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In Reply to: RE: I'm playing with some ultracaps - pics posted by AbeCollins on May 16, 2016 at 17:45:31
Wow, they are a lot smaller than I thought they would be. I didn't catch on to the fact that "D Cell Ultra-caps" were D-cell-sized...absolutely clueless... I must play with these. I have never used anything larger than 1-2F or so, lower voltage too.
Is that your own PCB, or could you provide details? Not that I couldn't do my own, but the charging *is* a bit of a mystery to me at this point, so I'd have to breadboard something first. Actually the automatic disconnecting of the charging when complete is the mystery. There'll be a chip designed to control all that, if there isn't already... [Actually, what came to the top of my mind is using one of the battery charger chips to control, with a pass transistor. The charging "curve" and essentially disconnecting is "programmable" (via resistors)...very old-timey but nice in that you can pretty much match the device's optimal curve as provided by the manufacturer, if it matters.]
[Ah, the ol' Fluke 77, mine is 30 years old this summer, bought it when I quit a job that provided one, and couldn't live without it...]
Follow Ups:
Here's a little video clip I did just for grins. Note the "Charging" LED on the ultracap bank
One of the intended applications for this device is to allow 100-watt output HAM radio transmitters that draw upwards of 20-Amps at 12vdc to operate from a 10-Amp rated vehicle accessory jack (cigarette lighter receptacle) during SSB (voice) or CW (Morse code) transmissions which are typically less than 50% duty cycle. Even though peak current draw from the ultracap bank can be in the 20-Amp range, those peaks are augmented by the charged Ultracaps which are kept charged through the 10-Amp rated 12v accessory jack. Another similar application is to 'stiffen' the output from a 12v car battery while operating the 100-watt transmitter off grid..... or powering my Mac Mini from a 12v LiFePO4 battery. And of course it can easily be re-purposed for other audio related applications. P.S. I sent you more info via the email you use in your AudioAsylum profile.
Edits: 05/16/16
Thanks for the info. Yes, as a ham I'm familiar with MFJ, I doubt there are many (or even SWLs) who don't have a gadget or two of theirs around.
I am just looking at the ultracaps (supercaps at digi-key) and a couple of things I notice first: larger ones are not cheap (!), especially when you get over the ~5V rating, and judging by their lifetime ratings, you'd want to charge them with a fairly stringent protocol to keep them "cool".
[digi-key doesn't have anything suitable or that interests me, as far as I can see, it was just my starting point, from familiarity...]
You can also find them on Ebay. Not a bad idea for providing clean power. Basically the same as what John Kenny was doing with his battery mod. Funny how that got trashed by some, and probably where this idea came from.
I missed the (obvious) part about the caps being in series...d'oh! That's why I couldn't find anything "interesting" at dk, I was looking for 5V+ rating...not much there, but they do sell the Maxwell ones Abe pictured [too bad they don't come up when I searched for "ultracap" on the dk site, yet do when I use google to search].
Just for clarification in case somebody else is interested, dk being popular enough, eBay is often not "friendly" $-wise for shipping to Canada, and dk is. I sometimes order from dk before I go to bed and the stuff is here before I get up! [And I go to bed late, and get up while the sun is still well on its upward arc...]
Not at all the same as what John Kenny was doing with his battery mod, as ultracaps were created to mitigate many of the problems associated with batteries. The only thing remotely similar is that both are energy storage devices.
Edits: 05/17/16
The concept is the same. Pretty simple.
Sure if you say so, a power supply is a power supply.
I do not intend to back and forth with you and waste my time. The battery functions like a large capacitor and swamps the effect of the feeder supply. smh
If it were THAT simple (as simple minds would comprehend), why would some designers be pursuing ultracaps instead of batteries? Smh. LoL
Please stop already....
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