https://www.baldengineer.com/tag/switchingRecent content in Switching on Bald EngineerHugoen-USSun, 11 Jun 2017 05:58:33 +0000https://www.baldengineer.com/regulator-basics.htmlSat, 06 Oct 2012 20:41:30 +0000https://www.baldengineer.com/?p=1205Regulator Types Fundamentally there are two types of voltage regulators: linear and switching. The names come from how they operate and how they achieve voltage regulation. Linear regulators tend to be a little cheaper to implement, but they aren’t as efficient as their more complex switching variants. There are also some “cheap and dirty” methods that some designs use. Below is a brief description and example of each. Linear A simple way to think of a linear regulator is to think of it as an active series resistor. It will vary its effective resistance so that the output voltage remains the same. The upside to such a design is that it is cheap, simple to implement, and provides a relatively clean output. The downside is that the regulator dissipates a relatively large amount of power.

https://www.baldengineer.com/tutorial-on-different-regulator-types.htmlSat, 06 Oct 2012 09:13:19 +0000https://www.baldengineer.com/?p=1326Digital ICs like microcontrollers, memory, and shift registers need a stable voltage source to make sure they work as expected. Most circuits are designed with a voltage regulator to accomplish this stability. In theory voltage regulators will vary their output to stay at a set voltage, regardless of how much current the load is drawing. As a load draws a little bit more current, the supply voltage will begin to sag. Conversely when the load is reduced the voltage may rise a little bit. Regulators work to eliminate, well minimize, this change.