Greetings Earthlings,
Calculon's current project involves 2 12v motors (he's in the big-time now :)) but he'll probably have to use an 18v battery. He wonders what is the best way to power the brains AND the wheels from this.
Should he use a 12v voltage regulator and a 6v regulator at the same time? Or is there a better way to divide up the voltage?
The 12V regulator would be
The 12V regulator would be ok, but you’d need some serious heatsinking to drive those motors. 12V output from 18V input means that 1/3rd of your power will dissipate as heat through the regulator.
The 6V regulator will dissipate 2/3rds of all the power it consumes - only a measly 1/3rd will actually make it to the control circuitry. That being said, since the current draw will probably be low, 2/3rds wasted from not much is still not very much.
Any idea how much current the 12V and 6V lines will need? That’s really the deciding factor when it comes to the question of “how much power can I afford to waste?”.
If you want to be economical go for a switched-mode regulator; OddBot wrote a nice tutorial that makes for a very good introduction… I’ll link it when I can track it down.
muchas gracias amigos
is that core ferrite enamel coil a common component?
Pretty common stuff, you can
Pretty common stuff, you can wind your own or buy a pre-made inductor.
