11/4/2018 Pyramid DC power supply

Putting the Power back into the Pyramid

Since the previous project on the bench featured a homebrew power supply, I decided to add another high
current low voltage supply, a Pyramid PS-21KX that I purchased for cheap at a hamfest. The Pyramid was
heavy as expected for a linear supply with a big transformer. As usual, my curiosity as to why it had failed got
the better of me. Besides, for $5 it was worth buying for just the transformer, the case and the nice ammeter.

The supply provides 13.8 volts and is rated at 18 amps continuous and 20 amps surge. It is apparently still
sold and the manual is available by clicking on the "manual download" icon to the right of the picture on this
link.

The specification list features "Electronic Overload Protection with Auto Reset, Short Circuit Thermal
Protection, Built-in Cooling Fan, and Crowbar Over-Voltage Protection".

Checking out the circuit.

I downloaded the 4 page manual from the link above. The voltage regulator in this supply, like so many other
ham radio linear power supplies, is the little LM-723 fourteen pin integrated circuit, also written as uA-723.
Its voltage output (pin reference 10) provides a maximum current of 150 mA which is then fed to the base of
NPN transistor TIP41. The emitter of the TIP-41 feeds the bases of four parallel 2N3055 NPN pass
transistors (by way of a diode in parallel with an 18 ohm resistor and through a thermal switch). It is a classic
linear power supply circuit used by Astron and others. The collectors of the four 2N3055 are fed by
unregulated DC from the combination of the power transformer, heavy duty diode bridge and capacitor filter
bank (five 4700 uF caps in parallel). The unregulated power supply parts seldom fail. In each of these linear
power supplies, the voltage at the bases of the four pass transistors determines the voltage at the emitters
which provide the output of the power supply. Short circuit thermal protection is by way of the automatic
reset thermal cutout switch.

Although the specifications mention a crowbar circuit, neither this Pyramid nor the manual schematic show the
existence of one. A typical crowbar circuit is an SCR that is activated by over-voltage, short circuiting the
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output which then typically blows the fuse.

The LM-723
Texas Instruments has 21 pages of information on the LM-723 (uA-723) That information from TI is very
useful for understanding the operation of the chip which is the heart of the Pyramid as well as all of the Astron
linear supplies. I usually find the chip dead when the supply fails. If the non-regulated portion of the supply is
working, a quick voltage check at pin 10 will verify whether the chip is in fact functional. That voltage would
normally be the intended output voltage plus any voltage drops (of the PN junctions of the TIP41, the
2N3055 and the diode and resistors between the TIP41 collector and the 2N3055 base connections).

Repairs
The unregulated power of the Pyramid was in good condition. I found a failed reverse bias diode (D9 on the
schematic), a dead LM-723 chip, and 2N3055 pass transistors that appeared to be leaky. Since the reverse
bias diode had been blown open, about the only thing I could think of that would cause that is connecting the
supply backwards while attempting to charge a battery. That would also explain failed pass transistors.

As expected, the LM-723 in the Pyramid was dead. It is soldered to the circuit board in the Pyramid which I
consider a weakness of the design. In Astrons, the chip is mounted in a socket. One of the first things I did
with this supply was to solder in a socket so I could more easily replace the chip if needed again. I next
checked the 2N3055 transistors which was difficult because the emitter and base connections are also
directly soldered. Three of the four had failed open and the fourth exhibited leakage. I replaced all four
transistors. The TIP41 was in good condition. I replaced the reverse bias diode with a heavier-duty piece
from the junk box.

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I puzzled over the thermal switch but that part was working properly. It only sees the current from the TIP41
transistor fed to the bases of the pass transistors. On powering the unit up slowly, I found it working. I
cleaned the voltage adjustment variable resistor (VR-2) and checked its setting to verify 13.8 volts output. A
load test verified a fully functional power supply. Power had returned to the Pyramid.

Pumping out 16 amps at 13.8 volts

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Pyramid Design
I consider the soldered-in chip and pass transistors as a design weakness that makes repairs difficult. The
lack of a crowbar circuit is another weakness. Also, comparing the schematic to that of Astrons, the Pyramid
inserts a 2.2 ohm resistor in series with each pass transistor base. The Astrons and most other supplies use a
resistor such as a 0.1 ohm in each emitter leg. The purpose of those resistors is to balance the load of the four
pass transistors. I prefer the use of a balance resistor in the emitter side rather than the base. However, the
Pyramid includes a fan which its Astron competitors do not have and the nice large ammeter with accuracy
adjustable by variable resistor VR1.

The Pyramid leaves out the MOVs (metal oxide varistors) typical in many other later model linear supplies. A
MOV clamps input voltage such as spikes on the power line. A nearby lightning strike can send a spike on
the power line which at the very least can knock out the LM-723 chip. Many later model linear supplies
include at least one MOV across the AC input rail (after the fuse and power switch). Three would be better,
adding one from each side of the power line input to safety ground as well as one across the power line. A
simple solution is to plug the Pyramid into a late-model UL and CSA approved surge protector. (My two
older APC "Surge Arrestors" were recalled and replaced by APC. MOVs can themselves fail drastically and
must be fused accordingly as done in later models of approved surge protectors.)

If I were to use the Pyramid to charge batteries, I would use a high-current diode in the feed-line so that the
battery could not feed power back to the supply in the event the supply was shut off. A low-loss schottky
diode recycled from a dead computer power supply would meet the need nicely along with a fuse on the
output and perhaps another heavy-duty diode as an additional external reverse bias diode to blow that fuse in
the event of an accidental reverse battery connection. A resistor in parallel with the schottky could be used
for trickle charging to overcome the small voltage drop introduced by the diode. The resistor would be sized
for a minimal trickle charge current level.

Pyramid PS-21KX schematic

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date: 12-9-14

A High power low voltage variable DC supply from recycled parts was the
previous item "on the bench".

Go back to the BA Pix Homepage.

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