You can but in a car environment it is possible to get voltage spikes that
exceed the max input voltage by a large amount. You may want to put a
series resistor in front of the regulator with a 12 volt zener to clip
spikes. Calculate the current needs and voltage drop to be sure you don't
have too much power dissipation in the regulator, zener, or resistor. Be
sure to put caps on both sides of the regulator.
Good luck and have fun.
Larry



At 12:36 PM 11/4/99 -0500, you wrote:
>i need to connect a pic to my car, using the 12v car battery...umm i
assume i can't just wire up the car battery to like a 7805 to control the
voltage..or maybe im wrong...Suggestions?
>
>mikE
>
>Send someone a cool Dynamitemail flashcard greeting!! And get rewarded.
>GO AHEAD! http://cards.dynamitemail.com/index.php3?rid=fc-41
>
>
Larry G. Nelson Sr.
mailto:L.Nelson@ieee.org
http://www.ultranet.com/~nr