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I'm doing some microcontroller development, mainly for education and as a hobbyist.

So far I have powered it all from USB-power or 5V wall warts and regulated it down with 1117's or similar regulators.

At his point I want to be able to drive my projects from different voltage levels, both for testing and to be able to use different voltage levels as power source. I also would like to be able to draw more than the odd 1A you can get from the USB port. (Not mainly for the controllers but for some peripherals)

My thought is to get a variable bench power supply.

Are there any certain things I need to consider except the obvious power/current ratings?

Would a base version of an el cheapo brand for 50€ be sufficient or do I need better filtering/protection?

Ricardo
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Einar
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  • We have already accumulated here on EE.SE a fair amount of advice on bench top power supplies. Here's one such example: [Considerations in a bench/lab power supply?](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/52033/considerations-in-a-bench-lab-power-supply) – Nick Alexeev Sep 04 '14 at 21:46
  • USB is only rated upto 400 or 450mA, if I remember correctly. Not 1A odd. – Chintalagiri Shashank Sep 10 '14 at 11:21
  • @Chintalagiri Shashank USB is rated to 500mA but there are lot of USB menufacturers that exceed that. That is completely irrelevant to this question but I can't downvote a comment. – Einar Sep 10 '14 at 18:31

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Look for reputable brands and manufacturers, some will have better protection and better isolation, along with higher precision along the full range of current draws you can apply to the device.

ferret_guy
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