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-- The duty cycle (duty cycle is the ratio of the time the pulse is ON to the total time between pulses) of the pulse needs to vary so you can change the temperature of the heater.
-- The duty cycle (duty cycle is the ratio of the time the pulse is ON to the total time between pulses) of the pulse needs to vary so you can change the temperature of the heater.
Hi, I posted recently a problem with a controller circuit kit that I constructed using a 7555 timer IC and a BUZ71A power mosfet transistor. Kim from this group thinks I blew the transistor, and she is probably correct because it did get very hot despite using a heat sink. In truth I need a much more robust circuit and I am open to any ideas. I want to control the amount of heat generated by a heater strip made from 47 x
330 Ohm resistors in parallel. This is a commonly used wrap-around dew removal method for telescope lenses. As I understand it the power needs to pulse to avoid overheating. I would plan to operate this from a 12 volt 1 amp battery pack plugged into mains power but may end up using a 12 volt car battery. I am inexperienced in electronics, but can construct projects from circuit diagrams.Thanks for your help.
Pete
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Yes please, do you have one or know of one somewhere?
Thank you.
-- Clear and dark skies!
Pete
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John Fields wrote:
John, I have now located this schematic:
BUT it isn't clear how many resistors are used for the heater strip or what configuration they are in. I guess this is important because this circuit uses similar components to the one I made with the transistor that (probably) blew. I already have the strip constructed by a friend with the 47 x 330 Ohm resistors spaced perfectly to fit around my 8 inch telescope. BTW: The transistor I used was in fact BD679/681 Darlington but can be exchanged for the BUZ71A with slightly different pinouts (well that's what the diagram I have says).
Pete
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John Fields wrote:
--- Also replied via email...
With the ~ 7 ohm array you have, and a 12V supply, the Darlington will be dissipating about 5 watts when it's fully turned on, so you'll need a rather large heat sink to keep it from getting toasted, which is probably what happened in your original circuit.
That schematic looks fine, (with a couple of exceptions) and the heater your friend put together for you should work well with it as long as you use a BUZ71.
If you use a BUZ71, the changes I'd make to the schematic would be to remove R3 and R6, connect the gate of the BUZ71 directly to the output of the 555, and connect a 15V Zener (1N4744A) directly across the gate and the source of the BUZ71, with the cathode connected to the gate.
Also, if you use a bipolar 555, you should connect something like a
10µF aluminum electrolytic and a 0.1µF ceramic cap directly across its supply pins.If you use the OPTO22 ODC5 you should remove R5 and replace R3 with a
750 ohm +/-5% 1/4 watt resistor, and if you use the Darlington, you should remove R6 and replace R3 with a 240 ohm +/-5% 1/2 watt resistor. Again, however, if you use the Darlington, when you've got the heater cranked to max the Darlington will be dissipating about 5 watts, which will require quite a large heat sink to keep it from dying, so I recommend, if at all possible, that you forget the Darlington and use the BUZ71, which will only dissipate about 200 milliwatts, worst case, and won't require a heat sink at all.-- John Fields
-- Thanks!-)
From the note on that page, it seems they are 'standard Kendrick Heaters', which hopefully means more to you than to me, and are available in a range, decribed at
I'd use your own readymade strip, presumably with great care over the construction to eliminate any risk of scratching.
That circuit looks OK, although I expect John will improve on it. BTW, I'm not clear why C2 aand R4 are needed?
-- Terry Pinnell Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK
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