Hi there

I was going through the Maplin Catalogue and came across a Single Chip Power
 Supply. This may be an alternative to your transformer-less power supply unless
 you want mains isolation. The chip is used together with a current limiting
 resistor and can be connected to any AC supply from 28V to 264V and will give a
 regulated output of 5V to 28V DC at up to 50mA. There are very few other
 external components. The chip is made by Harris HV3-2405-5
I know the output current isn't much but it may solve some application problems.

Gavin
vulcan@icon.co.za
http://mail.icon.co.za/~vulcan/