ity and excellent high-voltage isolation. limits primary inrush current to a conserva- as configured and shown in Fig 17.

n Fig 17.49 are

The full-wave bridge consists of four com- tive value as the capacitor bank charges. 3050 V and 5400 V, respectively. Full-load
mercial diode block assemblies. After approximately two seconds, step-start levels are somewhat lower, approximately
relay K1 actuates, shorting the 50-Ω resistor 2800 V and 4900 V. If a tap-select switch
POWER SUPPLY OPERATION and allowing full line voltage to be applied is used as described in the schematic parts
When the front-panel breaker is turned to the plate transformer. No-load output list, it should only be switched when the
on, a single 50-Ω, 100-W power resistor voltages under low- and high-tap settings supply is off.

THE MICRO M+
The Micro M+ is an ideal photovoltaic
(PV) controller for use at home or in the
field. It’s an easy-to-build, one-evening
project even a beginner can master. This
project was designed by Mike Bryce,
WB8VGE. An earlier charge controller
called the “Micro M” proved to be a very
popular project.1
Hams really do like to operate their rigs
from solar power. Many have found solar
power to be very addictive. I had dozens
of requests for information on how to in-
crease the current capacity of the original
“Micro M” controller. The Micro M would
handle up to 2 A of current. I wanted to
improve the performance of the Micro M
while I was at it. Because the Micro M
switched the negative lead of the solar panel
on and off, that lead had to be insolated
from the system ground. While that’s not Fig 17.50 — This photo shows the Micro M+ charge controller circuit board. Leads
a problem with portable use, it may cause solder to the board and connect to a solar panel and to the battery being charged.
trouble with a home station where all the
grounds should be connected. Here’s what
I wanted to do:
• Reduce the standby current at night makes absolutely no RFI! M+. Fig 17.51 shows the schematic diagram.
• Increase current handling capacity to The Micro M+ will handle up to 4 A of Let’s begin with the current handling part
4A current from a solar panel. That’s equal of the Micro M+. Current from the solar
• Change the charging scheme to high to a 75-W solar panel.2 I’ve reduced the panel is controlled by a power MOSFET.
(positive) side switching standby current to less than one milliamp. Instead of using a common N-channel
• Improve the charging algorithm I’ve also introduced a new charging al- MOSFET, however, the Micro M+ uses
• Keep the size as small as possible, but gorithm to the Micro M+. All the current an STMicroelectronics STP80PF55 P-chan-
large enough to easily construct. switching is done on the positive side. Now, nel MOSFET. This P-channel FET has a
I called the end result the Micro M+. you can connect the photovoltaic array, current rating of 80 A with an RDSon of
You can assemble one in about an hour. battery and load grounds together. 0.016 Ω. It comes in a TO-220 case. Cur-
Everything mounts on one double-sided A complete kit of parts is available as rent from the solar panel is routed directly
PC board. It’s small enough to mount well as just the PC board.3 The Micro to the MOSFET source lead.
inside your rig yet large enough so you M+ is easy to build, making it a perfect N-channel power MOSFETs have very
won’t misplace it! You can stuff four of first time project. low RDSon and even lower prices. To switch
them in your shirt pocket! And, you need current on and off in a high-side appli-
not worry about RFI being generated by HOW IT WORKS cation, though, the gate of an N-channel
the Micro M+. It’s completely silent and Fig 17.50 shows the complete Micro MOSFET must be at least 10 V higher

Power Supplies 17.41

Chapter 17.indd 41 8/3/2007 9:30:36 AM

 than the rail it is switching. In a typical
12-V system, the gate voltage must be at
least 22 V to ensure the MOSFET is turned
completely on. If the gate voltage is less than
that required to fully enhance the MOSFET,
it will be almost on and somewhat off (the
MOSFET is operating in its linear region).
Hence, the device will likely be destroyed
at high current levels.
Normally, to produce this higher gate
voltage, some sort of oscillator is used to
charge a capacitor via a voltage doubler.
This charge pump generates harmonics
that may ride on the dc flowing into the
battery under charge. Normally, this would
not cause any problem, and in most cases,
a filter or two on the dc bus will eliminate
most of the harmonics generated. Even the
best filter won’t get rid of all the harmon-
ics, however. To compound the problem,
long wire runs to and from the solar panels
and batteries act like antennas.
The P-channel MOSFET eliminates the
need for a charge pump altogether. To turn
on a P-channel MOSFET, all we have to do
is pull the gate lead to ground! Since the
Micro M+ does not have a charge pump,
it generates NO RFI!
Now, you may be wondering if the
P-channel MOSFET is so great, why have
you not seen them in applications like this
before? The answer is twofold. First, the
RDSon of a P-channel MOSFET has al-
ways been much higher than its N-chan-
nel cousin. Several years ago, a P-channel
MOSFET with an RDSon of 0.12 Ω was

Fig 17.51 — The schematic diagram of the

Micro M+ charge controller.
C1, C5, C7, C8 — 0.1 μF
C2, C4, C6 — 22 μF, 16 V electrolytic
C3 — 0.01 μF
D1 — 1N914, small signal silicon
switching diode
D2 — 1N4747, 20-V, 1-W Zener
D3 — 1N4002, silicon rectifier diode
D4 — SB520 20V, 5A Schottky diode
(Mouser 512-SB520)
DS1 — LED, junkbox variety
Q1, Q2, Q3 — 2N4401 NPN small-signal
transistor (2N2222 or 2N3904 will also
work.)
Q4 — STP80PF55 P-channel MOSFET in
TO-220 case (Mouser 511-STP80PF55).
You will also need a small clip-on heat
sink for this case.
R1 — 100 kΩ, 1%
R2 — 49.9 kΩ, 1%
R3 — 10 kΩ trimmer
U1 — LM358AN, Dual op-amp
U2 — LM555AN timer
U3 — LM78L08, 8-V regulator
U4 — LM336Z-5.0, 5.0-V Zener diode in
TO-92 case. The adjust terminal allows
control of the temperature coefficient
and voltage over a range. The adjust
terminal is not used for the Micro M+.

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Chapter 17.indd 42 8/3/2007 9:30:38 AM

 considered very low. At that time an N Diode D1 protects the op-amp input in As a side benefit of the pulse time modu-
channel MOSFET had an RDSon of 0.009 case the battery sense line was connected lation, the Micro M+ won’t go nuts if
Ω. Suppose you want to control 10 A of backwards. you put a large solar panel onto a small
current from your solar panel. Using the An LM358 dual op-amp is used in the battery. The charging algorithm will al-
N-channel MOSFET above we find the Micro M+. One section (U1B) buffers the ways keep the off time at four seconds
MOSFET will dissipate less than a watt of divided battery voltage before passing it allowing the battery time to rest before
power. On the other hand, the P-channel along to the voltage comparator, U1A. Here being hit by higher current than normal
MOSFET will dissipate 12 W of power! the battery sense voltage is compared to the for its capacity.
Current generated by our solar panels reference voltage supplied by U4. U4 is an
is way too precious (and expensive) to LM336Z-5.0 precision diode. To prevent BUILDING YOUR OWN MICRO M+
have 12 W go up as heat from the charge U1A from oscillating, a 10-MΩ resistor is There’s nothing special about the circuit.
controller. used to eliminate any hysteresis. The use of a PC board makes the assem-
The second factor was price. The P-chan- As long as the voltage of the battery under bly of the Micro M+ quick and easy. It
nel MOSFET I described above would have charge is below the reference point, the also makes it much easier if you need to
easily sold for $19 each. The N-channel output of U1A will be high. This saturates troubleshoot the circuit. The entire circuit
device would have been a few dollars. transistors Q1 and Q2. Q2 conducts and can be built on a piece of perf board.
More recently, the RDSon of a typical lights LED DS1, the CHARGING LED. The power MOSFET must be protected
P-channel MOSFET has fallen to 0.028 Ω. Q1, also fully saturated, pulls the gate of against static discharges. A dash of com-
The price, while still a bit expensive, has the P channel MOSFET to ground. This mon sense and standard MOSFET handling
dropped to about $8 each. effectively turns on the FET, and current procedures will work best. Don’t handle
With the P channel MOSFET controlling flows from the solar panel into the bat- the MOSFET until you need to install it in
the current, diode D4 — an SB520 Schottky tery via D4. the circuit. A wrist strap is a good idea to
— prevents battery current from flowing As the battery begins to take up the prevent static damage. Once installed in the
into the solar panel at night. This diode charge, its terminal voltage will increase. PC board, the device is quite robust.
also provides reverse polarity protection When the battery reaches the state-of- A small clip-on heat sink is used for
to the battery in the event you connect the charge set point, the output of U1A goes the power MOSFET. If you desire, the
solar panel backwards. This protects the low. With Q1 and Q2 now off, the P chan- MOSFET could be mounted to a metal
expensive P channel MOSFET. nel MOSFET is turned off, stopping all chassis. If you do this, make sure you
Zener diode D2, a 1N4747, protects the current into the battery. With Q2 off, the electrically insulate the MOSFET tab from
gate from damage due to spikes on the CHARGING LED goes dark. the chassis.
solar panel line. Resistor R12 pulls the Since we have eliminated any hysteresis If you plan to use the Micro M+ outside,
gate up, ensuring the power MOSFET is in U1A, as soon as the current stops, the then consider soldering the IC directly onto
off when it is supposed to be. output of U1A pops back up high again. the board. I’ve found that cheap solder-
Why? Because the battery terminal volt- plated IC sockets corrode. If you want
THE MICRO M+ LIKES TO SLEEP age will fall back down as the charging to use an IC socket, use one with gold
The Micro M+ never draws current from current is removed. If left like this, the plated contacts.
the battery. The solar panel provides all Micro M+ would sit and oscillate at the Feel free to substitute part values. There’s
the power the Micro M+ needs, which state-of-charge set point. nothing really critical. I do suggest you
means the Micro M+ goes to sleep at night. To prevent that from happening, the stick with 1% resistors for both R1 and
When the sun rises, the Micro M+ will output of U1A is monitored by U2, an R2. This isn’t so important for their closer
start up again. As soon as the solar panel LM555 timer chip. As soon as the output tolerance but for the 50-PPM temperature
is producing enough current and voltage of U1A goes low, this low trips U2. The compensation they have. You can use stan-
to start charging the battery, the Micro M+ output of U2 goes high, fully saturating dard off-the-shelf parts for either or both
will pass current into the battery. transistor Q3. With Q3 turned on, it pulls R1 and R2, but the entire circuit should
To reduce the amount of stand-by cur- the base of Q1 and Q2 low. Since both Q1 then be located in an environment with a
rent, diode D3 passes current from the and Q2 are now deprived of base current, stable temperature.
solar panel to U3, the voltage regulator. they remain off.
U3, an LM78L08 regulator, provides a With the values shown for R15 and C2, ADJUSTMENTS
steady +8 V to the Micro M+ controller. charging current is stopped for about four You’ll need a good digital voltmeter and
Bypass capacitors, C6, C7 and C8 are seconds after the state-of-charge has been a variable power supply. Set the power
used to keep everything happy. As long reached. supply to 14.3 V. Connect the Micro M+
as there is power being produced by the After the four second delay, Q1 and battery negative lead to the power supply
solar panel, the Micro M+ will be awake. Q2 are allowed to have base drive from negative lead. Connect the Micro M+ PV
At sun down, the Micro M+ will go to U1A. This lights up the charging LED positive and battery positive leads to the
sleep. Sleep current is on the order of less and allows Q4 to pass current once more power supply positive lead. The charging
than 1 mA! to the battery. LED should be on. If not, adjust trim-
As soon as the battery hits the state-of- mer R3 until it comes on. Check for +8
BATTERY SENSING charge once more, the process is repeated. V at the VCC pins of the LM358 and the
The battery terminal voltage is divided As the battery becomes fully charged, the LM555. You should also see +5 V from
down to a more usable level by resistors, “on” time will shorten up while the “off” the LM336Z5.0 diode.
R1, R2 and R3. Resistor R3, a 10 kΩ trim- time will always remain the same four Quickly move the trimmer from one end
mer, sets the state-of-charge for the Micro seconds. In effect, a pulse of current will of its travel to the other. At one point the
M+. A filter consisting of R5 and C1 helps be sent to the battery that will shorten LED will go dark. This is the switch point.
keep the input clean from noise picked up over time. I call this charging algorithm To verify that the “off pulse” is working,
by the wires to and from the solar panel. “Pulse Time Modulation.” as soon as the LED goes dark quickly

Power Supplies 17.43

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 reverse the direction of the trimmer. The the state-of-charge set point if you want BATTERY CHARGING WITHOUT A
LED should remain off for several sec- to recharge NiCds or captive sealed lead- SOLAR PANEL?
onds and then come back on. If everything acid batteries. Yes, it’s possible. The trick is to use
seems to be working, it’s time to set the Keep the current from the solar panel a power supply for which you can limit
state-of-charge trimmer. within reason for the size of the battery the output current. A discharged lead-acid
Now, slowly adjust the trimmer until you’re going to be using. If you have a battery will draw all the current it can
the LED goes dark. You might want to 7-amp hour battery, then don’t use a 75-W from the charging source. In a solar panel
try this adjustment more than once as the solar panel. You’ll get much better results setup, if the panel produces 3 A, that’s all
closer you get the comparator to switch and smoother operation with a smaller it will do. With an ac-powered supply, the
at exactly 14.3 V, the more accurate the panel. current can be excessive. To use the Micro
Micro M+ will be. Here’s a hint I’ve learned The tab of the power MOSFET is electri- M+ with an ac-powered supply, set the
after adjusting hundreds of Micro M+ con- cally hot. If you plan on using the Micro voltage to 15.5 V. Then limit the current
trollers. Set the power supply to slightly M+ without a protective case, make sure to 2 or 3 A.
above the cut-off voltage that you want. you insulate the tab from the heatsink. A No matter if you’re camping in the out-
If you want 14.3 V, then set the supply misplaced wire touching the heatsink could back, or storing photons just in case of an
to 14.5 V. I’ve found that in the time it cause real damage to both the Micro M+ emergency, the Micro M+ will provide
takes to react to the LED going dark, you and your equipment. A small plastic box your battery with the fullest charge. The
overshoot the cut-off point. Setting the from RadioShack works great. Micro M+ is simple to use and completely
supply higher takes this into account and silent. Just like the sun!
usually you can get the trimmer set to MORE CURRENT?
exactly what you need in one try. That’s Well yes, you can get the Micro M+ to
all you need to do. Disconnect the supply handle more current. You must increase the Notes
from the Micro M+ and you’re ready for capacity of the blocking diode and mount 1The Micro M, September 1996 QST, p 41.
2A
the solar panel. the power MOSFET on a larger heat sink. 75-W module produces 4.4 A at 17 V.
I’ve used an MBR2025 diode and a large The Micro M+ can easily handle the extra
ODDS AND ENDS heatsink for the MOSFET and can easily 400 ma.
3PC boards, partial kits and full kits are avail-
The 14.3-V terminal voltage will be cor- control 12 A of current. able from Sunlight Energy Systems, www.
rect for just about all sealed and flooded- seslogic.com.
cell lead-acid batteries. You can change

THE UPS — A UNIVERSAL POWER SUPPLY

If you have spent much time around It describes how you can modify a UPS to shop for a used UPS. Try calling the ser-
personal computers, you have probably supply 120 V ac and 12 V dc for a wide vice department of some computer dealers
heard of the uninterruptible power supply variety of ham-shack applications. and computer-repair services to find out
(UPS). This supply is designed to pro- what they have on hand.1 You may pick
vide a continuous source of power for a WHAT TO LOOK FOR, WHERE TO up one or more older supplies that were
computer in the event of an ac power-line FIND IT taken in trade or with failed batteries, for
failure. The UPS plugs into the ac house Computer salvage dealers, computer much less than you would pay for a new
current and the computer plugs into the shows and hamfests are good places to UPS. Computer users often throw these
UPS. Under normal operating conditions,
the UPS passes the 120-V house current
to the computer. Surge protection and ac
power conditioning circuitry is included in
the UPS, protecting your computer from
voltage spikes and other electrical condi-
tions that could cause damage.
A UPS contains a battery and dc-to-ac
inverter circuitry. The battery-charging cir-
cuitry in the UPS will maintain the battery
at a full charge during normal operation. If
the ac power goes off for any reason, the
inverter automatically turns on to maintain
the 120-V ac supply. You can continue
working on the computer, either until the
UPS battery discharges or until the ac power
comes back on. At the very least, this will
give you time to save files and shut down
your computer normally.
This project is adapted from the January
1999 QST Technical Correspondence col- Fig 17.52 — UPS with cover removed to show internal layout. All UPS’s have ac-line
umn, page 64, by Robert Whitaker, KI5PG. conditioning components, a battery, and a dc-to-ac inverter.

17.44 Chapter 17

Chapter 17.indd 44 8/3/2007 9:30:39 AM