Second version of the PWM dimmer and test results
In this article I will give updates on the PWM dimmer I explained in a previous article . I will explain the changes that have been made and present a new schematic. I will also quantitatively compare the performance of the PWM dimmer to the performance of a phase control dimmer. New schematic and explanation The new schematic is shown below: Link to simulation (1Ω resistor and 500pf capacitor are only for the simulation, they are not part of the circuit) I have made several changes to the design: Gate drive circuit The gate drive transformer was replaced with a handmade one made from a toroidal ferrite core and 9 turns of a single twisted pair from a CAT5 cable. An additional circuit was also inserted between the 555 timer and the gate drive transformer to amplify the current on the output. This circuit consists of an NPN and a PNP transistor, with both bases connected through separate resistors to the output of the 555 timer. The capacitors between the output and the bases help