Voltage regulator What to buy and where

Matty1973 · Post by **Matty1973** » Sun Sep 15, 2013 6:47 pm

Hi all,

i am in the process of researching and getting all the bits for my next build.

i am using LED strip which runs at 12v, madman spinner lights at 12v, but then i have the Trekmodeler circuit and the rest of my LED's at 9v.

is there a resistor i can use to put in line to go to the 9v from 12v

or do i need to use a voltage regulator, if yes does anyone know part number and where to buy?

Thanks

RossW · Post by **RossW** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:27 pm

You need to use a 7809 voltage regulator. The basic setup is the 7809 with filtering caps on either side (input/output) but this link as 2 caps on the output:

http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/blo ... upply.html

just google '9v voltage regulator' and see what you need. All components are available from Mouser/Jameco/DigiKey.

Darth_Vapor · Post by **Darth_Vapor** » Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:41 am

If all the rest of the LEDs are just simple LEDs, i.e. LED with resistor in series, you could just size the resistor to provide a higher voltage drop. This would probably be simpler than adding the voltage regulator.

If you go with the regulator, the 7809 is the easiest thing to do, as RossW suggests. If this will be running from batteries, you might look at one of the switching versions, which are more efficient. The V7809-1000R from CUI, for example. They are more expensive (~$7.50), but it may be a little easier to work with. It wouldn't need as much heat sinking as plain 7809.