How to Design a Zener Diode Shunt Regulator Circuit

[@ricksampson6780]

Excellent, can you please consider presenting a basic overview of analog delay lines, cheers.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I’m glad you found the video useful. I was experimenting a little with a longer design format, so I’ll consider making one about analogue delay lines. Thanks for the idea.

[@75supercourse]

Excellent presemtation. A minor quibble with the power computation for the zener itself: I'd rather do that for the worst case scenario, where the zener is sinking all of the current. You'd probably pick the same component, but you'd recognize the headroom was a bit tighter.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I did wonder about that when I made the video but thinking that it was likely to be used in a fixed circuit I opted to add the extra headroom. Possibly I should have mentioned that - I’ll put a comment about that in the description area. Thanks for commenting.

[@mikebarton3218]

Nice picture of Stonehenge. Are you close to there? Interesting video. Thanks. Mike

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Not sure where the Stonehenge image is????? I am about 85 miles away from it.

[@zdzisawdyrman4457]

​@@ElectronicsNotes on your wall above you

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Ah yes - I hadn’t thought about that. It was a photo I took many years ago and one I like. I took it one evening as we were passing around sunset.

[@lyntonblair9016]

would a shunt regulator also be required for the second transitor bias?

[@ElectronicsNotes]

The circuit works as it is - the output transistor gets its bias from the one connected directly to the Zener - thus us a standard Darlington configuration.

[@lyntonblair9016]

@@ElectronicsNotes thanks. I guess the bias voltage toleraince of the output transistors explains it?

[@ahmedalshalchi]

... and it is also used as a hell thermal noise generator ...

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Any breakdown mechanism will be noisy - so yes that are good noise generators.

[@ahmedalshalchi]

@@ElectronicsNotes What do you mean by ( breakdown ) ?.... Signal linearity breakdown ?!... Zener diodes don't breakdown linearity but their thermal coefficient is soooo bad that you can't dismiss its effect at all for all load variations ...

[@langrock74]

Small mistake at ~3:50 mark. The second line should have a unit of Amps and not mA, 0.0179 A.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Bother!!! I should have spotted it. I need to sort it out somehow.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I've managed to 'blur' the m in mA out where you spotted it and I'll alter it on the master in case I ever need to use that again.