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Not long ago, I was asked to review a USB charger. Since I enjoy tinkering with all kinds of power supplies, I agreed. So I’ll take it apart, examine it, and test it.

Quite a few of my recent reviews have started with the words, “Some time ago, I posted a review...” This time is no different. I previously reviewed a power supply for an access control system, but that one was a 12 V 5 A model with an uninterruptible power supply function. This time, it’s a simpler version. You can find out more in the review itself.

Just recently, I posted a couple of reviews of chargers, but as it happened, another one accidentally came my way. Unfortunately, it’s also a 12.6 V charger (for a 3S lithium battery pack), but I decided the review might be useful because of its low price. Alas, it’s not quite what I’d hoped for, but more on that in the review.

Another review of another small charger for 3S (12.6 V) battery packs. Not long ago, I published a review of the 3 A version; today, it’s a simpler 1 A model. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, but I won’t get ahead of myself—the details are in the review.

Today's article is about the output rectifier, filter, and feedback circuit in switching power supplies. This is the final article in the general introductory series. After this, I plan to answer questions that came up while publishing the previous parts, and then take a closer look at some individual sections.

Today we'll look at the next stage after the inverter: the power transformer. This won't be a very long article, but I think it'll be useful.

At the end of last year, I published a couple of reviews about converting cordless drill batteries. Today, I’ll tell you about an alternative way to charge a converted battery using a ready-made charger. As usual, we’ll take a look, take it apart, and go through the schematics and tests.

Last time, I covered the input stage of a switching power supply, the bridge rectifier, and the filter capacitors. Now it’s time for the next stage: the inverter. This is the most complex and extensive part, but also the most useful.

I’ve already posted videos about individual parts of a power supply, but after thinking it over, I decided I hadn’t done it the right way—or, more precisely, not in a very logical order—so I’m putting that right. With this article, I’m starting a short series called "How It Works", where I’ll go through all the sections of a typical switching power supply one by one, explain what they do, and point out where components can fail.

I decided to answer a couple of questions people asked me in the comments on a video. This might be useful to other readers too.

I planned to review this back in early April, but I kept putting it off. Finally, I got around to testing this power supply. As I mentioned last time, I ordered this power supply at the request of some readers who were interested in a review of a high-power PSU, mainly for use with 3D printers. I ordered it, inspected it, tested it, and now it’s time to tell you about it.

A short video about power supply output filters.

Not long ago, I posted a review of a 360 W power supply. I mentioned then that I was waiting for a package with a couple more power supplies, but more powerful ones. The package has arrived, and I finally got around to the first one: a 480 W model. So far, this is the most powerful power supply I’ve reviewed (apart from bench power supplies), and it also has some notable differences from the previous ones. But as usual, I’ll take a look, tear it down, and test it.

Continuing my series on power supplies, I ordered another one, this time more powerful than the previous one. This review won't be very long, but as always, I'll inspect it, take it apart, and test it.

I've reviewed quite a few different power supplies, and this is probably my favorite topic. But somehow I've almost completely overlooked one category of devices: uninterruptible power supplies, even though I do have one review on the subject. The device made a good first impression, but the reality turned out to be considerably more complicated. Anyway, as always, more after the jump.

Somehow, despite using a relatively large number of mobile devices, I get by without any extra “power banks.” Though it would be more accurate to say I get by without the kind most people are used to, since I do have a 12 V version. In this case, I was simply offered this Powerbank to review, and I thought—why not? At the very least, I can see how it’s made. As always, next up: inspection, teardown, testing, and modifications.

It's been a while since I last wrote about power supplies, even though they're one of my favorite topics. I also somehow overlooked power supplies with the common output voltage of 12 V. This time, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and take a look inside a 12 V power supply with passive cooling. As always, the inspection, tests, and conclusions are below the fold.

I've handled quite a lot of different power supplies, but every now and then I come across an epic case that I just have to tell you about.