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DC/DC converters


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Philip
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Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Posts: 3842
Location: Queensland near Brisbane


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DC/DC converters

Does anyone know of a good simple cheap dc/dc converter? I would like to boost my 18v to 36v.

Post Sat Sep 25, 2004 6:54 am 
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Spockie-Tech
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Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 3160
Location: Melbourne, Australia


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Hehe.. read what you just wrote again.. "good, simple (~fast), cheap".

You cant have all three in any situation from my experience. you can pick a combination of any two you like though.. and exclude the third.

The key factor in DC/DC converters is current. How *much* power do you want to convert ? If its just a few milliamps, then its easy. If you want amps, or tens/hundreds of amps, then it starts getting *very* expensive very quickly.

The switching regulator on the IBC is relatively simple, and can handle about 5 amps worth of power and can buck or boost (lower or raise) the voltage as required, but it isnt cheap. All up, you're looking around $50 worth of parts for 5amps worth of power.

If you're thinking the sort of power required to run decent sized motors, forget it, you'll be in the hundreds to thousands range..
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Post Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:35 am 
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Philip
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Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Posts: 3842
Location: Queensland near Brisbane


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Sorry, I should have said that I need less than 1A.

Post Sat Sep 25, 2004 6:58 pm 
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Spockie-Tech
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Joined: 31 May 2004
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Location: Melbourne, Australia


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Ok, but that still allows a fairly wide range of power levels..

At 36v, 1amp of current is 36 watts of output power. if you only need 200milliamps, then thats only 7 watts.. the difference in price between a 7 watt module and a 36 watt module is huge.

You can get 1-5 watt modules from Farnell (www.farnell.com) or RS Components for about $40. One you start heading up into the 20-50 watt region, the prices leap into the hundreds of $. Of course, they're not the cheapest places around, they're just a good place to start looking since they have nearly everything in stock.

Theres this place http://www.computronics.com.au/meanwell/sg/dc.shtml that looks like it has a reasonably interesting range. their specs only go up to 24v, but they say there are many other modules available, so it might be worth shooting them an email.

Google search for "DC to DC Converters Australia" brings up quite a few places to look through.

And if you can be bothered soldering a small circuit together and putting it in a box etc, theres the LT1170 switchmode regulator used in the IBC for about $25, plus a few coils, caps and diodes that will give you plenty of amps.
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Post Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:41 am 
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