> Once in a while I need a 12v source at the work bench and I know I
> could simply tap a battery, but I'm looking for something I could
> simply "switch on" at the work bench. Nothing I can imagine right now
> would require major amps. I was wondering if I could use a battery
> charger as a power source, or is there a better solution.
As Jim implies, it depends entirely on what you want to do. If you're just
checking lights & motors, then a battery charger will likely do fine.
If you want to make measurements, then you'll probably want some filtering
on the output, to make the voltage "smooth". Something like a "battery
eliminator" from Radio Shack should do fine for this. (Or, it's usually not
hard to add filter caps to a battery charger, perhaps with a switch to
disable them for charging batteries.)
If you start caring about whether it's 12v or 15v, then you'll probably want
a voltage regulated supply.
And of course it goes up from there, with accuracy of regulation, current
regulation and so on.
Personally, I have a very old general purpose 0-50v 10 amp power supply that
a former employer was discarding. It has pretty good filtering, but no
regulation at all. If I want regulation for some project, I can always
throw an IC regulator on a breadboard.
Randall
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