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Overvoltage Protector Update

Posted by Scott Ellington on Aug 23, 2010; 5:05pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/Overvoltage-Protector-tp5445892p5453419.html

I've updated the drawing to include construction notes and a mechanical sketch:

http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~scotte/hr/OVP.pdf


The large heat sink, I know, will seem to some like overkill.  To me, an extra 20 bucks seems like cheap insurance.  See the notes.

As W8JI notes, a simpler circuit just uses a zener diode to drive the SCR.  I chose the more complex version to allow the trip point to be set close to the operating voltage.  The K3, for example, has a maximum rating of 15.0 V, too close to 13.8 for the simpler circuit.

At the moment, all the parts are available from Digi-Key.

Scott  K9MA




On Aug 20, 2010, at 3:00 PM, Scott Ellington wrote:

> Some power supplies, like the Samlex SEC 1235, have no built-in overvoltage protection.  All regulated power supplies are capable of producing much more than their normal output voltage if any one of a number of things fails.  Linear supplies are particularly susceptible, since the pass transistor can short.  
>
> While Elecraft assures me that the K3 can survive an overvoltage with minimal damage, I prefer to be on the safe side.   So I designed a crowbar circuit, which can be used with any 12 V power supply up to 30A.  If the voltage exceeds the trip point (14-16 V), it will short the power supply output and, if necessary, blow a fuse.
>
> http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~scotte/hr/OVP.pdf
>
> I haven't built this one yet, but a very similar one I built in 1984 worked fine.
>
> 73,
>
> Scott  K9MA
>
>
>

Scott Ellington
Madison, Wisconsin
USA



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