Linear or smps?Im wanting to build a variable 1 to 12 volt 30 amp DC power supply (more voltage the better) Im wondering if anyone has made one before
Well if you're talking linear PSU's, then your 'budget' isn't even enough for a mains transformer, the heatsinks, or even the reservoir capacitors - 30A is a pretty serious PSU and not cheap.I have a variable power supply that teaches 30 volts 5 Amps which is good for most things, but I need a power supply that steps down the 120 volts from the wall and gives a good amount of current for various experiments mostly with inverters and amplifiers. My budget is probably around $15 to $20 so ya pretty tight
You should ALWAYS lick your finger firstI had a TO220 brand on the tip of my index finger for months from checking the regulator temperature when I overlooked this detail.
On its own, it would only be one amp at most, but limited to rather less by power dissipation and heating as it's dropping so much voltage.You said you used LM317? How much current can that regulate