Bill - K6WLM wrote:

In the case of Astron supplies it can damage parts of the DC regulator.  If
there is a "Crow Bar" circuit that operates with a battery connected to the
power supply output it will ruin your day or even burn your house down.

---------------------------

How can that produce damage or a fire hazard?

A "crowbar" shuts off the power supply so it produces no output if too much
current is drawn from it specifically to protect the regulator. 

That might happen if the power supply is turned on when the battery is
discharged enough it demands more than the crowbar current limit, but the
crowbar is designed to avoid any dangerous or damaging operation.

Typically, the supply remains *off* until the power switch is operated
manually, off then on, so it won't keep trying to feed current into a short
circuit somewhere. I know that's how the Astrons I've used work.

So, as far as I can see, the worse that could happen is you end up with a
dead battery if you have a discharge path with the supply off.


Ron AC7AC

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