Okay, so today I decided to mess around with making a MOSFET inverter. It’s something I’ve been meaning to try for a while, and I finally got around to gathering the parts and giving it a shot.
Getting Started
First, I needed to find a decent circuit diagram. I spent a bit of time Googling around, and found a few different options. I ended up picking one that seemed pretty straightforward – you know, not too many crazy components or anything. It’s always good to start simple, right?
Next up was gathering the parts. I already had a bunch of N-channel MOSFETs lying around (IRF540, I think they were), so that was a good start. Then I grabbed some resistors, a breadboard, a power supply, and some jumper wires. My workbench is a bit of a mess, so finding everything took longer than I’d like to admit.
Building the Thing
I started by placing the MOSFETs on the breadboard. The circuit I was using had two MOSFETs in a push-pull configuration. Basically, one MOSFET would be “on” while the other was “off”, and they’d switch back and forth to create the AC output. I double-checked the pinouts for the MOSFETs – gotta make sure I don’t fry anything!
Then I added the resistors. These were used to limit the current going to the gates of the MOSFETs. I’m not 100% sure I got the resistor values exactly right, but I figured it was close enough for a test run. I connected everything up with jumper wires, making sure to keep things as neat as possible (though, let’s be honest, my breadboard wiring is never that neat).
Testing and Troubleshooting
With everything wired up, it was time for the moment of truth. I connected the power supply (set to a low voltage, just in case) and… nothing. No magic smoke, which was a good sign, but also no AC output. Bummer.
So, I started troubleshooting. First, I checked all the connections with a multimeter. Found a loose wire – rookie mistake! I fixed that, but still no luck. Then I started poking around with the multimeter, checking voltages at different points in the circuit. I realized I hadn’t connected the gate of one of the MOSFETs correctly, I forgot the pull-up resistor! Added that in, and tried again.
I connected a small load to test if it runs, and It works!It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely switching. I learned a lot in the process.
Final Thoughts
It was a fun little project. It definitely took longer than I expected, mostly because of the troubleshooting, but that’s all part of the learning process. I feel great to finally have this done!