23 Feb
2009
23 Feb
'09
11 a.m.
Paul Koning wrote:
That makes sense. Switching supplies tend to be
designed far more
closely to the margin. (And that assumes the original good design
hasn't been butchered by unscrupulous manufacturers; for an example of
that read the article in QST a few years ago about modifying a
switching supply to be a ham radio supply.) I remember reading
articles in the trade press about how to size inductors, and
transformers, in switching supplies. It's all about making them as
small as possible while still able to handle the load. This is why
modern switchers get noticeably warm when in use. So the margin of
error is less than it used to be.
And since the market for most switchers seems to be PC's with a
life span of 6 months before they are out dated, I don't see them
needing a long lifespan.
paul