Questions tagged [mains]
Mains electricity, typically a higher voltage AC waveform used to deliver electrical power to households. In North America 120V, 60Hz, in most European countries 230V, 50Hz. What most people will plug appliances into.
1,213 questions
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Confused with a DPST mains switch
I'm planning to use a DPST rocker switch as follows:
To be more explicit I want to use the switch as follows:
Both wires to the DPST SW above will be line wires not neutral. The switch is from here ...
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What physical package size is needed for gate resistor on triac with AC Mains
I have been learning about clearance and creepage of AC PCB design. I need to add a gate resistor to my triac which will drive a insertion heater component.
I am thinking I can use an 0603 size for ...
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Simplest Way to Measure Line Voltage with Passive Probes
I know disconnecting earth plug of oscilloscope is viable way to measure Line voltage with passive probes. But it is a hassle to prevent and un-prevent Earth connection for each time I make a quick ...
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Lowest triac dimming possible without a microprocessor
The usual triac dimmer circuits cannot fully reduce power to zero. The diac trigger voltage can be lowered below the typical 20V (for 120Vrms US mains power), and the RC time constant can be ...
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EMC requirements for cable trays with shielded cables only
We have installations with several powerful motors and transformers (up to 2 MW) which are driven by VFDs. Due to some geometric constraints the VFDs can't be placed near the motors.
To minimize ...
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How do you search for a "power brick" with a grounded negative output
I've worked on several projects that use an external power brick for power, which also require an earth ground connection.
This can be accomplished by including a special grounding terminal, but many ...
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Looking for Reference Circuits that Use Supercapacitors
I’m looking for schematic references or design examples to understand how supercapacitors are typically integrated into electronic circuits.
I want to use Supercapacitors as a power backup for ...
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Should I use tracks or copper pour for mains line connection between two points?
I am designing a relay PCB for an application rated upto 16A. The space is a constraint for me so for better connection, I used a copper pour for the line on the top layer and neutral on the bottom ...
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Will PC817 be able to handle inrush current on startup in capacitive dropper circuit for mains detection?
There is an one watt 1K resistor in between the broken terminals. I could not show it because not able to find the part number.
The unpolarized capacitor is 100 nF and X2 rated.
The circuit will be ...
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Load Side vs Switch Side Snubber for TRIAC
I want to switch AC ventilation fan and several LED bulbs with a custom made Solid State Relay. Line is 220VAC and max current will be 2A. The fan won't be bigger than 150W. The loads are not exactly ...
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How does on grid inverter send active power to grid
How does the on-grid inverter send power to the grid?
Like for direct current, the power goes from the higher voltage to the lower voltage. For reactive power in alternating current system that is ...
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Higher electric field when going off-grid
With an oscilloscope and a 1 m wire at the probe for electrostatic induction I measure 50 Hz electric fields from my mains at a fixed spot in my house. I model reading voltage V_1 at my oscilloscope ...
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What happens if I connect two grounds together?
Today I just learned that the neutral wire is bonded to the grounding electrode rode. However, this raises a potentially naive question on my part (very rudimentary background in electrical ...
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LTC4412 STAT always low
I observe strange STAT behavior at LTC4412ES6. It is always low, no matter which power source is attached or not attached (measured the voltage on STAT pin). As you can see, there are two possible ...
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Are electrical appliances wires in houses in the US thicker than in EU and why?
I guess because the 120 V in the US compared to the 240 V used in the EU, the electric currents in general will be higher in the US.
Nevertheless, I am not so sure if this necessarily translates also ...
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Modified Analog Front-End for MSP430F Voltage Monitoring
Tl;dr: is my attempt at protective impedance on neutral going to render my system inoperable or unsafe?
I'm looking for some feedback on a modification I am planning to incorporate into a design based ...
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Is there really any safety concern (beyond the obvious), regarding putting 240vac mains into a basic potential divider that is 210k Ohms?
I have been perplexed recently with regards to people on a forum, stating that it is unsafe to put 240vac directly into a basic potential divider. The divider was literally 210k ohms, with 3 resistors....
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How does the UT89X multimeter's Livel detection circuit work, and how can it be implemented for safety projects?
I'm examining the Live detection feature in my Uni-T UT89X multimeter, where:
Touching the red probe to a Live wire produces continuous fast beeping
Touching Neutral produces slower intermittent ...
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Measuring AC mains, using scope, with isolation transformer?
I would like to measure how clean my 120V AC circuit are using an HP 1744A oscilloscope and isolation transformer. Here are the proposed configuration for the measurement before and after the ...
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Filtering out SMPS noise for PowerLine communication?
I found a nice PowerLine Adaptor from TP-Link:
In case I plug a simple SMPS next to it, bandwidth is greatly reduced to about 1-2MBps.
Otherwise, when I plug the same SMPS into it, bandwidth is ...
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Resonance of 230V Inverter
I have a SMA Sunny Island 8.0H-13 230V 50Hz Inverter. When supplying linear loads (100W incandescent or 750W heater) I measure no voltage at 3.2kHz. But when supplying fancy electronics (8W LED,...) ...
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I'm getting tester light on Neutral wire on my extension box, but not in the mains supply socket [closed]
On the mains supply socket, I'm only getting the tester light on the Live Wire, but when I connect my extension box to that socket, I'm getting tester light in both Live (Bright) and Neutral (dull) ...
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Another flyback converter or a buck converter if i already have a recitified 220VAC to 100VDC line
I have recently started a project for lighting my garden. For I have decided to use 100 VDC and will be bucked for each led strip (there will be several led strips rather than a single led strip for ...
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Flyback Power Transformer Datasheet: Confusing Pin Layout and Spacing
I was looking through the datasheet below for a power transformer, but its pin layout was not clear to me. It seems there are 8 pins on each side (each physically grouped in pairs) yet the labels are ...
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Why is the metal of this 4-pole Mini-DIN output plug for 12 VDC connected to mains earth?
The metal chassis (the outside of the plug, I don't know what the correct name is) of this 4-pole Mini-DIN DC output plug from a 12 V Mean Well switching power supply (GSM120A) is connected to the ...
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How is 460/230V 3PH mains possible?
I'm making a piece of machinery for a customer in Mexico, and they insist that their mains voltage is 460V between phases, 230V between each phase and ground, 3P-N-PE. Only if this was a split phase ...
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Is it safe to ride a 220Vrms sine wave using isolated dc/dc converter?
As part of a bigger project, I'm designing a circuit that would be used to source a constant current (100uA-1mA) regardless of the output voltage. The circuit will be powered from a *5V DC source ...
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Can I put two triac switches in parallel on a 115vac circuit controlling an exhaust fan?
I want to put an electronic timer switch in parallel with my electronic humidity sensing switch for my bathroom exhaust fan. I want to be able to turn on the fan for one-of-four preset times when the ...
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How did a short to ground on the output of a SMPS generate a large primary side fault current?
I have been renovating my kitchen and when the contractors were installing the backsplash, they removed the fascia from the under mount range hood. When reinstalling the fascia there was a moderate ...
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Aluminium foil to reduce 220 V EMF from Cat6 cable [closed]
I wanted route a Cat6 unshielded cable to my PoE switch from my IP camera. I saw many sites telling me that you should not run an Ethernet cable alongside a main line to avoid EMF interference. I ...
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Live vs. Neutral wires
In every AC plug, there is a "hot" wire and a "neutral" wire. What makes the former the dangerous wire and the neutral one the "0V"/safe one?
There are some things ...
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Mains noise when connecting myself to scope (AD2)
I was playing around the other day with the AD2 (analog discovery) and I discovered that when I touch the positive terminal of the scope with my fingers, I see a sine wave with a period that matches ...
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Safety about Self-designed Ground Loop Breaker circuit
I'm currently designing some audio amplifier with mains-powered linear transformer supply.
While working on my design, the idea hit my head and I suddenly created Ground Loop Breaker circuit.
Here's ...
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Is AC mains supply filtering for audio amplifiers necessary?
I came across the following module that one can purchase online
here
Product description/title claims to filter EMI. No schematic diagram available and by looking at the picture there are Capacitors ...
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How do I properly implement the Type 2 AC charger vehicle communications ? (IEC 62196 standard)
I'm designing an AC charger for a EV side that uses the Type 2 standard. I dont have the full 62916 spec document but I'm using this as my reference point
So far my design looks like the following
I'...
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What are the hazards to this DIY RMS circuit?
I want to possilby make a DIY True RMS meter that displays RMS value on an OLED screen. It would plug into a wall and hang from the outlet.
Pretty much the AC goes to a Step-Down Power Module that's ...
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distorted sine of 230V phase
I measured a distortion at the secondary of a 230V AC supply (a transformer in a housing, nothing more).
So I connected its primary to a frequency generator and voila, a nice sine as expected.
And ...
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Best practice for measuring mains voltage using MCU
I bought a cheap Chinese inverter with no serial number, I thought it be a fun little home project to check if the AC voltage it provides is a true sine wave.
I tried using an arduino with a ...
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Can a pulse transformer be used for single phase 120V AC isolation?
I am looking to build a ~170V DC power supply by using a full bridge rectifier on wall outlet 120V AC. After some googling I've come to learn I really need the output to be isolated as I'll be ...
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Do electricity meters calculate electricity usage accurately?
I want to ask a question about electricity meters. The amount of current in the cables coming from the network to the house and distributed to the sockets is determined by the resistance and is fixed. ...
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PCB mounted (soldered) pluggable Pins or Terminals
I'm trying to design a PCB that is pluggable into another PCB, each one being inside separate plastic enclosures. I'm having a hard time finding a component that I can solder on a PCB and that can ...
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Is there an AC powered circuit to turn on load only if the power switch is toggled at least once before being switched on (Not using an MCU)?
I have a project where the requirement is that if a light switch is turned on, one load will be turned on, but if the switch is toggled first before being switched on, a second load will be powered as ...
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Safety - Using equipment rated for a mains voltage of 115 V with autotransformers in a 230 V environment
In practical use - think of touring musicians - equipment designed for a mains voltage of 115 V may end up being used with autotransformers (non-isolated!) on 230 V outlets. In these cases, it may not ...
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Little spikes on mains AC [closed]
I live in an apartment complex. From time to time I would hear a buzzing on my UPS. At first I thought it was defective but then, when I disconnected it and plugged my PC directly to the outlet, the ...
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Strong deviations in weight measurements, possibly after connecting a high current device on the same line
I have the following situation, where there's a sensitive scale connected to mains voltage (but they have their own AC-DC power supply).
Someone connected a device that requires very high power in the ...
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How to accept 220 V input from this transformer pin?
I'm confused how make line input accept 220 volt from this transformer. Where the right wiring combination.
I found this transformer from local trash. In my country standard main line voltage is 220 ...
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Active differential probe or isolated differential probe to measure mains safely?
I have designed a mains powered flyback. As a newbie I am well informed about the danger of mains voltage if measured incorectly.
Still I want to measure a few points in my circuit to better ...
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How to wire an RCCB to secure a power supply?
Fellow tinkerers,
reading the manual of my brand new 5V power supply (MeanWell RS-150-5), I've come across the requirement, that I need to secure the PSU with a residual-current circuit breaker (RCCB) ...
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Variable High Voltage low-current power supply using Step Down and Step Up Transformer. Correct way to vary the voltage?
Edit 3: in summary I want a make microprocessor-controlled dynamically-variable voltage source. With a range of 100v to 350v dc which can supply approx 10-20ma.
The voltage would change quite ...
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Creepage and Clearance for Mains powered flyback
I'm designing a flyback power supply for medium LED (10 W) which powered from mains voltage (90-240 Vac).
I followed the rules regarding clearance and creepage DIN EN 60664-1 (VDE 0110-1) for my ...