[runeight]

You can always dial up the bias a little, maybe 125mA or whatever you can get within the range of the bias pot. Just watch the temps on O/P devices.
 
For me, I don't mind running them hot, especially since they are mosfets. But I know that many of you prefer otherwise.
 
125mA will bump the power dissipation from ~3W to ~3.75W. I don't know how much it will drop the input to regulator voltage.

 

[ujamerstand]

From memory, my measurements at TP3 was around 9.6V. The AC line in my area was 122.8VAC at the time of measurement. That's probably why it's a touch higher than your readings.
Quote:

What is your measure at TP3 once under load? Also, what is you AC line measuring on the primaries? Your values seem a touch higher than mine as I usually come in around 38V at the rails with 122VAC on the line.

I've got the bias set at 122mA right now. (From 270mV / 2.2ohm, is this correct?) The pre-reg voltage stabilizes at ~38.6V under the higher current draw. The heatsinks for the output devices gets hot to the touch, I'll have to get a temperature sensor to see if it is less than half of the mosfet's junction temperature. I'll bump the heatsinks to 2.5 inch version otherwise.

 
Quote:

You can always dial up the bias a little, maybe 125mA or whatever you can get within the range of the bias pot. Just watch the temps on O/P devices.
 
For me, I don't mind running them hot, especially since they are mosfets. But I know that many of you prefer otherwise.
 
125mA will bump the power dissipation from ~3W to ~3.75W. I don't know how much it will drop the input to regulator voltage.

 
So what do you think? Is the SumR iron recommended? Underspec it a little?
 

 

[luvdunhill]

what about mounting a pair of chassis mount bridges and then build up a CRC that feeds into C1 (bypass D1-D4)? I think a little more capacitance might be nice to have and this would allow you to deal with your excess voltage. Grab a chassis mount resistor for the "R" as well. Even with doing that, you should consider the LM317HVT version in case something were to go wrong.

 

[luvdunhill]

Quote:

to see if it is less than half of the mosfet's junction temperature
 

 
It doesn't work that way. If the heatsinks were at half the max junction temperature, the device would be dead. For a TO-220 device, you want to be able to keep your finger on the heat sink for at least 3 seconds before having to pull away. This will be about Tj = 80C.

 

[ujamerstand]

I am using LM317HVT. Mouser did not carry lm337hv though, digikey has it, but not in TO220 packaging. Honestly though, the heatsink feels warm to the touch for the regulators, but not hot. If I understand this correctly, the main problem here is with the power dissipation from the high voltage drop, right? Or is there something else I'm missing here? Edit: reading the data-sheet on LM337, it does say it has a maximum input voltage at -40V. -_-
Quote:

It doesn't work that way. If the heatsinks were at half the max junction temperature, the device would be dead. For a TO-220 device, you want to be able to keep your finger on the heat sink for at least 3 seconds before having to pull away. This will be about Tj = 80C.

 
Huh. I see. As a rule of thumb, what would be a safe temperature to operate the components in regards to The junction temperature? On amb's beta22 boards and heatsink page he recommends that the junction temperature should never go above 100degrees Celsius for a mosfet with maximum junction temperature at 175 degree Celsius, that's where I got the half the junction temperature thought from.
 

 

[ujamerstand]

Also, a little off topic here, but how do you calculate the voltage drop over particular values over the CRC regulator? Say if I use the same values for the capacitence in the bijou, 470uF, maybe a 5 ohm resistor, the Vloss would be the current draw of output stage* 5 ohm = ~0.6V?

 

[runeight]

So based on two builds with the SUMR transformer we have high, but not death, input to regulator voltages. What is the primary spec on the transformer? Is it 115V or 120V?

 

[luvdunhill]

The maximum input voltage is usually 37V for most LM3X7 types, unless you shop around. As you suspected, the issue is not voltage drop, maximum input voltage which is just one of the design parameters for the device itself.
 
100C is too hot for me, and I suspect this number was thrown out as the devices used in the beta22 and sigma22 are especially rugged devices, and the designer was familiar with how hard to push them. I'd recommend 80C for a TO-220.
 
Your suspicion is correct for the Pi filter. Perhaps check out PSUD2 for modeling this sort of stuff:
 
http://www.duncanamps.com/psud2/ 
 
Also, once you have the resistor dropping the correct amount of voltage, make sure you also then calculate a suitable power rating. I'd recommend double the wattage from the calculation that you perform using quiescent current draw (assuming this is a class A amplifier)

 

[jdkJake]

Quote:

So based on two builds with the SUMR transformer we have high, but not death, input to regulator voltages. What is the primary spec on the transformer? Is it 115V or 120V?

120VAC

 

[jdkJake]

Quote:

I am using LM317HVT. Mouser did not carry lm337hv though, digikey has it, but not in TO220 packaging. Honestly though, the heatsink feels warm to the touch for the regulators, but not hot. 
 

I am running the LM317T Fairchild part from Digikey. It is rated at up to 125C.
 
Last time I measured:
 
 
temps (top center of each heat sink).

 

MOSFETS at 220mV:   38.25V at the regulators

                                   31.35VAC at the secondaries

                               ~44C to 45C

 

I might bump the MOSFET a bit, but, I am mostly gonna keep an eye on it for now. Down here in Florida, the local power company (Florida Flicker and Light aka Progress Energy) is notorious for playing with the power levels. I suspect they are high right now as we come out of the summer months and peak HVAC demand. I would not be a bit surprised to see 121VAC or less by months end. Just no way to predict it.

 

 

 

 

[ujamerstand]

Thanks for the link, though it should be http://www.duncanamps.com/psud2/index.html 
 
As for the particular device I used (Fairchild LM337T), the datasheet says the maximum adjustable output voltage is -37V, but it does not mention the maximum input voltage. What IS mentioned is that the maximum voltage differential between Vi and Vo is 40V. Should I really be worried over this?

 

[jdkJake]

Quote:

I might bump the MOSFET a bit, but, I am mostly gonna keep an eye on it for now. Down here in Florida, the local power company (Florida Flicker and Light aka Progress Energy) is notorious for playing with the power levels. I suspect they are high right now as we come out of the summer months and peak HVAC demand. I would not be a bit surprised to see 121VAC or less by months end. Just no way to predict it.
 

 

 

Case in point, tonight, right now, I am measuring 123.3VAC at the IEC inlet.
 
MOSFETS are at 220/230mV respectively and input to the regulators is at 38.3V.
 
Might be totally different in a few hours once peak demand settles down (usually after 11pm EST).
 

 

[jdkJake]

Quote:

As for the particular device I used (Fairchild LM337T), the datasheet says the maximum adjustable output voltage is -37V, but it does not mention the maximum input voltage. What IS mentioned is that the maximum voltage differential between Vi and Vo is 40V. Should I really be worried over this?

I see what you mean, the spec is more concentrated with Input/Output differential:
 
   http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/LM/LM317.pdf  
 
BTW, ujamerstand, are you using the tube LEDs? I am dissipating over 1W per board just to keep those bada-- LEDS putting out 4000mcd a piece.  

 

[ujamerstand]

Nope. No pretty leds for me. Realized that I don't like that with my minimax build. More of a natural tube glow kind of guy.

 
AC line readings tonight is 124.1VAC. 

 

[jdkJake]

Fair enough. They do put off a nice subtle glow when unlit from underneath.
 
Man, your power is almost as whacked out as ours. Might be easier to just regulate the AC coming in than try to burn off excess.