Looking for a DC power regulator... preferably "off the shelf".

Is this from a 12V automotive battery, solar panel fed?

I have 12 V DC input; I need both 6V and a 24V outputs where the 24V output may pull as high as 5A.

Dimension Engineering markets a product called "AnyVolt 3"

however, it's limited to 3A input current... I guess that's where it gets the "3" in its name. Other than that, it's perfect. It's the right size and (IMO) kinda sexy looking... not that that's a criteria, mind you.

Yeah, I could build one, I suppose... I'd prefer simply to buy one if I can. Any ideas???

Jones

Look at switching power supplies. That is what you are talking about, not regulators.

Optima, 48 A/hr... what difference does it make? It's 12V input to the device.

It's kinda like an auto battery, I suppose; it's a deep cycle, sealed power source. I think that the only difference is in their spike output for engine starting; but I don't need that. The amperage in/out is steady.

OK:

A switched-mode power supply (switching-mode power supply, SMPS, or switching power supply) is an electronic power supply that incorporates a switched regulator in order to be highly efficient in the conversion of electrical power.

Jan,

2011

That sounds like a regulator to me, but I'm not looking for a terminology argument.

I have a deep-cycle, 48 A/hr power source. My output device wants 24V @ 5A and needs to stay alive for three hours for a life support system (not a human one; I'm capturing aliens.) The battery should give me that. I also need some six-volt output at a minimal current... 0.1A or so.

Yeah, I know what they're called and I can build one just fine, I'll get the 6V with a resistor, no problema. Can I just buy one? I have lots of money from my NASA grant.

Jones

To increase voltage you need to transform it. A transformer works with AC. Your input is DC. You'll need a switcher. Then if the accuracy of the voltage output is important then you'll need a regulator.

Not every thing is answerable with a quote from Wikipedia.

The 'a' probe fetish guy that killed this newsgroup might know ...

The battery should give me

You need a negative resistor to get 24V. The grant should buy you plenty.

Try asking this on sci.electronics.basics

You want a DC to DC converter.

12 volts is only a nominal rating and your circuit needs to handle 11 volts to 16 volts input. It will then regulate the oputput to exactly what you want.

OK:

A switched-mode power supply (switching-mode power supply, SMPS, or switching power supply) is an electronic power supply that incorporates a switched regulator in order to be highly efficient in the conversion of electrical power.

Jan,

2011

That sounds like a regulator to me, but I'm not looking for a terminology argument.

I have a deep-cycle, 48 A/hr power source. My output device wants 24V @ 5A and needs to stay alive for three hours for a life support system (not a human one; I'm capturing aliens.) The battery should give me that. I also need some six-volt output at a minimal current... 0.1A or so.

Yeah, I know what they're called and I can build one just fine, I'll get the 6V with a resistor, no problema. Can I just buy one? I have lots of money from my NASA grant.

Jones

24V @ 5A is 120 watts, so you'll need a little more than 10 AH/HR plus a 20% fudge-factor would be 12 Ah/Hr. So if you have a 48 AH power source, that would easily get you 3 hours of operation. It should last 4 hours safely.

This looks good:

But it needs a 18-75V input. You'll need to drag another 6V with you and put them in series (your 12V, and the new 6V). You can also grab your 6V across the new battery for your other circuit.

OK, OK... Dimension Engineering calls theirs a "switching regulator" and that's what I said I needed.

maxes at 3 amps and I need five amps. I don't care what you call it; does anyone know where to get one, offhand?

I have *long* believed that Wikipedia was misused. It's main problem is that it's secondary source material; however, it's usually fairly accurate... where "fairly" is relative.

Jones

Yes, that does look nice... I'm all into heat synchs; they turn me on!!!

Oops! 'Minds me of the time I jumped off the barn with a bead sheet parachute - it worked 'till I hit the ground. I don't have room for any more battery, I'm afraid.

Maybe I'll Google that manufacturer and see what else they got... yeah, that looks promising! The outfit is "V-Infinity" and they have lots of 'em.

Jones

Oh, yeah... there he is! Thanks for the pointer!

24V and 156W... that's a tad better'n 5A, I think.

I wonder how much one costs? (I haven't actually caught any aliens, yet.)

In general, how efficient are these devices? I mean, if it were perfectly efficient, it wouldn't need a heat synch, right? (RTFM, Jones!) The datasheet says 86.5% under full load... jeepers! That's a little over 24.3W lost to heat. I wager he'll *need* that synch!

Are they more efficient under a lesser load? In general, I mean

Jones

That's pretty good for a switched mode PSU. Anything much higher is going to be a specialist product with a premium price tag. Note that's at 24V input; at 12V input I would guess the efficiency will be lower because of increased I\262R losses on the input side.

This unit has output isolated from input, which is a feature you will be paying for in the price. Do you need this? If not, a boost type DC converter is likely to be cheaper if you can find a suitable one. One place to look would be a truckers suppliers - many trucks run on 24V, and they sometimes want to run 24V truck equipment in a 12V vehicle (although it's more common the other way around).

Similarly, a buck type DC converter for the 6V. If you could manage with 5V@1A, pick up a cigarette lighter USB power adapter, which can be found very cheaply. Alternatively, find a cigarette lighter PSU with switched output voltage - I've seen these with over 2A outputs, and they're also buck type DC switching converters.

OK, yer readin' me mind, chum... what, exactly, do they mean by "isolated output"? Basically, I'm running a ~5 amp heating element that won't be particularly sensitive to its input; it's 24V nominally, but it'll do fine at 23 or 25, I'm sure... it won't burst into flames, anyway.

Trucker's suppliers, huh? That's a big 10-4, good buddy!!!

Jones

Can't the heating element be rewired/converted to run on 12V? Somehow split the element down the middle and run both sections in parallel?

Probably; however, I think I'll try to boost the voltage first and consider that as a fall-back... it's certainly a thought.

Jones - who says: Why do it the easy, obvious way when, with a little imagination, I can make it *much* more difficult?

:-)