Teach-In 2019 Powering Electronics Part 3: Linear voltage regulators

摘要

Your project is finished and ready to go, but the job isn't done until you've found an appropriate source of power. This could be as simple as choosing a suitably rated mains adapter or as complex as designing a switched-mode power supply with multiple outputs and battery backup. Our latest series - Teach-in 2019 - is here to help, and will provide you with insight into all aspects of powering your electronic projects and designs. In this third part we introduce linear voltage regulators. These low-cost, easy-to-use chips can form the basis of very simple but effective power supplies. This month, we have two Practical Projects. The first is a fixed linear voltage regulator, while the second is a variable bench power supply with an output that's variable from 1.5V to 13.5V at 0.6A. Together with last month's Practical Project (a raw DC supply) this will make an excellent bench power supply for testing and hardware development.