15 Aug
2016
15 Aug
'16
10:22 p.m.
> >
...The common Zenith MDA monitor, ... The one that combines the efficiency
> > of a linear with the reliability of a switcher.
> > Double take, resulting in coffee in nasal cavity ... ;-) I am not
joking.
-----------------
Well, linears are noted more for their weight and caloric output than efficiency
while switchers seem to have sacrificed reliability for higher efficiency so I
took it as a delightful bit of irony, like a car combining the safety of a Pinto
with the graceful lines of an Edsel... Oh well, I got a chuckle out of it...
Of course I was being ironic. The 'not joking' part refers to the fact that
it really is a switcher with a linear regulator.
The reverse (mains transformer feeding low-voltage switching regulators)
was relatively common (think of the older PDP11 PSUs, for example). These
are big and heavy (massive iron-core transformer) and not as efficient as
a mains switch-mode PSU, but are more efficient than a linear regulator
(obviously) and seem quite reliable.
-tony