Power supply (1.5-30V / 2A), part 1.

To be able to do some electronic hobby projects you need a power supply. You also need other things like a multi-meter for example but that's harder to make. Power supplies are much easier to make and often a lot cheaper than one from the shop.

So I'm going to build a 1.5-30V/2A power supply which is sufficient for most little projects.

To start you always need to convert your mains power (110 or 220-240V) to something more suitable like in this case 24V. Because I didn't want to have all those high voltage parts lying around while working and testing the circuit I decided to make the case first and put all the high voltage stuff in there.

Here are some pictures:

That big chunk of metal is the transformer. It turns 220V into 24V. It's screwed on to the bottom of the casing. It's 72VA (which is 72W coz voltage (V) x Current (A) = Power (W)).

The back and the front panels. The back panel holds the socket for the mains cable and the fuse. ALWAYS use a fuse! For this project I use a 500mA fuse. This only protects the house from a power outage. To protect my equipment I should actually use a fuse of (72/220) 0.3A. I have to see if those actually exist...

The front panel holds the switch (which I'm not happy with because I thought it would be pretty blue but it's stupid blue light) and 2 connectors for the output voltage of 24V.

A close-up of the front panel, just because it's a cool photo ;-)

This is the front after putting it together...

... and this is the back.

I forgot to take a photo from the inside with all the wires attached. That might have to come in Part 2.

With this part finished, I now have 24V at my disposal in a safe way!