Four Output Isolated

A power supply project with 4 isolated outputs from Scott Swartz. There are options to
choose what voltages the outputs are to be. This board works for 115V and 230V AC
inputs, based on the transformer selection.

I have shortened the name to SS-PS4 in some cases..

SS-PS4 Power Supply Bill of Materials text file

SS-PS4 Power Supply Bill Parts Layout and Wiring Diagram
SS-PS4 Power Supply PDF Schematic file
SS-PS4Power Supply PDF Ready-For-Transfer Printed Circuit Board Layout
PDF File

Would you like a Ready to Solder Circuit Board for this project?

Four Output Isolated Power Supply

By Scott Swartz
 Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved

First, some notes about electrical safety.

This project uses wall AC power, the DANGEROUS stuff. Please follow the
recommendations below when building this project.
Use a 3 prong AC cord and make sure the green wire safety ground is connected
solidly to the enclosure.
Keep in mind there is 120 VAC on some of the traces! Mount the PC board on
round or hex standoffs at least a inch high by at least inch diameter with 6-
32 threads. DO NOT use adhesive back plastic standoffs, they are not reliable or
strong enough for a board with two transformers on it!
You must use a strain relief for the AC cord. This prevents the cord from getting
cut on the sharp edges of the metal enclosure and also prevents the cord from
getting ripped off the PC board.

I built the prototype in a Hammond 1590S box, which is 3.2 x 4.3 x 1.6 inches. As you
can see from the pics, it is tight, but can be done. For a little easier wiring and a more
common box size, the Hammond 1590C would work well, 3.7 x 4.7 x 2.2, its the same
size as the 1590BB but taller.

I like to use eyelets for pads that get wires, in this case the AC power connection and the
4 pairs of DC power connections. An advantage to this is that you can solder the wires
from the component side of the PCB, if you make sure the eyelet and solder pad are well
tinned prior to trying to solder from the component side. If you don?t use eyelets, I
would recommend using a terminal strip for the AC cord so that you are not trying to get
the strain relief installed with the PC board hanging off the end.

Be sure to use isolated jacks for the DC outputs, this is for two reasons. First, you want
to be able to be able to connect the third prong safety ground of the 3 prong AC cord to
the enclosure and not have it create a ground loop. Second and more obvious, for the 4
outputs to isolated, the DC grounds can't be connected via the enclosure.

Electrical Design
Electrically, this is a very simple circuit times four. Transformer, to bridge rectifier/cap,
to regulator with filter cap on regulated output, to the jacks.

The transformer should be selected to provide some margin for voltage drop across the
regulator. The PCB layout assumes use of readily available Split Pack PCB mount
transformers, which are available in a wide range of voltages. The following table
summarizes my recommendations. Note that each transformer provides 2 voltage
sources, since the 2 secondary windings are isolated and can be used independently. The
Mouser catalog page does not state this (it shows series and parallel connections), but it
works fine.

Regulated Input Voltage Transformer Transformer Part Regulator Part

Output Voltage Secondary Rating Number, Mouser Number, Mouser
Electronics Electronics

9 VDC 115 VAC 12 VAC at 45 ma 553-F24-045 513-NJM78L09A

12 VDC 115 VAC 18 VAC at 65 ma 553-F36-65 513-NJM78L12A

18 VDC 115 VAC 18 VAC at 65 ma 553-F36-65 513-NJM78L18A

9 VDC 230 VAC 12 VAC at 45 ma 553-FS24-045 513-NJM78L09A

12 VDC 230 VAC 18 VAC at 65 ma 553-FS36-65 513-NJM78L12A

18 VDC 230 VAC 18 VAC at 65 ma 553-FS36-65 513-NJM78L18A

The transformers shown above for 115 VAC applications have only 2 pins for the
primary winding and do not connect to some of the pads on the PCB layout.The
transformers shown for 230 VAC applications (Europe, etc) have 4 pins that connect to
all the pads shown on the PCB layout and automatically give the correct winding ratio.

Note that by selecting the appropriate transformers and regulators, one PCB can be built
to provide 2 pairs of 2 different output voltages.

The schematic shows a 1/8 amp fuse, which is plenty of allowance for inrush current.
DO NOT use a higher amperage fuse than this. The theoretical current draw for the two
2.5 VA transformers is only 42 milliamps at 120 VAC, so a 1/16 amp fuse will probably
work also.