BTW. in my hands “Fine” didn’t have any ripple at all (< 30 mV up to 900 mA, did not yet test higher currents). I will look into it again to be sure it was a decent measurement. For Fine the minimal input voltage was 6.4V (to obtain an output of 5.1V). It works, BUT most of the power is dissipated by the Zener diode. Not very efficient! On the other hand it does give a degree of regulation if the load changes. However, if you short circuit the output, the magic blue smoke will break free from the Zener... Such a short circuit may also damage the 12V source once the Zener is destroyed. The PlusRoc converter is also available with a USB-C connector or a standard USB-A, making sure all the options are covered. This converter has been tested to ensure a higher than 90% efficiency rating. The input capacitor and an output capacitor is to be externally connected to the IC 7805, these capacitor acts as ripple reducer if it is present in the source power supply according to the datasheet. The heat sink is a must because the voltage drop of 7 volts is converted to heat though the Heat-Sink.

A voltage regulator 12v to 5v dc can also be implemented with an LM7805 linear voltage converter. It is used for (10mA to 1 Amp ) medium current to the high current application circuits. Schottky comes with low stored charge and exhibits lower power loss and higher efficiency mechanical characteristics. It is manufactured in such a way that all external surfaces are corrosion resistant and terminals are easily solderable where current flows in one direction only and it stops the current flowing in other direction. The power drop which happens in this diode is lower than PN junction diodes. When voltage is applied across the diode terminals, current starts to flow which results in the small voltage drop across the terminals. The lower voltage drops results in higher efficiency and higher switching speed. The above schematic diagram shows the electrical symbol for a Schottky diode. 12V – 5V Circuit Diagram These circuits are basic voltage regulators, the first one is simple voltage divider using resistors. In general, it should be noted that the cheaper the product the more likely it is to be of poor quality. You should consider your budget and stretch it as much as possible to get the best possible converter.

Candidate modules

The module is pre-built. All you have to do is connect the positive and negative terminals to the connections on the module board. A simple screw mechanism secures them in place. You can then plug in a USB cable and any device you like to get a stable 5V output. In other words, you need to choose how neat the converter will be based on where it is situated and what it will be powering. Final Thoughts on 12V to 5V Converters In short, if it is designed to handle 5 volts, you need to make sure it is getting 5 volts. Of course, the domestic supply is different depending on where you are in the world. The US and Canada have 120 volts. In contrast, the UK uses 230 volts. The properly connected heat-ink is a must otherwise it can destroy the IC317. The input voltage must be 1.5V or more than the required output voltage. The transformer IC 7805 is part of the LM78xx series of DC converter ICs. It is a linear step-down transformer IC. The digits ‘xx ‘ represents the value of the regulated o/p in volts. The IC7805 gives 5V DC as the digit ‘xx ‘ showing (05) which is 5 volts. The output will be constant at 5 Volts for all value of the input in 6.5volts to 35 volts. ( refer to datasheet)

Higher switching frequency will mean less ripple on the output (more accurate voltage/current) but causes more overhead due to switching, which reduces the efficiency a bit. E.g., in an LM2596-based adjustable DC-DC converter, it was “forgotten” to install a capacitor between the output and sense-input (thereby multiplying the output ripple with a factor related to the difference between output voltage and sense-voltage of 1.23V(Cff in LM2596 datasheet: https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/LM2596-D.PDF). However, adding a 15nF capacitor did not solve all of the ripple (I would consider a ripple up to 100mV acceptable). However, what if you have a 12 volt power supply available? There are plenty of batteries that offer just 12 volts and you can even get transformers that reduce your home supply to 12 volts. The good news is that you can get a 12V to 5V converter, you simply need to choose the right one. Best 12 Volt to 5 Volt Converters Drok 12v to 5v Converter Drok 12v to 5v Converter Datasheets of some of the chips used in the modules contained an efficiency graph. The efficiency is a function of voltage and current. When available, I added the listed chip efficiency for the relevant Vin and Iout in the last column. Some modules have efficiency charts that don’t cover low current ranges, which might be an indication for the type of load the chips were (not) designed for. Output current of 25mA Module These have one more use for us, We originally tried to drive some high power MOSFETs with poor response, but after adding pull up resistors to the gates, and IO static with a pull down resistor set internally on the pin, we get very reliable control. In fact bandwidth of transmitted PWMs has almost tripled. This MOSFET controls large 12vdc coils for a hydraulic valve. Control response went from 97% - 99.9% range to 74% - 99.9%, giving tremendous improvement.

12v To 5v Dc Converters

Here is the 12v to 5v dc converter circuit for low current applications (< 70 mA), mainly for taking reference signal/ voltage and in a small current draining circuit like an LED indicator. A load resistor or output circuit is a must at output end while implementing or testing it in a circuit to prevent zener diode from getting burn.

This circuit also has the capacity to give the same output current as taken from an unregulated source. Arduino Uno with circled voltage regulator. [Photo by http://www.electricrcaircraftguy.com]The issue with using the voltage regulator is that the regulator is wasteful. Any extra voltage that needs to be dropped is converted to heat. The formula for efficiency is eff(reg)=Vout/Vin. A voltage regulator has some advantages too, one of them is stability, which means it can keep a very stable and accurate output voltage. Another advantage is its compact size. Listed chip efficiency is within 5-10% of the measured module efficiency. The delta could be due to inefficiencies in the module itself or due to differences in the overall conditions (temperature, etc). The LM317 is an adjustable voltage regulator IC capable of supplying more than 1.0 Ampere of current with a wide range of o/p voltage from 1.25 Volts to 37 Volts. Its regulation is a little bit better than other fixed voltage-regulator IC like LM7805, 7806, 7808, 7810 … Whatever you intend to use your 12V to 5V converter for, you can be certain that it needs to be reliable and durable. That allows you to put it into the system and leave it in place, knowing it will do its job.All the circuits have different performance. The voltage divider circuit is not recommended for use in the high current application as it has a low output current and lower efficiency. LM7805 12v to 5v converter: Differences can be significant as seen above. At the lowest load test (25mA), the worst performer uses 3 times more power than the best.