View Single Post
  #21   Report Post  
Posted to uk.d-i-y
John Rumm John Rumm is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25,191
Default linear power supplies "outlawed"?

On 06/01/2014 09:31, Tim Watts wrote:
On Monday 06 January 2014 09:24 Scott M wrote in uk.d-i-y:

There is only one caveat to this. SMPSs generally use opto-isolators to
provide the feedback from the LV side to the HV frequency generator
side. This and the transformer means they are totally isolated from the
mains. However, some of the very cheap ones skip the opto-isolators[1]
and use FETs or TRIACs or something[2] instead which ruins the mains
isolation, especially should they break down.


That's the bit that worries me - I would not like to have any PSU with any
sort of electrical coupling between the ELV and LV(mains) side, bar perhaps
an earth connection (that's rare now, but used to be not unheard of to bond
to earth to the -ve rail in ye olden days).


http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/acadapter.html


;-)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/