Hi,

Im trying to get a small lab setup and would like a power solution to meet my needs for hobby use. Im not sure how many volt/amps I need. My main concern is as usuall i will have bought something that i'll find out is too weak to meet my needs and need to buy a whole new supply. Id prefer not to build my own. I also would like something cheap as i need to get a quality multi meter, osc and signal generator.

 

Your small lab, is this for hobby work at home, or a small lab at work, or are you planning on making this into a career?

 

Your small lab, is this for hobby work at home, or a small lab at work, or are you planning on making this into a career?

Just hobby work for things like Guitar pedals and amps and speakers and such.

I don't want to buy something that I'll have to replace later and definately dont want to build my own. I want to spend as a little as I can because I need to spend on a good volt meter and oscilloscope.

 

Then I don't see the need for a bench power supply.

For experimenting with guitar FX circuits all you need is a 9V battery.

If you are building guitar amplifiers, you will need a power supply for which I use a computer power adapter or wallwart, anything like 12V@5A, 15V@5A, 18V@3.5A etc. You can even find dual supplies +/- 15V.

You can also turn a discarded computer power supply into a useful hobby supply. Cost you nothing.

 

Dual outputs, about 0- 20V each @ 3A would be minimum.

 

Ehh, if he wants a bench power supply, let 'em have one. I tried fuddling around with all sorts of adapters here and there and its just too much of a pain in my arse. If I want a circuit to work, I don't want to have to worry about silly power adapters.

If you want to be cheap, though not necessarily "lab grade", you can go and get a cheap little +/- LM317/LM337 kit and then get a center tap transformer and call it a day.

If you want to get more complicated, there's some more advanced circuits you can try yourself.

I know you don't want to buy, but it's hard to find a reasonable quality supply for cheap. I might scrounge eBay for an old Power Designs or HP power supply. They are easily serviceable, good quality, and generally cheap.