Operation
Power Supply Regulation Modes
Release 2.1 45
Power Supply Regulation Modes
The power supply has 2 regulation modes while in the Normal Operation State:
• Constant Voltage (CV)
• Constant Current (CC)
The CV, CC LEDs on the front panel indicate the regulation mode.
Constant
Voltage (CV)
In this mode, the supply’s output voltage is constant while the current and power
vary with the load. The power supply will operate in constant voltage mode
whenever the load current I
L
is less than the current limit setting I
SET
, or: I
L
<I
SET
.
(I
L
=V
SET
/R
L
). In constant voltage mode, the power supply maintains the output
voltage at the selected value (V
SET
) while the load current I
L
varies with the load
requirements.
Constant
Current (CC)
In this mode, the supply’s output current is constant while the voltage and power
vary with the load. The power supply will operate in constant current mode
whenever the load resistance is low enough that the load current I
L
is equal to the
current limit setting I
SET
. (V
L
=I
SET
R
L
). In constant current mode, the power supply
maintains the output current at the selected value (I
SET
) while the load voltage V
L
varies with the load requirements.
Automatic
Mode
Crossover
This feature allows the power supply to automatically switch operating modes in
response to changing load requirements. If, for example, the power supply was
operating in Constant Voltage (CV) Mode (I
L
< I
SET
), and the load changed so the
load current (I
L
) became EQUAL TO the current limit setting (I
SET
), the power
supply would automatically switch into Constant Current (CC) Mode and the output
voltage would vary in response to changes in load current. If the additional load was
subsequently removed so the load current was again LESS THAN the current limit
setting, the supply would automatically return to Constant Voltage (CV) Mode.