Overview

"Houston, Wir haben ein Problem"

The Germans and the Swedes spell it the way we'd spell it. The Spaniards, Portuguese, Russians, Greeks, and Italians add an "a" after it. The Dutch and the French include an extra "e" in it somewhere. But we all do seem to agree on one thing that it is basically a problem. And a pretty universal one, too.

That is also the scope of this book specifically, problems in switching power supplies. It is therefore full of seemingly nonstop quibbling about trivial details. Loaded with relentless griping and not-so-subtle reminders of past failures. Bursting with an almost compulsive agenda for harping only about the defects surrounding us.

But it really is necessary! Because finally, we are in that shadowy realm bordering reality and fantasy, where everything that can possibly go wrong will, along with everything that was considered impossible just seconds ago! That is the world of switching power supplies, as I know it.

However, to set expectations correctly: no single book (or diatribe in this case) can ever hope to detail all the countless possibilities of failure. What follows is necessarily only representative. Though it should certainly help spark off a search in the right direction, and very quickly.

At least I am hoping it does, because otherwise, we really do have a problem!

Practice and Theory: Two Sides of the Same Coin

One of the first things we need to be aware of while troubleshooting switching converters is that we...