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Has anyone built a STEPS for 230V ?

post #1 of 21
10/11/05 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
I live in Europe (Norway) and the power grid is 230V. Has anyone made a STEPS or similar psu for 230V primary power? Any parts lists, schematics, layouts or guides around? Any tips will be appreciated.
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post #2 of 21
10/11/05 at 9:22am
All the same, except you have a different transformer.... (and possibly some higher rater components on the AC side).

Rob.
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post #3 of 21
10/11/05 at 9:26am

STEPS for 240V

steinba,
I live in Australia and our mains voltage is 240V. I used all the parts as specified on Tangent's web site. The only difference is that the transformer is connected diferently. I ordered all the parts from Digikey. I perhaps should have selected a transformer with 12v secondary windings, but had alreadyu ordered one with 15v secondaries. My STEPS is set to output 24Volt, so the regulator diddipates quite a lot. I have not had any problems powering my M3 amplifier. regards, Pieter
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post #4 of 21
10/11/05 at 9:29am
You'll have to check a few things. If I'm correctly informed Tangent has increased creapage distances in a few places which is required for 230 V. It should be 8 mm from _any_ part from 230 V side to the secondary side.

R3 must be of 1200 volt type, not the usual 0,6 W metall film which only can take 300 V. You could also take two metal film in series. It's possible to break the resistor with transients.

C1 must be approved for X applications, C2L, C2N for Y applications

The inductor must also be approved.
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post #5 of 21
10/11/05 at 9:41am
http://no.farnell.com should have all the parts you need (inductor, i think transformer, capacitors, etc)

107426 Is what I've used for C1
107430 Is what I've used for C2
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post #6 of 21
10/11/05 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, guys.

...I'd really like a PPA to run on wall power instead of batteries. I can do this with the STEPS, right? It's not just for charging batteries?
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post #7 of 21
10/11/05 at 5:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by steinba
It's not just for charging batteries?
Heavens no. If you just want to charge batteries, I'd be the first to tell you not to use the STEPS if you don't have to. It's ridiculously overkill for that. You can use an unregulated wall wart for that job.

The only reason there's any association at all between the STEPS and the PPA BB is that when you need a charging voltage higher than 30V, you need to DIY some kind of power supply. Off-the-shelf power supplies with voltages higher than that are almost impossible to find.
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post #8 of 21
10/11/05 at 6:30pm
Thread Starter 

Great.

Ah, great. That's what I thought. I'll start with a PPAv2, then, and run it on batteries until I can get a STEPS together.
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post #9 of 21
10/14/05 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 

.....Or:

Could I skip the battery board/"fast charging" cirquitry alltogether if I built the amplifier board and a STEPS? I could even build them both in one slightly larger enclosure as I don't need anything portable.
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post #10 of 21
10/14/05 at 7:04am
i would just build the steps if i didn't need portability.
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post #11 of 21
10/14/05 at 9:29am
STEPS and PPA are a perfect pairing. The only thing that might be worth thinking about is that if you also decide to build the battery board, and go for fast charging, you need to ensure the transformer you pick has a high enough rating. That tends to mean the 25VA version. When not charging it will be coasting.

Although Tangent's configuration guide is astoundingly flexible, there is a confluence of forces that then to point one in the direction of a 24 volt configuration. (You can use the Cerafines he sells, the battery board configuration is trivial, there are no dangers in pushing some op-amps past their limits, and so on.) You can go for higher voltages, but read the guide very carefully, and ensure you understand the implications. I can assure you that the 24 volt configuration sounds glorious. This means picking the dual 12 volt transformer.

A couple of caveats. A STEPS probably really should not be built into a Hammond case. Although I have. The clearances from the box to the mains voltage traces are very tight. If you use the 25VA transformer you actually need to file the top edge to get it to fit. The heatsink is a very tight fit too. It is OK, and I'm not unhappy with mine, but if you are reasonably new to building this stuff I would feel worried. You must ensure that it is properly grounded.
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post #12 of 21
10/15/05 at 8:56pm
WOO HOO!!! I used the search function to find this thread, and got all my questions answered... This site is a VERY powerful tool, I am slowly figuring out how to use this forum effectivly... Thanks
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post #13 of 21
11/18/09 at 10:47am
Thread Starter 
Hi again. Time to dig up an ancient thread.

I still haven't gotten around to building this, but I'm in the process of adding parts to my "project" at Mouser.

I want to run a PPA at 24V from my STEPS, and as I said before, in the Norwegian 240V power grid.

I'd be very grateful if someone could help me pick a suitable transformer and choke (L1) for this. Even more so if they were available from Mouser. 'm using Tangent's v1.2 PCB.

I'm also having trouble finding suitable C2 and C6 caps, and working out the resistor values. Could you guys guide me through it? ;-)

Again: Thanks very much in advance!
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post #14 of 21
11/18/09 at 11:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by steinba View Post

I'm also having trouble finding suitable C2 and C6 caps, and working out the resistor values. Could you guys guide me through it? ;-)

Again: Thanks very much in advance!
Have you read all of this?
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post #15 of 21
11/18/09 at 11:24am
Thread Starter 
Yes, I have. The C2 and C6 I'd just get according to the part list. Even if it means I'll have to get these caps in a tiny separate order from digi-key. It would be nice to find replacements from Mouser, though.'

I must admit that even though I've read the paragraphs about resistors, I'm such a noob that I have no idea what actual values to order them in.

Thanks anyway.
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