Hey folks,

I need a very simple way to drop 12V from a small battery to ~5V for a si=
mple=20
PIC circuit (IR transmitter in a key-fob case).  I don't want to use a=20
regulator since it will still draw power during periods of no use, which =
is=20
most of the time.  Is it okay to use a reverse-biased zener in series (al=
most=20
as I would use any other rectifier diode) to just drop 7V-8V?  To clarify=
=2E..

                 ZENER (~7V)
           .--------|<|------.
           |                 |
         + |                 |
      {12V_BATT}      {5V_PIC_CIRCUIT}
         - |                 |
           |                 |
           `-----------------'

(The banded end of the zener points to the left in this diagram).

The PIC circuit will be in sleep mode most of the time, but will wake up=20
occassionally at the press of a button.  Of course this does not give me =
any=20
regulation, but that is not a problem for this circuit.


Cheers,
-Neil.

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