Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Discussions › Linear vs. switching
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Linear vs. switching

post #1 of 6
9/14/11 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 

So, I'm in a bit of a pickle...

 

I have a Hagerman Bugle phono pre that I run off of batteries, yesterday it seemed like I was losing one of the channels, I chalked it up to batteries going dead.  Today I get some new 9V's, pop them in, and nothing, as in absolutely no sound.  I fiddle around for a bit, then think to myself, "maybe I put the dead batteries back in?"  I go to swap both batteries, when I realize, that the negative terminal on one of the battery holders has broken off, con sarn it...

 

I'm flat broke at the moment, and can't afford the gas to go out of the way to a radio shack, let alone the mom and pop electronics shop, to go buy another battery holder, BUT!  I do have the parts at work to hobble together a ~+/-12V power supply.

 

After that long winded explanation, the problem is, the power supplys I have at work are 24V switching, I know that linear is the best method, but am I going to notice any noise or other issues?  Chances are that I'm just going to throw caution to the wind and build it, but I'm mostly worried about blowing something up.

 

Planned method would be power supply -> power cap -> opamp voltage divider -> ripple caps -> preamp

 

Any help would be pretty sweet, since I've got all these kick ass records but no way to listen to them, dag nab it!

Reply
post #2 of 6
9/14/11 at 6:54pm
A switcher can be as good, or better, than a linear supply. The issue is that many are not done well enough for audio. Give it a try, and if it is not up to spec, look at adding some filtering when you can afford to do so.
Reply
post #3 of 6
9/14/11 at 7:07pm
Thread Starter 

That's kind of what I was thinking, these are from the company Extron, which makes alot of pro audio/video gear.  I'll just throw a grip of ripple caps in, thanks!

Reply
post #4 of 6
9/14/11 at 11:36pm

by filter, a C-L-C or C-R-C-L-C before the opa would be best, as its HF switching residue/noise that will likely be the problem more than ripple. the regulator you describe does not always enjoy driving a cap though, it will slow it down at the mimimum


Edited by qusp - 9/14/11 at 11:38pm
Reply
post #5 of 6
9/15/11 at 7:13am

Do you have a few spare alligator jumpers? Just use them to hook up the batteries until you can get the right parts.

 

If you do go with the switcher just make sure that the switching supply has a "floating" output. If the switcher is grounded bad things will happen. With everything unplugged: measure ohms from the output connector to bits that go into he wall.

Reply
post #6 of 6
9/15/11 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 

good point, didn't even think about alligator clips.

 

That's what was sitting in the back of my brain about why switching supplies can be a problem, but just couldn't remember.

 

Thanks man.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Discussions › Linear vs. switching