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Repair & teardown: German 15V/10A variable PSU

    Blog entry posted in 'Teardowns', June 25, 2013.

    Intro

    I got recently, yet another PSU. This is linear, so it's pretty big compared to SMPS weight/power ratio. I didn't scale it, but it doesnt matter much, it weights around 2-3kg's, heaviest part being transformer. It has 10/2.5/0.5A settings, and analog meters. Voltage knob has fine/coarse in same pot

    Testing, repair & teardown

    At first when i tested it, nothing happened, not even power light lit up. I tested it through lamp-cord, so i suspected too much current limiting at start-up. But even without lamp, nothing. Now i really needed to open the case, and i couldn't find the fuse, which i suspected would be faulty!. finally when i found it, it was blasted open, literally, but luckily glass was intact. I checked my fuse collection and almost gave up hope seeing suitable fuse 1A fast/slow, there was no F/T marking on anywhere. But, luckily, found one, well one is enought!.
    I didn't want to blow another fuse, so i tested it through lamp-cord, and it worked. Even without lamp, worked, and stress test with power resistor was success, no problems whatsoever. Then, for curiousity and for finalizing repair, i checked any excess noise/ripple, and none was found.

    Inside was basic linear PSU's stuff, and one IC, ca723, regulator chip, which in these currents controls bigger transistors found in back, heatsinks. transistors are 2n3772 NPN, connected in parallel.

    Afterwords

    Future improvements for this PSU are better place for fuse, one that doesn't need case to be opened, and possibly multi-turn pot, for better adjustment

    Comments
    fezder, May 08, 2014
    considering this repair after repair, i should have looked fast acting rather than slow. There's smaller harm if fuse blows before it should, at least in safety manner which is the reason fuses exist!
 

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