EmbeddedRelated.com
Forums

Use of MAX232 as power supply for operational amplifier in 5V powered system?

Started by wzab October 11, 2009
Hi,

I need to add simple amplifier to my digital system which is powered 
from a single 5V battery.
To achieve proper operation of the operational amplifier I need at least
+8V and -8V voltages.
I can build a simple voltage multiplier and inverter like shown here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg/400px-Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg.png
using the 6-CMOS inverter chip as an oscillator and a source of alternating
voltage.

However antoher idea is to use something cheap and standard like MAX232.
Has anybody tried to use this chip just as a voltage converter?
Unfortunately I can't find the output characteristics for V+ and V- pins.
Maybe I'll need also additional voltage regulator to improve the quality of
this power supply voltage (or maybe simple RC filter will be sufficient...).

Has anybody tried to do it?
-- 
TIA & Regards,
WZab

http://www.ise.pw.edu.pl/~wzab/gps_logger - Open Sourse GPS logger with voice recording
"wzab" <wzab@ise.pw.edu.pl> wrote in message 
news:slrnhd3rfr.tmi.wzab@wzab.nasz.dom...
> Hi, > > I need to add simple amplifier to my digital system which is powered > from a single 5V battery. > To achieve proper operation of the operational amplifier I need at least > +8V and -8V voltages. > I can build a simple voltage multiplier and inverter like shown here: > http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg/400px-Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg.png > using the 6-CMOS inverter chip as an oscillator and a source of > alternating > voltage. > > However antoher idea is to use something cheap and standard like MAX232. > Has anybody tried to use this chip just as a voltage converter? > Unfortunately I can't find the output characteristics for V+ and V- pins. > Maybe I'll need also additional voltage regulator to improve the quality > of > this power supply voltage (or maybe simple RC filter will be > sufficient...). > > Has anybody tried to do it? > --
The max 232 will give you 10 mA max..
On Oct 11, 4:50=A0pm, "TTman" <someone...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

> > The max 232 will give you 10 mA max..
Thank you very much. Now I have also found it in the "OUTPUT VOLTAGE vs. LOAD CURRENT" chart on the 4th page of the http://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/MAX220-MAX249.pdf datasheet. And in fact such use of MAX232 is accepted by the manufacturer. However yet another question is the voltage quality. I suppose, that the clock signal driving the charge pump will be also present in the output voltage. What is a typical frequency of this clock? -- TIA & Regards, WZab

wzab wrote:
> Hi, > > I need to add simple amplifier to my digital system which is powered > from a single 5V battery. > To achieve proper operation of the operational amplifier I need at least > +8V and -8V voltages. > However antoher idea is to use something cheap and standard like MAX232. > Has anybody tried to use this chip just as a voltage converter?
Yes, this works. However, it delivers only few milliamps and the output is very noisy.
> Unfortunately I can't find the output characteristics for V+ and V- pins.
Look into ADM202 datasheet. http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/data_sheets/ADM202_203.pdf
> Maybe I'll need also additional voltage regulator to improve the quality of > this power supply voltage (or maybe simple RC filter will be sufficient...).
That depends on your application.
> Has anybody tried to do it?
This is a pretty standard trick. Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant http://www.abvolt.com
wzab wrote:
> Hi, > > I need to add simple amplifier to my digital system which is powered > from a single 5V battery. > To achieve proper operation of the operational amplifier I need at least > +8V and -8V voltages. > I can build a simple voltage multiplier and inverter like shown here: > http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg/400px-Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg.png > using the 6-CMOS inverter chip as an oscillator and a source of alternating > voltage. > > However antoher idea is to use something cheap and standard like MAX232. > Has anybody tried to use this chip just as a voltage converter? > Unfortunately I can't find the output characteristics for V+ and V- pins. > Maybe I'll need also additional voltage regulator to improve the quality of > this power supply voltage (or maybe simple RC filter will be sufficient...). > > Has anybody tried to do it?
Be careful you don't overload these supplies. Be especially careful if you are using one of the many "equivalent" parts - they vary somewhat in how much current they can supply, and what happens if you overload them. In some cases, the charge pump switches off on overload and stays off until you power off the device.
David Brown wrote:
> wzab wrote: >> Hi, >> >> I need to add simple amplifier to my digital system which is powered >> from a single 5V battery. >> To achieve proper operation of the operational amplifier I need at least >> +8V and -8V voltages. >> I can build a simple voltage multiplier and inverter like shown here: >> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg/400px-Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg.png >> >> using the 6-CMOS inverter chip as an oscillator and a source of >> alternating >> voltage. >> >> However antoher idea is to use something cheap and standard like MAX232. >> Has anybody tried to use this chip just as a voltage converter? >> Unfortunately I can't find the output characteristics for V+ and V- pins. >> Maybe I'll need also additional voltage regulator to improve the >> quality of >> this power supply voltage (or maybe simple RC filter will be >> sufficient...). >> >> Has anybody tried to do it? > > Be careful you don't overload these supplies. Be especially careful if > you are using one of the many "equivalent" parts - they vary somewhat in > how much current they can supply, and what happens if you overload them. > In some cases, the charge pump switches off on overload and stays off > until you power off the device.
I do this. ST232A powers an LM393 dual comparator that helps the receiver do some things it normally won't do, like, add hysteresis, etc. So far it seems to work great. I like the ST232A because its rails are a bit higher than other RS232 chips. boB
On 2009-11-07, boB <bob@bob.bob> wrote:
> > I like the ST232A because its rails are > a bit higher than other RS232 chips.
I like it because it is dirt cheap. Last time I needed fairly small quantities of an RS232 driver the ST232 was 70-odd pence a peice. The MAX232 was around four or five times that as I remember. That's a big premium simply for the brand name genuine part. -- Andrew Smallshaw andrews@sdf.lonestar.org
wzab wrote:
> Hi, > > I need to add simple amplifier to my digital system which is powered > from a single 5V battery. > To achieve proper operation of the operational amplifier I need at least > +8V and -8V voltages. > I can build a simple voltage multiplier and inverter like shown here: > http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg/400px-Stacked_Villard_cascade.svg.png > using the 6-CMOS inverter chip as an oscillator and a source of alternating > voltage. > > However antoher idea is to use something cheap and standard like MAX232. > Has anybody tried to use this chip just as a voltage converter? > Unfortunately I can't find the output characteristics for V+ and V- pins. > Maybe I'll need also additional voltage regulator to improve the quality of > this power supply voltage (or maybe simple RC filter will be sufficient...). > > Has anybody tried to do it?
I've done way worse. These days I prefer a TI TPS60403. Cheap and less noise.