HOW IT WORKS
1 AMP CURRENT INJECTOR |
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Power Supply Section
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Because much of the unit's electronic circuits function
better at a higher voltage than at the 3-volts supplied by the battery, a simple flyback
voltage converter is created. A C-MOS version of the classic 555 timer (A1) is wired as an
astable oscillator. When pin 7 of the timer output turns on, a current flows into the
inductor (L1) from the 3-volt battery supply. When pin 7 turns off, the energy stored in
the inductor emerges at a short voltage pulse, higher in Amplitude than the supply. The
circuit routes the voltage pulses produced at pin 7 to a filter capacitor (C3) through a
diode (D1.) With the component values chosen, the voltage produced at C3 ranges from about
9 to 12 volts. The large 100FF capacitor (C1) is placed across the 3-volt supply to help
dampen transients caused by the heavy DC current drawn from the battery during operation.
The circuit uses a momentary pushbutton POWER switch (S1) to insure that the system draws
power from the battery only when you activate S1. This momentary operation also
discourages prolonged measurement times, increasing the number of measurements that can be
taken. |
Current Controller Section
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The circuit uses a power MOSFET (Q1) to control the
current passed through the unknown resistance. By controlling the voltage applied to the
gate terminal of the FET, it can be made to behave as a variable resistor. You can,
therefore, vary the current as needed. One half of the IC LM393 (A2b) supplies the FET
gate control voltage. Although you normally use the IC as a voltage comparator, this
circuit modifies it to operate as an operational Amplifier, with the aid of the resistor
(R9) and the capacitor (C5.) The two components form a filter network to help stabilize
the voltage fed to the FET. A regulated voltage, developed by the reference diode (D3) and
the resistor (R5), is connected to the non-inverting side of A2b through a voltage divider
network consisting of R6, R7 and R8. The potentiometer (R7) trims the voltage produced by
the divider circuit and allows the output injector's current to be adjusted precisely to
1-amp.
The injector's output current, which passes through the
unknown resistance and the FET (Q1), is also forced to pass through an internal current
monitoring resistor (R10). The voltage developed across R10 is thus proportional to the
injector's output current. The current monitoring voltage from R10 is fed to the
non-inverting side of the control IC (A2b.) Thus the IC's output supplies the gate of the
power FET with the necessary voltage to maintain the unit's output current at a fixed
level. For protection, you wire the diode (D4) and capacitor (C6) across the output
terminals. If you measure resistors with a large inductive components, they absorb any
energy that may be sent back to the circuit. |
Battery Voltage Monitor Section
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With two fresh "C" cell batteries installed in the unit,
a nominal 3-volts is supplied to the current control circuit. However, during operation
the battery voltage will drop. The unit will continue to operate properly, providing the
battery voltage remains above 2-volts. The battery voltage monitor's job is to activate
the power indication LED (D2) as long as the battery voltage remains above 2-volts. If the
LED fails to turn on, it would be an indication that the batteries need to be replaced.
The battery monitor uses the second half of the dual
comparator IC LM393 (A2a.) It is wired as a classic voltage comparator. A regulated
voltage from the reference diode (D3) is compared to a voltage developed by the voltage
divider (R3 and R4) that is connected to the battery. As long as the voltage from the
divider is greater than the reference voltage, the output of the comparator remains low,
turning on the power indication LED. |
UNIT CALIBRATION |
You need a good digital multimeter to accurately
calibrate the unit. Before connecting the injector's output to the digital multimeter's
leads make sure the meter is set to measure DC Amps, (usually 2-amp scale), and not DC
milliamps. Warning: If you have mistakenly set the multimeter in the
milliamp/microamp scales, the one Amp of current from the unit could blow the meter's
protection fuses. With everything ready, push and hold the current injector's POWER
switch. Now adjust the trim pot (R7) until you read 1.000 Amp of current on the
multimeter. That's it. You're done. Once you have calibrated the units, you can attach the
box lid using four screws.
Some multi-meters cannot measure the current directly or
don't have a 2-amp scale. If this happens to be the case, you will need to measure the
current indirectly with the use of an accurate resistor of known value. A 1% resistor,
ranging from 0.1 to 1-ohm, that can handle 1-amp would be ideal. Attach the current
injector clips across the calibration resistor. Then, connect the digital multimeter leads
across the resistor and set the meter to measure the appropriate DC voltage. With
everything connected, press and hold the POWER pushbutton on the top of the unit's box.
Note the voltage reading and adjust the current control pot (R7) on the circuit board for
a voltage reading equal to the resistor value.
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UNIT OPERATION |
With fresh batteries installed, the FET (Q1) can
dissipate a maximum of 2.5 watts. The transistor dissipation will be maximum when the unit
is measuring low value resistances. Although you installed a small heat sink onto the
transistor, it could still get hot if the unit is in operation for longer that a few
minutes. I recommend that you use the system only in a momentary manner. Connect it up to
the resistor to be measured, attach your digital volt meter, then take a quick
measurement. With fresh alkaline batteries, you should be able to make hundreds of
measurements before the batteries have to be replaced. Also, under weak battery conditions
the power indication LED may turn on when the unit is not connected to a resistor but will
fail to turn on when a resistor is connected. This is caused by a drop in the battery
voltage under a loaded condition. The best way to make sure the unit's battery is still
good is by activating the unit while the two test clips are shorted together. If the light
fails to turn on, replace the batteries.
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1 AMP CURRENT INJECTOR COMPONENTS
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Batteries:
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2"C" cells (alkaline recommended) |
IC's:
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A1 -- TLC555CP C-MOS timer
A2 -- LM393N Dual comparator |
A3 -- lM385BZ-1.2 voltage reference
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Capacitors:
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C1 -- 100Ff 10v, aluminum electrolytic
C2 -- 1000rf 50v ceramic or mylar
C3 -- 10Ff 25v, aluminum electrolytic |
C4, C% -- 0.1Ff50v, ceramic or mylar
C6 -- 0.4Ff50V, mylar |
Resistors:
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R1 -- 82K 1/4W 5% carbon
R2 -- 100W 1/4W 5% carbon
R3 -- 10K 1/4W 5% carbon
R4 -- 15K 1/4W 5% carbon
R5 -- 3.3K 1/4W 5% carbon |
R6 -- 18K 1/4W 5% carbon
R7 -- 500W multi turn trim pot, Digi-Key CEG52
R8 -- 1.3K 1/4W 5% carbon
R9 -- 100K 1/4W 5% carbon
R10 -- 01.W, 1 watt, Digi-Key SC1A0.1 |
Inductor:
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L1 -- 4.7FH choke, Digi-Key TK4320 |
Transistor:
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Q1 -- IRF521 or IRFZ12, 50v, 0.3W Power FET |
Diodes:
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D1 -- 1N4148 general purpose diode
D2 -- LED, Red, super-bright T 1: style |
D3 -- 4001
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Hardware:
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PC board
LED lens/holder -- Digi-Key L3000
Pushbutton switch, SPST, Normally open, Radio Shack 275-1566
Battery holder, 2 "C" cell, Radio Shack 270-385 |
Enclosure Box, Radio Shack 270-222
Transistor Heat Sink, Digi-KEy HS111
Test Lead Wire, 36", 20ga, red/black, Radio Shack 278-553, 278-554
2 Alligator Clips, red/black, Radio Shack 270-356 |
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Return to Circuit Description |
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