I am a newbie hobbyist in electronics, working through an undergrad electronics text, building each circuit as I come to it to build some practical intuitions as I slog through the math.
Many of the circuits have current sources, but I am having a lot of trouble finding inexpensive current sources. Those that generate a large range of currents (between 0 and 1 A) are often over a thousand dollars! I could potentially afford up to 500 dollars. Ideally I'd like it to have DC and AC capabilities, but if that will price it out of my range then I'd accept a DC current source.
Anyone have any suggestions, or know of any products that fit my requirements?
As an aside, is it possible to simply create a current source by using the Thevenin-Norton equivalences using a standard DC battery, and calculate the voltage I need from my batteries to plug in to get the appropriate Norton current? Please forgive my ignorance, I am really just starting out with all this stuff and I really want to be able to plug in the components I'm reading about to build everything I see, tweak things, play around, really build my intuitions via exploration.
Many of the circuits have current sources, but I am having a lot of trouble finding inexpensive current sources. Those that generate a large range of currents (between 0 and 1 A) are often over a thousand dollars! I could potentially afford up to 500 dollars. Ideally I'd like it to have DC and AC capabilities, but if that will price it out of my range then I'd accept a DC current source.
Anyone have any suggestions, or know of any products that fit my requirements?
As an aside, is it possible to simply create a current source by using the Thevenin-Norton equivalences using a standard DC battery, and calculate the voltage I need from my batteries to plug in to get the appropriate Norton current? Please forgive my ignorance, I am really just starting out with all this stuff and I really want to be able to plug in the components I'm reading about to build everything I see, tweak things, play around, really build my intuitions via exploration.