
I am using this IC in boost converter configuration :   It steps up the voltage from 16.5V to 23V.   It drives a load current of 270mA.  I need to calculate the input current of the converter.   I understand that output power/input power is efficiency.   Since I know the output power, can I take the efficiency value from the graph 21 of the attached datasheet (86.8% approx - obtained from fig 21 graph) and find the input power?   With the input power, and since I know the input voltage, I can calculate the input current.   Is this the right way?   And I want to check if all the components at the output of the IC are properly rated.   Which parameters and components should I check and how to check?    Sorry for the poor image quality. The two transistors are taken from the SWE pin.
67804
I have a computer power supply that I'm hacking together as a bench supply. For this particular model to power on, I need a minimum load across both +5V and +12V.  "Easy," I thought, "I'll just connect both +5 and +12 to my power resistor!" And it worked, but then I started thinking, what does it mean to have these two different voltages connected in parallel? If the voltages were the same, then I would be . But what about different voltages?  Also, what if I connected +5 and +12 in series, and then put a load on that? The equivalent voltage would be +17V; what would be the difference between that and parallel?  Or am I going about this the wrong way; should I put a separate resistor on each rail? It seems like I can do better than that.
83287
For the circuit of opamp 741. we have to supply the dual power for it. How can I make a dual power supply from single. For example, make a (+9V)-GND-(-9V) from single 9V battery ?
113023
I've been working on a data logging device that will eventually go into my personal vehicle.  I've scoured the interwebs and built what, in theory, should be a fairly stout power supply capable to handle fast transients and undervoltage and the fabled load dump.  My problem is, though... I want to actually test the power supply.  In previous questions that I've asked related to the design of the power supply portion, I've been told that the "right way" to simulate a load dump is with a proper, preofessional testing device.  I'm curious, though... what's stopping me from rigging up something that is "close enough"?  My idea is simply this: get a low-voltage DC power source, such as an old PC power supply.  Get a DC-DC converter to step that 12V up to something in the 80V range.  Assemble a bank of capacitors to get me in the neighborhood of a theoretical 12V load dump..  which from what I can tell is in the hundreds of joules range.  Once charged, simply connect it to the battery input of the device - which wouldn't be connected to an actual power source lest I want to potentially screw that power source up - and see if explodes, and if not, see if it works normally afterwards.  Does this sound like the dumbest idea you've ever heard?  Is it a somewhat decent idea that simply needs a lot of planning and number checking to in order to work roughly as intended?
121994
I'm wondering why, in a standard house, instead of using many low power AC-DC rectifier, there isn't a big (like 12V 20~50A) AC-DC rectifier which supplies some wall socket with a DC voltage? In the long run this should be less expensive, given the fact that AC to DC in one big apparatus is done better than in many low-quality transformers, right?  Also, modern chip DC voltage regulators have efficiency of >90%, so smaller (or even larger) voltages are still efficient and possible.  So we could use a 12V socket to charge a phone, desktop computer, laptop, radio etc... and still have an AC socket to move washing machine engine and other things that work better with an AC supply.  Why isn't this done?  edit: real question is: is it convenient, given a standard family (2 laptop, 1 desktop, 4 smarthpone, 1 big tv and some minor electonic) to do so?
69218
Having a bit of trouble finding the right information on google, and I'm worried I might fry some cables so I thought it best to ask some far more knowledgable than myself.  I want to connect 2 or more devices, giving them 5V/2A plus networking between them.  I figured to do so with the least amount of cables, Passive POE would be a good choice. The distance isn't far, probably maximum 20ft, as each device will be somewhere in a car, connected in to the boot/trunk area.  I'm looking at splitters and injectors, from what I've read its not as simple as just injecting 5v and it'll work? I have to worry about loss and also heat.  So my questions are, what is the best way to get 5V with max 2A current to the destinations? Do I need to send higher voltage to ensure it doesn't drop below 5, then use a regulator to ensure 5V? If I do that, the power will also be higher therefore more heat, is that ok?  Studying Wikipedia page I've read "Category 5 cable uses 24 AWG conductors, which can safely carry 360 mA at 50 V according to the latest TIA ruling"  50v * 0.36a = 18W, so if I were to send 9v * 2a = 18W. Then I could use a regulator to drop the ~9V(allowing for loss) down to 5V. Does that sound reasonable?  Many thanks
108048
I have a project that runs off a 4S LIPO battery and I want to switch to 24V wall power when I plug in an DC wall adapter. I have two designs, an inexpensive one with discretes and one with an expensive LTC4412HV IC.   I simulated both and they seem to work fine. In terms of safety since the battery is a LIPO, is the discrete design okay? Is there anything I should add other than a fuse which I already have?  Edit: The reason I use a PFET instead of a schottky diode is because the diode consumes too much power and I want to maximize battery life.
122477
I have 12V, Use these 12V to power a device (that has a 12V output signal) and to power a 7805. After the 7805 there is a pic microcontroller where I would have to connect the output from my device. I was thinking of having 2 resistors in a 3/1 ratio in order to have about 4V at the pin of the pic. Can this be done, given that the ground is common, or will it give some sort of problem with the lm7805?
102243
I'm wondering, is it possible to provide for example 5V/500mA from a single 1.2V battery and consuming only 50mAh from the battery by using a low input voltage boost converter and a power amplifier ? (L272 and a TPS61200 for example)  I found that it's possile to go from 1.2v to 5v with the TPS61200 and go from 50mA to 500mA with the L272 but what if they're used together ? Will it preserve my battery lifespan ?
10683
Is there anyway I can connect resistors to allow them to take more power such as using 4 1/4 watt resistors to get a 1 watt resistors. Or do i just have to use 1 1 Watt resistor.
107643
I asked a similar question  about this, but I still don't  quite understand.  Say I grab onto two wires from a standard 120V 20A wall socket. I would fry. I would have 20A at 120 forced on my body.  But, when speaking in terms of circuits, as in my linked question, if I have a power supply outputting 100mA maximum at 5v, for some reason my device only gets exactly what it needs? Why is this?  Most things flow from an area of high concentration to low concentration, taking the path of least resistence. If you connect two wires to a power supply, why don't the maximum number of electrons want to go through your circuit?  If current behaves this way...why do you have to regulate voltage?