Hey guys, so I'm trying to make a charger a little bit simpler and as cheap as possible. So far I plan to use a variable transistor such as this:
FRYS.com | PHILMORE 48-1205
coupled with a simple diode bridge rectifier to output anything between about 0 and 140 volts. I could stop there and simply adjust the initial voltage to whatever current I want to exceed and let it run, the current steadily decreasing over time (I could also manually keep upping the voltage).
Is there a way to build a simple dumb circuit to limit the output current to a specific number of amps, say 10 such that I could set the voltage dial to whatever end voltage a want and it would run at 10 amps until it tapers off at the end?
A somewhat crazier, weirder, and more complicated prospect: maybe you could have a voltmeter across a shunt on the output and have an if voltage then statement in some code control a servo to adjust the voltage dial automatically...that would be cool.
Am I oversimplifying and/or over complicating things?
-Luke