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Variable Voltage Power Supply

Variable Voltage Power Supply

3-terminal linear fixed voltage regulators are a popular choice for creating either positive or negative voltages

Continuing on from our tutorial about converting an ATX PSU to a bench power supply, one very good addition to this is the LM317T positive voltage regulator which we can use to create a variable voltage power supply.

The LM317T is an adjustable 3-terminal positive voltage regulator capable of supplying different DC voltage outputs other than the fixed voltage power supply of +5 or +12 volts, or as a variable output voltage from a few volts up to some maximum value all with currents of about 1.5 amperes.

With the aid of a small bit of additional circuitry added to the output of the PSU we can have a bench power supply capable of a range of fixed or variable voltages either positive or negative in nature. In fact this is more simple than you may think as the transformer, rectification and smoothing has already been done by the PSU beforehand all we need to do is connect our additional circuit to the +12 volt yellow wire output. But firstly, lets consider a fixed voltage output.

Fixed 9v Power Supply

There are a wide variety of 3-terminal voltage regulators available in a standard TO-220 package with the most popular fixed voltage regulator being the 78xx series positive regulators which range from the very common 7805, +5V fixed voltage regulator to the 7824, +24V fixed voltage regulator. There is also a 79xx series of fixed negative voltage regulators which produce a complementary negative voltage from -5 to -24 volts but in this tutorial we will only use the positive 78xx types.

The fixed 3-terminal regulator is useful in applications were an adjustable output is not required making the output power supply simple, but very flexible as the voltage it outputs is dependant only upon the chosen regulator. They are called 3-terminal voltage regulators because they only have three terminals to connect to and these are the Input, Common and Output respectively.

The input voltage to the regulator will be the +12v yellow wire from the PSU (or separate transformer supply), and is connected between the input and common terminals. The stabilised +9 volts is taken across the output and common as shown.

Variable Voltage Power Supply Fixed Regulator Circuit

7809 voltage regulator circuit

So suppose we want an output voltage of +9 volts from our PSU bench power supply, then all we have to do is connect a +9v voltage regulator to the +12V yellow wire. As the PSU has already done the rectification and smoothing to the +12v output, the only additional components required are a capacitor across the input and another across the output.

These additional capacitors aid in the stability of the regulator and can be anywhere between 100nF and 330nF. The additional 100uF output capacitor helps smooth out the inherent ripple content giving it a good transient response. This large value capacitor placed across the output of a power supply circuit is commonly called a “Smoothing Capacitor”.

These 78xx series regulators give a maximum output current of about 1.5 amps at fixed stabilised voltages of 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 24V respectively. But what if we wanted an output voltage of +9V but only had a 7805, +5V regulator?. The +5V output of the 7805 is referenced to the “ground, Gnd” or “0v” terminal.

If we increased this pin-2 terminal voltage from 0V to 4V then the output would also rise by an additional 4 volts providing there was sufficient input voltage. Then by placing a small 4 volt (nearest preferred value of 4.3V) Zener diode between pin-2 of the regulator and ground, we can make a 7805 5V regulator produce a +9 volts output voltage as shown.

Increasing The Output Voltage

increasing the output voltage

So how does it work. The 4.3V Zener diode requires a reverse bias current of around 5mA to maintain an output with the regulator taking about 0.5mA. This total current of 5.5mA is supplied via resistor “R1” from the output pin-3.

So the value of the resistor required for a 7805 regulator will be R = 5V/5.5mA = 910 Ohm. The feedback diode, D1 connected across the input to output terminals is for protection and prevents the regulator from being reverse biased when the input supply voltage is switched OFF while the output supply remains ON or active for a short period of time due to a large inductive load such as a solenoid or motor.

Then we can use 3-terminal voltage regulators and a suitable Zener diode to produce a variety of fixed output voltages from our previous bench power supply ranging from +5V up to +12V. But we can improve on this design by replacing the fixed voltage regulator with a variable voltage regulator such as the LM317T.

Variable Voltage Power Supply

The LM317T is a fully adjustable 3-terminal positive voltage regulator capable of supplying 1.5 amps with an output voltage ranging from around 1.25 volts to just over 30 volts. By using the ratio of two resistances, one of a fixed value and the other variable (or both fixed), we can set the output voltage to the desired level with a corresponding input voltage being anywhere between 3 and 40 volts.

The LM317T variable voltage regulator also has built in current limiting and thermal shut down capabilities which makes it short-circuit proof and ideal for any low voltage or home made bench power supply.

The output voltage of the LM317T is determined by ratio of the two feedback resistors R1 and R2 which form a potential divider network across the output terminal as shown below.

LM317T Variable Voltage Regulator

variable voltage power supply regulator

The voltage across the feedback resistor R1 is a constant 1.25V reference voltage, Vref produced between the “output” and “adjustment” terminal. The adjustment terminal current is a constant current of 100uA. Since the reference voltage across resistor R1 is constant, a constant current i will flow through the other resistor R2, resulting in an output voltage of:

lm317t regulator output voltage

Then whatever current flows through resistor R1 also flows through resistor R2 (ignoring the very small adjustment terminal current), with the sum of the voltage drops across R1 and R2 being equal to the output voltage, Vout. Obviously the input voltage, Vin must be at least 2.5 volts greater than the required output voltage to power the regulator.

Also, the LM317T has very good load regulation providing that the minimum load current is greater than 10mA. So to maintain a constant reference voltage of 1.25V, the minimum value of feedback resistor R1 needs to be 1.25V/10mA = 120 Ohm and this value can range anywhere from 120 ohms to 1,000 ohms with typical values of R1 being about 220Ω’s to 240Ω’s for good stability.

If we know the value of the required output voltage, Vout and the feedback resistor R1 is say 240 ohms, then we can calculate the value of resistor R2 from the above equation. For example, our original output voltage of 9V would give a resistive value for R2 of:

R1.((Vout/1.25)-1) = 240.((9/1.25)-1) = 1,488 Ohms

or 1,500 Ohms (1k5Ω) to the nearest preferred value.

Of course in practice, resistors R1 and R2 would normally be replaced by a potentiometer so as to produce a variable voltage power supply, or by several switched preset resistances if several fixed output voltages are required.

But in order to reduce the math’s required in calculating the value of resistor R2 every time we want a particular voltage we can use standard resistance tables as shown below which gives us the regulators output voltage for different ratios of resistors R1 and R2 using E24 resistance values.

Ratio of Resistances R1 to R2

R2
Value
Resistor R1 Value
150 180 220 240 270 330 370 390 470
100 2.08 1.94 1.82 1.77 1.71 1.63 1.59 1.57 1.52
120 2.25 2.08 1.93 1.88 1.81 1.70 1.66 1.63 1.57
150 2.50 2.29 2.10 2.03 1.94 1.82 1.76 1.73 1.65
180 2.75 2.50 2.27 2.19 2.08 1.93 1.86 1.83 1.73
220 3.08 2.78 2.50 2.40 2.27 2.08 1.99 1.96 1.84
240 3.25 2.92 2.61 2.50 2.36 2.16 2.06 2.02 1.89
270 3.50 3.13 2.78 2.66 2.50 2.27 2.16 2.12 1.97
330 4.00 3.54 3.13 2.97 2.78 2.50 2.36 2.31 2.13
370 4.33 3.82 3.35 3.18 2.96 2.65 2.50 2.44 2.23
390 4.50 3.96 3.47 3.28 3.06 2.73 2.57 2.50 2.29
470 5.17 4.51 3.92 3.70 3.43 3.03 2.84 2.76 2.50
560 5.92 5.14 4.43 4.17 3.84 3.37 3.14 3.04 2.74
680 6.92 5.97 5.11 4.79 4.40 3.83 3.55 3.43 3.06
820 8.08 6.94 5.91 5.52 5.05 4.36 4.02 3.88 3.43
1000 9.58 8.19 6.93 6.46 5.88 5.04 4.63 4.46 3.91
1200 11.25 9.58 8.07 7.50 6.81 5.80 5.30 5.10 4.44
1500 13.75 11.67 9.77 9.06 8.19 6.93 6.32 6.06 5.24

By changing resistor R2 for a 2k ohm potentiometer we can control the output voltage range of our PSU bench power supply from about 1.25 volts to a maximum output voltage of 10.75 (12-1.25) volts. Then our final modified variable power supply circuit is shown below.

Variable Voltage Power Supply Circuit

variable voltage power supply circuit

We can improve our basic voltage regulator circuit a little more by connecting an Ammeter and a Voltmeter to the output terminals. These instruments will give a visual indication of both the current and voltage output from the variable voltage regulator. A fast-acting fuse can also be incorporated if desired in the design to provide additional short circuit protection as shown.

voltmeter and ammeter addition

Disadvantages of the LM317T

One of the main disadvantages of using the LM317T as part of a variable voltage power supply circuit to regulate a voltage is that as much as 2.5 volts is dropped or lost as heat across the regulator. So for example, if the required output voltage is to be +9 volts, then the input voltage will need to be as much as 12 volts or more if the output voltage is to remain stable under maximum load conditions. This voltage drop across the regulator is called “dropout”. Also due to this dropout voltage some form of heatsinking is required to keep the regulator cool.

Fortunately low dropout variable voltage regulators are available such as the National Semiconductor “LM2941T” Low Dropout variable voltage regulator which has a low dropout voltage of just 0.9 volts at maximum load. This low dropout comes at a cost as this device is only capable of delivering 1.0 amp with a variable voltage output from 5 to 20 volts. However, we can use this device to give an output voltage of about 11.1V, just a little lower than the input voltage.

So to summarise, our bench power supply that we made from an old PC power supply unit in a previous tutorial can be converted to provide a variable voltage power supply by using a LM317T to regulate the voltage. By connecting the input of this device across the +12V yellow output wire of the PSU we can have both fixed +5V, +12V and a variable output voltage ranging from about 2 to 10 volts at a maximum output current of 1.5A.

196 Comments

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  • Jose alfredo hernandez lopez

    Esta muy bien todo esplicado la en señansa gracias

  • Josie

    Good lessoning

  • David O Hodgson

    Interested

  • Jonny

    I like this….But I would put a small capacitor across R2 (the pot meter) to avoid flickering when adjusting. Maybe 10 – 100nF…. I’m not sure about the value.

  • B A Potgieter

    Use the LM317 adjusted output Volts supply as the source of base voltages for a bank of high current parallel connected Transistors like 2N3055, Tip 35A, or any other high I NPN Transistors. Works great. Input volts at collectors, and output at Emitters, feeding a common point via a 25 Watt 0.1 Ohm resistor. The Emitters are all separate outputs, each with a 25 or 10 Watt resistor to your Final output.

  • bokul

    D1

  • Jim Burns

    Excellent information !
    Can I drive multiple LM317 regulators from one DC power source if that DC power source can supply the current with a safety margin? Is any isolation needed between the LM317 inputs?
    Thank You !
    Jim

    • Wayne Storr

      Yes you can drive two or more regulators from the same DC power source. There is no particular isolation needed between their inputs.

  • James

    Why does my pot burn up and my lm 317 short out over and over again. Please reply.

  • Gary Plasschaert

    I am looking for circuit for an adjustable AC of about 13 volts at 20 amps. How would I construct the circuit? Thank you

  • User

    Why do you even need linear voltage regulator, why not just a resistor, in this case the potentiometer?

    • Robert Buccino

      Typical currents through the pot will exceed its current-handling capacity if you use it as a simple voltage divider: 500 mA x 12 volts = 6 watts, which means a darn big resistor/pot. Voltage regulators are designed for higher currents than resistors typically are.

    • toolman

      Two main reasons:
      1- If you use just a resistor, the output of that resistor will change when the input changes. The LM317 keeps the output Voltage stable regardless of the input Voltage (within its spec’d range, of course).

      2- Potentiometers are not typically very robust. They can only handle very small currents. They are usually used just as a Voltage reference. You’d have to have a VERY hefty Pot to deliver the 1.5A that the LM317 can supply without burning up. But then you’d still have the problem mentioned in answer #1 above.

  • Paul mabeti

    Please i what to learn about electricity

  • Anirvan Kule

    How to calculate the heatsink size (length and width) of lm317 according to voltage drop and load current ?

  • Michael webster

    Very interested in teaching my electrical class about soldering, and building power supplies, both constant and variable voltages, from an old ATX supply. And learning safe guarding of persons and equipment.
    All the Best,
    Michael

  • ATS Generators

    Really helpful blog about Variable Voltage Power Supply.

  • Samuel Rasmooh

    Very educative

  • Ogastus

    If you are looking for a High Current Power Supply circuit made with LM317 read this blog:

  • Fashion2021

    Thanks

  • YAHAYA NAFIU

    Very nice to me and thanks for your help

  • Janjan dumancas

    Lerning electronics

  • Tom Jackson

    Hi Everyone, I’m a student of Electronics and collecting information about voltage regulators. Before landing here I came across this article https://www.derf.com/an-overview-on-voltage-regulators/ but didn’t understand much as they provided very basic information. Can anyone here provide me any reference where I can learn and read more about voltage regulators.