Hey guys, I was sitting in class doing a lab the other day trying to adjust this stupid power supply needed for the lab and of course, like always, it was impossible to get it to the right setting because pot's are way to touchy. Then I thought about it, what if a digital potentiometer were to be used instead to control the voltage. Of course an AVR or micro-controller would be required but it would eliminate any adjustment issues because we would be able to adjust it by pushing a button instead of turning a pot. Since I have a very limited knowledge of programming, this would be something which I would defiantly require some of your help with.
The design would be simple. First a transformer would be used. Since this is going to be for an adjustable power supply, a higher value transformer (in both voltage and current) would be better to use. It would then be passed through a full bridge rectifier (or four rectifier diodes) then onto a filter or a series of capacitors. This would then connect to a 5v voltage regulator (to power the AVR or micro-controller) and also to an adjustable voltage regulator. We would then use the digital pot (controlled by the avr/micro-controller) to control the resistance values required for the adjustable voltage regulator.
What are your thoughts on this guys, I would really appreciate your help with this and it would be great to be able to start off a project like this from scratch and complete it. This type of thin could benefit a lot of people here at acidmods while building prototypes for their mods.