Operation of the Power Supply Circuit

This section covers the functioning of the circuit. It is organized into

several topic headings that are listed below. The professor will cover
these questions in class.
Overview
The figure below shows the incomplete schematic circuit. The Circuit can
be broken into AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct Current) sections
as indicated in the figure. The circuit on the Printed Circuit Board
(PCB) can also be broken down into the functional areas as indicated in
the diagram: a filtered rectifier circuit; fixed 5V regulator circuit;
positive variable regulator circuit; and negative variable regulator
circuit. The components to the right of the printed circuit board consist
of: the power LED, which is on whenever the power-switch, SW1, in on;
and, the binding posts for the output voltages that will be installed in
the front face of the power supply case.
Filtered
Rectifier
AC part
Of Circuit

DC Part of
Circuit on
PCB Board
Fixed 5V
Regulated

Positive
Variable
Regulated
Negative
Variable
Regulated

Depending on the program in which you are enrolled, some students are in
first year and others in second year. The second year students should be
familiar with all the components in this schematic; whereas first year
students will be studying the electronic components such as diodes and
regulators in the Electronic Circuits course at the same time as taking
this course. The understanding of how such components function in the
circuit will be left until later in the course by which time the first
year students will have covered them in the Electronic Circuits course.
At the beginning of this course, the emphasis will be the functional

areas, i.e. as indicated in the diagram, and other more general topics
such as safety and electricity.
The format here will be a discussion of the topic headings given below
and at the end of each section are questions to test your understanding.

Safety
AC Circuit
Filtered Rectifiers
Fixed 5V Regulator Circuit
Positive Variable Regulator Circuit
Negative Variable Regulator Circuit

Safety
Safety is the term used to refer to issues that can potentially result in
physical harm to people. So what do we mean when speaking about safety in
the design of electrical/electronic products such as the power supply
that you will be fabricating in this course, other than mechanical
considerations such as avoiding sharp edges? Normally, whenever working
with electricity the main safety concerns deal with higher voltages. If
only low voltages are present in a product such as battery-powered
portable devices such as cell phones, then the only real electrical
safety issue would likely be the effect of the battery leaking or
exploding; there is very little likelihood of personal injury occurring
to anyone fabricating/operating/repairing such a product.
So what is considered high voltage? This question does not have a
definitive number as an answer but there is little doubt that the supply
voltage of 120 Vac to the power supply does pose a potential lethal
threat to your life under the right conditions. If it is a dry day and
youre in good physical health and you happen to touch a live wire and a
connection to ground with the fingers of the same hand, there is very
little threat to your life. The current, even if at a dangerous level,
will pass through your hand and possibly result in local cell damage not
to mention a painful sensation that will be evident by the possible rapid
flow of expletives from your mouth. If however, you touch the live wire
with one hand and a connection to ground with the other hand, the
resulting current flow may pass through your heart, possibly interrupting
the electrical impulses that control the heart
There certainly have been cases of fatalities due to line voltages of 120
Vac but they are extremely few. The best protection from such an event,
even if extremely unlikely while working with the power supply, is
knowledge and understanding. In a nutshell the part of the power supply
that represents the most significant safety hazard is the alternating
current part since it is at 120 Vac and that the PCB part of the assembly
is comparatively harmless. The only exception to this statement would be
the danger of a capacitor exploding.
Safety Hazards for Power Supply:

120 Vac line voltage

Exploding capacitors

As for the 120 Vac hazard the student should be careful if they are
troubleshooting with the cover removed while still plugged into the wall.
If there are any exposed wires at the fuse holder or the power switch you
may receive a shock if you come in contact with them. Remember that the
only time you will feel anything that could be called an electrical shock
is when you provide a path for the current from the live wire, the black
one in the power cord, to ground, either through the white also called
the common wire in the power cord or the ground wire both of which are
connected together at the fuse panel. So what this means is that simply
touching the live wire with your finger, without having some other part
of you body touching the grounded metal chassis or a common lead inside
the chassis will not give you a shock. Whenever you suspect a potential
high voltage hazard a simply measure to reduce the risk of a current path
through your heart is to keep one hand behind your back, thereby the
current is unlikely to travel up your arm.
To receive an electrical shock there must be a path to ground
Regarding the exploding capacitors, this can occur when the electrolytic
type, which is the type used here, is installed backwards. This is easily
avoided for the large ones used as filters in the rectifier circuit by
following the template provided for the PCB traces and components in the
second Module. The smaller ones of the axial type can be easily installed
incorrectly but it is most unlikely that they will explode anyway.
Regardless, make sure that you know which way they should be installed at
that time.
The following questions are given to test your understanding of the
material presented above.
1. What is the main safety concern in this project?
2. What other safety concerns exist in this project, in particular
regarding a certain type of capacitor?
3. Why is it important that the black wire from the AC power cord be
connected to the fuse and not the white wire?
4. Explain how grounding the case protects the consumer;
specifically mentioning what could happen if the case were not
grounded.
5. Which of the two electrical connections on the fuse holder should
be connected to the black wire from the power cord, the one near
the end where the fuse is inserted or the one at the other end?
Explain. Think of a incandescent light bulb receptacle for
comparison.
6. Is there a hazard if someone touched the white wire from the
power cord while it was plugged in a wall outlet? Explain.
7. What would happen if the wire between the power switch SW1 and
the transformer were to inadvertently touch the metal case (a)
assuming the switch is off, (b) assuming the switch is on?
8. What is the purpose of the ground prong of the AC plug?

AC Circuit
As is typically the case, schematic diagrams are drawn such that the
current is flowing from the left to the right the same as how we read
text. This implies that like a river the current source is on the left
which in this case is 120 Vac and on the right the river ends as the
current is absorbed by the vast ocean or ground only to be returned one
day to feed the river.
Think of the schematic as the river and streams leading to the
ocean
The diagram below is extracted from the schematic and represents the part
where the currents are alternating and some voltages are potentially
harmful. We will look at each component in turn.
Safety Hazard -Live
wires 120 Vac

No Safety Hazard

Low Safety Hazard

AC Current

Figure ?? AC Circuit
Plug The plug should be a three prong type where the centre prong is
the grounding prong. As shown in the diagram where the green wire leads
to the chassis symbol, the ground prong should be connected to the
chassis (see photo below) thereby ensuring the chassis is always at the
same potential as ground that we could call 0 volts.

Green Ground
Wire
connected to
transformer
Black power
cord wire
connection

Figure 1 Grounding
There wasnt always a third prong on plugs and it was added as a safety
measure. You might wonder how it provides additional safety. Before there
were ground prongs, if a bare portion of a live wire such as the wires
from the black wire in the power cord all the way to the transformer were
to somehow come in contact with the metal case then the case would
effectively be at the same potential as the live wire. This means that if
you touched the case it was the same as touching the live wire The
ground prong, being connected both to the case via the transformer
mounting flange and to the earth back at the fuse box, in such an event
would result in the fuse or circuit breaker in the electrical panel going
open circuit due to the massive current flow that would result the
instant the live wire was to contact the grounded case.
The other feature of the plug that is not evident in the schematic is the
polarity of the two flat prongs. No doubt you have all noticed that the
two flat prongs are not the same size, unless the device is old or from
outside of this country. One is wider than the other, the narrower one
being the live one and connected to the black wire in the power cord. The
wider one is connected to the white wire (wider leads to white??)in the
power cord and back at the electrical panel it is connected ground which
means that the white wire, in the power cord, and the green ground wire
are at the same potential. This effectively means that the white wire
that comes into the chassis could be left bare and unlike the black wire
it can touch the chassis without presenting any safety threat.
Fuse The next component in the AC circuit is the fuse, rated at 0.5A.
The fuse is held in a fuse holder protruding from the back face of the
chassis. The fuses function is to prevent excessive currents from flowing
through the components of the power supply thereby damaging them. The
maximum current according to the rating is 0.5 amperes. This means the
maximum power supplied by this device will be the product of the maximum
current and the applied voltage, 120 Vac in this case, giving P = 120 x
0.5 = 60 Watts.
The following questions are given to test your understanding of the
material presented above.
1.

What is the maximum power that can be delivered by this device?

2.

What is the maximum current that could flow through T11 before
the fuse would blow, assuming no losses between the fuse and the
output of the regulator?
3.
Why are both primary wires on the transformer the same colour?
4.
Why are there three secondary wires on the transformer? Do all
transformers have three secondary wires?
5.
How is the green/yellow secondary wire on the transformer
different than the two green wires?
6.
What is the average voltage between the two green wires? What
name is used for average AC values?
7. What is the average voltage between either green wire and the
green/yellow wire?
8.
Which prong, the wide or the narrower one, of the AC power cord
is connected to the white wire or hot lead? How would verify
your answer with a DMM?
9.
Can the common lead on the secondary side of the transformer be
connected to the white lead on the primary side? When would you
not do this, regarding the respective voltages?
10. What would be the effect of changing the turns ratio of the
transformer, a) on the output voltages, b) on voltage at TP4?
11. The rated secondary voltage of the transformer is 28Vac, but the
measured value with a DMM indicates 33Vac. Explain the
difference.

Filtered Rectifiers
The illustration below is extracted from the one at the start of this
section. In the labeled ellipse, it shows the part of the schematic that
rectifies and filters the AC current into DC current. The diodes are pnjunction diodes and basically their ability to conduct in only one
direction is what makes it possible to convert AC to DC. This should have
been covered extensively in your Electronic Circuits course, but will be
reviewed here to see how well those lessons were learned.

First the components included in the rectification and filtering will be

identified and then their contribution will be discussed. As you already
know, the diodes, D1-D4, are what change the AC to DC and the way this is
done can be described in several ways. The AC comes from the transformer
and is delivered to the printed circuit board at terminal connections T1,
T2, and T3, where T2 is connected to the centre-tap of the transformer.
At any given instant in time the connection at T1 may be positive or
negative WRT the centre-tap and whichever it is the connection at T3 will
be the opposite. The potential at T1 changes from positive to negative 60
times per second. When T1 is positive, any current flow will be from T1
to the centre-tap or T3 depending on where a load is present. If T1 is
negative, any current flow will similarly be from T3 to the centre-tap or
T1.
What happens once on the board is a little harder to follow but it is
review of material covered in Electronic Circuits. A key fact to keep in
mind is that the diodes separate the AC for the DC but be careful because
for D2 and D2 the AC is at the anodes and DC at the cathodes; whereas for
D3 and D4 it is the other way around. This is how we end up with positive
DC at TP4 and negative at TP5.
The goal is not to repeat everything you have already learned but at
least to give you an opportunity to check how well you learned it. An
initial question might be to ask what type of rectifier is used in this
circuit. If your answer is a bridge rectifier because there are four
diodes, you are partly right. Whenever a load is applied between BP1 or
BP2 and BP4 current would flow through all four diodes and thus you have
a bridge rectifier.
If on the other hand a load is applied between BP1 or BP2 and BP3 then
current only flows through D1 and D2 which would mean a full-wave
positive rectifier is in effect. Can you comment on the presence of a
full-wave negative rectifier and where the load must be for it to
function?
Before TL1 and TL2 are connected, that would allow current to flow to the
regulators, the output of the rectifiers is unfiltered since the filter
capacitors are on the downstream side of the test links. You should
recall that the average DC voltage at TP4 should be a function of the
peak AC voltage from the transformer. How do we find the peak AC voltage?
Once this value is determined and a minor drop of 0.7 volts is applied to
the peak as the signal passes across D1 or D2, the average DC voltage is
some fraction of the this peak. If it was a half-wave rectifier the peak
is divided by a common irrational number that is related to circles to
give the average DC voltage. For a full wave, since there is twice the
area under the curve of the waveform the value for the half-wave is
doubled.
Once the test links are inserted the capacitors, C1 and C2, have a
profound affect on the shape of the waveform when viewed on an
oscilloscope. It changes from two clearly identifiable humps, as seen in
the AC waveform, to what almost appears as a straight line. Upon closer
inspection it is apparent that the valleys between the peaks have been
filled in as a result of the discharging of the capacitors. The variation
in the voltage from the peak value to some slightly smaller value,
depending on the magnitude of the capacitor, is referred to as the ripple
voltage. A handy rule of thumb to use when looking for the output voltage

of a filtered rectifier is to assume it is equivalent to the peak AC

voltage, which can be found by dividing by 0.707.
The following questions are given to test your understanding of the
material presented above.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

What type of rectifier(s) is/are used in the power supply?

List the components that make up the filtered rectifier(s).
What is the purpose of the capacitors C1 and C2?
What would be the result, if the value of the capacitors was
reduced to 10F, in terms of ripple voltages?
What would happen if C1 was to malfunction and the circuit went
open at this point, specifically to the voltage at TP4 on the
schematic?
What type of rectifier is in effect when the load is applied
across BP1 and BP3?
What type of rectifier is in effect when the load is applied
across BP2 and BP4? Remember that the voltage in this case is
twice the value across BP2 and BP3.
How much DC current passes through capacitor C1?
On a copy of the completed schematic diagram, using a
highlighter, show the path of the main power, from the power cord
to the load, in solid line and in dashed lines show the control
signals.

Fixed 5V Regulator Circuit

The illustration below is extracted from the larger one at the start of
this section. It shows the portion of the larger circuit that is
responsible for producing a consistent 5V at the load, regardless of load
variations. This circuit is relatively simple and typically works
successfully.

The components included in this function are the 7805 regulator, the
small capacitor and the reverse biased diode. The regulator is of course
an integrated circuit that includes many tiny components all packed onto
a microchip. These components work together to achieve the goal of
producing the desired output voltage, relative to the com pin, regardless
of what happens to the load. You should recall that a zener diode is also
used as a voltage regulator, in fact D5 does exactly that, but it
performs relatively poorly when the load varies.

Now we will look at the diode D10. This diode is there as a protective
device. It is a very common feature with power supplies to place reverse
biased diodes in parallel with the output. They are almost always reverse
biased during normal operation except for when a load is switched on/off
(or connected/disconnected).
They are often referred to as "fly back", "clipper" or transient
protection diodes and provide protection for the power supply output and
the load.
When a load that has some inductive properties is switched on and off,
the stored inductive energy can cause an excessive voltage spike of the
opposite polarity at the voltage output. This is often explained in an
electronic textbook with the use of a speaker as a load. A speaker is of
course a large coil of wire (inductor) with a magnet.
An inductoras you may recallfights against current changes. When an
inductor is switched off, it fights against the current change and can
develop an extremely high voltage (delta I/delta t = e/L) or ( e= delta
I/delta t x L). This phenomenon can often be demonstrated by recalling
when you may have unplugged a device without shutting it off and observed
a spark at the receptacle plug when it is removed. This spark is caused
by the energy stored within the inductive properties of the load and the
fact that the magnetic field is collapsing to zero in a very short period
of time. The more inductive properties (L) in the load, the larger the
spark. The inductor fights against this current change, generates a very
high voltage, creates the spark (arc) and dissipates its stored inductive
energy in the spark.
Also the voltage regulator switches on and off at a very high speed
(many MHz range) to maintain its voltage output at the specified voltage.
For exampleif you looked at the output of a regulator on a scope you
would see a rapid on/off high frequency waveform that varies by a small
voltagesay 5 mV to give us an example to work with. So..if its a 5 volt
regulator the output varies between 5.005 V and 4.995 volts at a very
high frequency. This high frequency voltage causes the inductive
properties of the load to switch charge/discharge at the same rate. The
diode clips the stored inductive energy.
Also a small capacitor is typically placed in parallel with the output
to help the regulator out with this rapid switching and regulating
effect.
Since the LED appears
7805, we will discuss
the front face of the
to show when power is
between the output of

in parallel with the load at the output of the

it at this time. The LED is of course installed on
power supply, just beneath the power switch, SW1,
on. The LED is in series with the resistor R8
the 7805 and common.

Whenever power is on and there is 5 volts at the top of the resistor R8

and thus current flows through R8 and then the LED to common. The
resistor acts as a current limiting device without which it would be
impossible to produce the required 5 volts at the output of the 7805. If
there was only the LED, then as for all forward biased diodes the
potential drop across it would be fixed, in the case of LEDs at
approximately 1.4V, and since the cathode is connected to common the rise

in voltage toward the anode that would now be connected to the output of
the 7805 would be +1.4V.
Can you predict the approximate current flowing through R8 and therefore
also the LED? Remembering that the LED intensity is a function of the
magnitude of current flowing through it, it should be evident that the
size of R8 is so determined.
The following questions are given to test your understanding of the
material presented above.
1. List all the components that are part of the fixed regulator
circuit.
2. How do we know the output voltage of the 7805 from the name?
3. Does a 7805 always produce 5 volts at the output?
4. What would happen to the output voltage at T11 if D10 was
installed backwards?
5. What would happen to the voltage at T11 if a 5 ohm resistor was
installed in place of the diode?
6. What is the approximate minimum voltage at the input to the
regulator for it to continue outputting 5 V?
7. How much current normally flows through the diode D10?
8. What is the normal difference in voltage across D10?
9. What would be the absolute minimum voltage at the cathode of D10?
10. If diode D10 were to go open circuit, would it adversely affect
the operation of the circuit? If so, explain how.
11. Explain how D10 protects the regulator through its function as a
waveform clipper.
12. What is the purpose of C5?
13. What effect would doubling R8 to 400 ohms have on the operation
of the LED and the output of the 7805?

Positive Variable Regulator Circuit (LM317)

This part of the circuit produces a positive regulated output, like the
7805, but the voltage is variable between 0 and 15V. The illustration
below shows the components that contribute to this end in the labelled
enclosed area. They include the LM317, diodes D6-D8, resistors R2, R3
(Potentiometer) and R4, and capacitor C3 (not show but pointing upwards).

10

This part of the circuit requires some discussion. Lets begin with the
regulator as it is the heart of the operation; the other parts simply
allow the regulator to do its job. As we saw with the 7805, the diode,
D8, and the capacitor, C3, are at the output of the regulator to protect
it and improve its effectiveness.
As you saw in Electronic Circuits, the output voltage of the regulator is
approximately proportional to the ratio of resistances R3 and R2, i.e.
the larger R3 is compared to R2 the larger the output is. The reason R3
is a potentiometer is so that the ratio of resistance can change and thus
the output of the LM317. Another way to look at it is that the regulator
produces 1.2V more at the output than at the adjust terminal, thus if the
adjust was connected directly to common the output voltage would be 0 +
1.2V = 1.2V. If however this was the case it would mean that zero voltage
could not be achieved at the output of the regulator.
Since an output of zero volts is required, a voltage less than zero volts
is needed at the adjust terminal. This is accomplished by connecting R3
to the series circuit consisting of D6, D7, and R4, between common and
-20 V at the output of the negative filtered rectifier. Note that this
series circuit would forward bias the diodes and as such they would be
conducting with a 0.7 V drop across each one for a total of 2 x -0.7 =
-1.4 V at the cathode of D7. With R3 connected at the cathode of D7,
instead of at common, the minimum output of the regulator when R3 equals
zero will be -1.4 + 1.2 = -0.2 V. The actual output will depend on the
actual drops across the diodes D6 and D7 which may be more or less than
0.7 V. Typically, the minimum output of the regulator is approximately
-0.05V or negative 50 millivolts.
The following questions are given to test your understanding of the
material presented above.
1. What role do the diodes D6 & D7 have in the operation of the
regulator?
2. What is the voltage at the cathode of D7, with respect to the
common or TP2?
3. Are these diodes forward or reverse biased? Explain why.
4. What would be the result of adding a third diode between D6 and
D7 on the output of the LM317? Explain.
5. What would be the effect of reversing the direction of D6 on the
output of the LM317? Explain. Would reversing both D6 and D7 be
any different than just one of them?

11

6. Approximately how much current flows through D7, which you may
assume is the same as through R4?
7. What is the purpose of the resistor R4?
8. What would be the result if R4 were not there, i.e. replace it
with a jumper, in particular on the output of the LM317?
9. What would be the output voltage of the regulator when the
potentiometer R3 was set to zero resistance? Show the
calculation.
10. What effect would reducing the value of R3 to 500 ohms have on
the output of the regulator?
11. Which direction does the diode D8 point?
12. What would happen to the output voltage at T9 if the diode D8 was
installed such that it pointed downward? Hint: Would it be
forward or reversed bias and then what must be the drop across a
forward/reverse biased diode?

Negative Variable Regulator Circuit (LM337)

This circuit is shown below extracted from the illustration at the
beginning of this document. The components that contribute to the
operation of this circuit are shown in the dashed enclosure and include
the LM337, Op Amp UI741, R1, R5-R7, D5, D9, & C4.

It should be noted that the larger number of components in this circuit

compared to the positive regulator is due to the fact that this circuit
automatically tracks the output of the positive voltage regulator and
ensures the output of the negative regulator is equal in magnitude. Thus
the designation of the power supply as a dual tracking power supply.
The operation of this circuit is more complicated than the other two
regulated output circuits but not much. Essentially it works the same as
the positive regulated circuit in that the output at T6 is always 1.2 V

12

greater than whatever the LM337 regulator senses at the Adj terminal. The
capacitor C4 and the diode D9 work the same here as with the LM317
circuit. The resistor R7 works the same as R2 in the LM317 circuit; it
allows the regulator to compare voltages at the output and the Adj
terminals without creating a short. The remaining components: the Op Amp,
resistors R1, R5-R6, and zener diode D5 all work toward producing the
correct voltage at the Adj terminal of the LM337 regulator to obtain the
required voltage at the output of the regulator.
The voltage at the Adj terminal is the same as that produced at the
output of the Op Amp. Pins 4 and 7 of the Op Amp are the negative and
positive, respectively, power supplies for the Op Amp. The output of the
Op Amp can only exist in the range of voltages present at the two power
supplies. The voltage at pin 4 will be the same as the input to the LM337
regulator which is approximately -20 V. The voltage at pin 7 will be the
same as found at the cathode of the zener diode. Since the nominal zener
voltage of D5 is approximately +5 V and the zener is correctly installed
in reverse bias the cathode will be at +5 V and therefore the range of
voltages available for the output of the Op Amp is necessarily between
-20 and +5 V.
The details of the operation of the Op Amp are beyond the scope of this
course and will be covered in your future courses. For our purposes we
will simplify the operation similar to what was done for the voltage
regulators although you should be much more familiar with their operation
and at least can relate the explanation to your own experience.
Op Amps can be used essentially in two modes: as an amplifier, as
suggested by its name; secondly, it can be used as a comparator. In our
case the latter mode is relevant. Using the Op Amp as a comparator means
that the input at pins 2 and 3 are constantly being compared and changes
here are reflected in the output. These changes are always the result of
a change in voltage at pin 2 since pin 3 is connected to common and thus
will always be at the same potential.
The voltage at pin 2 is the same as where resistors R5 and R6 are
connected. This connection forms a voltage divider between two
resistances of the same value, thus the voltage will be one half of the
potential difference between the top of R5 and the bottom of R6, which
are at the potential of the output of the positive regulator, at T9, and
the output of the negative regulator, at T6, respectively. If we suppose
that the potential at T9 was +10 V and at T6 it was -10 V the voltage in
between the two resistors should be (+10 - -10)/2 + -10 V = 0 V. This is
same voltage as pin 3 and since there is no difference between them the
output of the Op Amp will be kept at the same value.
If however, by changing the setting at R3 and thereby increasing the
output voltage of the LM317 to say 12 V the potential between the two
resistors R5 and R6 will become greater than 0 V. Now we have a situation
where pin 2 of the Op Amp is at a higher potential than pin 3. This will
cause the Op Amp to increase its output. As the output is increased the
same happens at the output of the LM337 since it maintains its output at
1.2 V higher than the Adj terminal. Once the LM337 is outputting -12 V
the voltage at pin 2 of the Op Amp should have returned to 0 V and
everything is held there until such time the two pins 2 and 3 are
different again.

13

The following questions are given to test your understanding of the

material presented above.
1. Why does this circuit have more components than the positive
regulator?
2. What is meant by the expression dual tracking?
3. List the components that enable the Op Amp to function.
4. What is the voltage at pin 4 of the Op Amp?
5. What is the function of pin 4?
6. What is the voltage at pin 7 of the Op Amp?
7. What is the function of pin 7?
8. What is the voltage at pin 3 of the Op Amp?
9. What is the function of pin 3?
10. What is the function of pin 2?
11. When is the voltage at pin 2 not equal to zero?
12. When is the voltage at pin 2 equal to zero?
13. What happens when the voltage at pin 2 is not 0 V, say it is +1
V?
14. What is the purpose of the Op Amp device?
15. Is it being used as an amplifier or as a comparator?
16. Which direction does diode D9 point?
17. Which direction would current flow through D9?

14