good books on power supply design, but not switching?

I'm doing a little research on Power Supply design books... I'm trying to build an old school analog synthesizer and all I'm used to seeing are the big transformers, the diode bridge, supply and filtering caps and lastly a voltage regulator... but then in others I see sense lines, zener diodes... all sorts of other stuff I don't know why or when to use, so I'm trying to fill the holes in my knowledge. However, any book I see seems to be solely about switching design. So I'm curious, do we not design with transformers anymore? Have all the books on that subject been written, and if so, what were the good ones? Or, should I abandon the idea of designing in that old school method and embrace switching? I like the Abraham Pressman book on that (after perusing it for 3 minutes), but I tend to learn so much better from a text book designed for teaching... one with tests after each chapter. Thoughts, advice, direction? Thanks...

There are good reasons to stay with transformers and linear voltage regulators for your project.

Using integrated voltage regulator ICs instead of discrete voltage regulator circuits with transistors, zener diodes etc. utilized in the original Moog devices can make the design a bit more convenient but stays in the analog track. I guess there's sufficient work with the actual synthesizer circuits.

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Regarding "good books", Horowitz - The art of electronics has a good chapter about voltage regulators. I'm not sure if you find complete books about the topic these days, may be second-hand or in public libraries.

I learned most stuff by studying circuits.

After spending some time doing research, I'm going to answer my own question in the hopes it helps others. First off, my impression is that not a lot of people spend time working on or designing their own power supplies. They are now available as "off-the-shelf" units, which of course makes them even more interesting to me... a niche field which many overlook.

Next thing of interest is that you need to navigate the history of electronics a little to get what you want. It seems that by the late 1970's, just about everything that was going to be written about linear series-pass power supplies was written, and switching topographies were taking over the field. It is very hard to find much written on linear power supplies from the 80's onward.

That being said... the book that is probably the most worth looking for is "Switching and Linear Power Supply, Power Converter Design" by Abraham I. Pressman. Pressman was a legend in the field, and this book shows why. This is not the easiest book to read, it is full of formulas (all algebra, thankfully), he expects you to compute the values for the schematics, but if you really hunker down with it, it will yield results. Chapter 6 is a gold mine of information.

Also worthy of mention is "Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics" by G. Randy Slone. This is a general information book about electronics that may feel like going back to kindergarten for most, but as an example to the information he presents, he walks you through how to build your own power supply, a linear series pass version with short-circuit and current limiting protection. I've personally built this and it's great. It's easy to build, the parts are still available (although you will need to update the actual series-pass transistors to the newer toshiba versions, google it), and best of all, you end up with a very sturdy dual voltage (independent positive AND negative voltages) for not a lot of money, maybe $70 in parts. Try to find a lab power supply with both + and - supplies for that money.

Hope that helps!

Mark

The new (3rd) edition of The Art of Electronics contains lots of information about both linear voltage regulators and switchers in chapter 9. The best thing is: This chapter is freely (and legally!) available as a sample. The details are given at the begin of this review:

http://www.wisewarthog.com/electronics/horowitz-hill-the-art-of-electronics-3rd-edition.html

There are a few texts devoted strictly to transformers in power circuit design, however they are largely concentrated on the area of SMPS and Inverter design. A quick search on Amazon for the keywords, "Transformer Electronics" should bring those up for review.

National Semiconductor published a text back in the seventies, my college years, which covers many aspects of DC regulator design, of course utilizing mainly their components at the time:


National Voltage Regulator Handbook


A few noteworthy out-of-print texts worth having on the bookshelf, which devote a chapter or more on various aspects of the topic are as follows, alas little on transformers:


Linear Integrated Circuits by Jack Winzer

Winzer's text devotes two chapters to the theory and design of linear regulator circuits with many step-by-step detailed design examples as well as covering many other useful topics throughout the remainder of the text.

Electronic Devices and Circuits by David A. Bell

Operational Amplifiers: Applications, Troubleshooting, and Design by David A. Bell

Bell's texts are some of the most under appreciated, well written, concise and thorough texts covering their respective topics I have read hands down. The first text, Electronic Devices and Circuits, 4th Ed, devotes two or more chapters to the topic, while the second text devotes only a single chapter on the designs incorporating op-amps, Operational Amplifiers: Applications, Troubleshooting, and Design, however it is certainly the most detailed while approachable texts covering virtually every facet of designing with op-amps. Both texts utilize actual step-by-step detailed design examples including where and how to find those critical specifications from datasheets.

As the above four texts are out-of-print, they can be purchased for a mere fraction of those texts still in print and utilized in today's classrooms.

BigDog

oh man, i can't believe they finally published the 3rd. ed. of AoE. I had written those guys off as never going to complete it. And that the very subject I'm interested in is the one they publish as an example is too good to be true. thanks for the tip. BigDog... I will check out the books you've mentioned... for my purposes I'm going to start with the linear supply in the Slone book... plenty of voltage and current, plus some simple but effective protections, and run the + / - sides into 317 / 337 regulators to start. they can handle up to 1.5 A, I think my current circuit is drawing like under 300 mA right now... it'll get me started before I have to get any fancier. Thanks!