Thanks for the insight there.

I am a computer engineer - and I can handle the digital logic and such
just fine - but the regulator
side of things has always given me trouble (not enough training).

I can handle enough of ohm's law and the like to create a voltage
divider or figure out the resistor
to pair with an LED, but that is about the extent of it.  I really don't
want to develop a great
new solution for a regulator or why/where I need a snubber on my triac
driving a solenoid,
but I would like a good resource of cookbook style approaches for these
common things
I encounter when doing my hobbiest type designs.

Can anyone recommend a good resource for people like me that have say a
half dozen
different solution circuits that can be used cookbook style.  The
problem I've seen
with some of the beginner type resources is that they give a solution,
but no guidance
on how to adapt them if you have a slightly different scenario.  For
instance - a different
supply voltage or slightly different regulator in the same family will
require some
different resistor values.  What are the equations for those resistors, etc.

Thank you!
Dan


llile@SALTONUSA.COM wrote:

>Any step away from the trusty 78xxx series will involve tradeoffs.  You
>can save a few cents with a 5.1 volt zener, at the price of more power
>dissipation, more heat, and poorer regulation.  Pics work great with zener
>regulators, though, in many circuits.  (for instance in 1 million steam
>irons  I designed.)
>
>Anything else you design with will take more design effort.  If minimizing
>your design effort is a goal, 78xxx parts are ideal.  When you have to
>bang out a quickie lab instrument by noon, scratching your head over a
>complex regulator isn't what you want.
>
>Low dropout regulators will generally cost a little more, maybe a little
>or maybe a lot more, but still retain the cookbook low-parts count quality
>in many situations.
>
>Buck or boost regulators using a flyback coil can make 5 volts out of 1.5,
>can make 5 volts out of 24, (maybe they can even make water out of
>wine?<grin> ) wihtout consuming a lot of power in the process, at the
>price of extra cost and parts count plus design headaches.  National has
>reduced this to a cookbook process in some of their parts, though.
>
>I have actually found very few situations where the good ol' 78XX series
>doesn't serve well.  Of course, nothing I design is optimized for long
>battery life so your mileage will vary.  For hobby use or lab one-offs, I
>try to keep 78L05's, 78M05's (TO220 case) , 78M12's, and a few 317T's
>(adjustable) in stock at all times.  I can't count how many handbuilt
>prototypes I have built using these handy little parts.
>
>-- Lawrence Lile
>
>
>
>

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