ECN Electrical Forum - Discussion Forums for Electricians, Inspectors and Related Professionals
ECN Shout Chat
ShoutChat
Recent Posts
Do we need grounding?
by tortuga - 03/18/24 08:39 PM
240V only in a home and NEC?
by tortuga - 03/18/24 04:29 PM
Cordless Tools: The Obvious Question
by renosteinke - 03/14/24 08:05 PM
Test Post
by sabrown - 03/06/24 05:29 PM
Solar PV Wiring Errors
by renosteinke - 03/02/24 09:12 PM
New in the Gallery:
This is a new one
This is a new one
by timmp, September 24
Few pics I found
Few pics I found
by timmp, August 15
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 94 guests, and 11 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827
Likes: 1
J
Member
Trumpy,
I'm really glad that I was able to help. If you want to keep the size and weight down, please consider an R/C Li-Po battery and charger, as your power source. It's hard to beat their energy density. You can feed your boost converter with the output connector, and use the balancing connector for recharging. A 3S or 4S, 2200mAHr Li-Po would power your tester for several hours continuously. The "T-Plug" in the example is called a "Deans Connector". Other common connectors are called EC-3, and XT-60. I think that they all can handle around 60A, so no issue there. The balancing connectors, that fit into the chargers, are JST XH connectors. Looking forward to seeing pics of your prototype.
Joe
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Professinal-HPB-11-1V-2200mAh-25C-MAX-35C-3S-T-Plug-Lipo-Battery-For-RC-Airplane-/381885651892?epid=21003903922&hash=item58ea289bb4:g:ozEAAOSwQTVV76-P

Stay up to Code with the Latest NEC:


>> 2023 NEC & Related Reference & Exam Prep
2023 NEC & Related Reference & Study Guides

Pass Your Exam the FIRST TIME with the Latest NEC & Exam Prep

>> 2020 NEC & Related Reference & Study Guides
 

Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827
Likes: 1
J
Member
Trumpy,
How did your boost switcher supply work out?
Joe

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Trumpy Offline OP
Member
Gidday Joe,
Sorry I had completely forgotten about this thread, until your reply.

I finally found time to built up a prototype about 6 or so months ago, over a wet weekend here and took it to work and demonstrated it to my boss and the service technicians.
The first question I was asked was "Ohh, where did you buy that from?" laugh
By this stage, it didn't look anything like I had originally planned it to, with small improvements and a couple of extra features added in.
I've since made 4 other of these units, so now everyone has one, apart from me.
I will grab one at work on Monday and get some pictures, I should have done this when I was building them but the thought never occurred to me.

That boost converter worked phenomenally well, considering it cost so little, which shows how far we've come,
I remember a time when anything "special" like this device would have cost you an arm and a leg.
I bought ten of them when I made the other 4 units and I had one on my bench here, I loaded it up as much as I could and thought it would overheat without a heatsink on the chip, but no, the voltage never faltered either.
So it was good news all round.

Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827
Likes: 1
J
Member
Great news Trumpy! I've made quite a few pieces of test equipment that the guys at work enjoy using. Not a one of them ever thought that what I made was store bought. Even without pictures, I know your craftsmanship must be exceptional. I can't wait to see pics though. I'm curious if you chose LiPo batteries or some other high energy density source.

I suspected that you would probably get good results with those little boost switchers. I know that if you priced out just a few of the components, you saw that you couldn't build one, without spending several times what you paid.

Did you end up writing a manual for your tester? I love to design/build things but hate writing the manuals. My last gadget was a 19 Cycle Timer / Current Source for ballistic relays. The manual was 6 pages, including descriptions, photos, schematic, and layout drawing. The only fun part was watching the guy's faces, as they were reading the circuit descriptions.
Joe

Page 2 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5