Thread: how about this voltage regulator

That's basically what I built (with a transient suppressor for extra paranoia and an extra capacitor for more stability) at http://www.stuffandting.com/carputer/

I'm a little concerned that this guy doesn't appear to have a heatsink on his regulator IC though! Unless he's using the PC case or something as a heatsink???

I assume that works well for you? Do the caps hold enough power to keep the system on when cranking? Would a bigger cap help?

I am new to regulators and things like that, but I have enough knowledge to make that circuit.

Thanks!

Originally posted by ELEmental59437
I assume that works well for you? Do the caps hold enough power to keep the system on when cranking? Would a bigger cap help?

No it doesn't, and it's not really designed to. It's just to smooth out any ripples in the supply, not to keep it going during cranking, a tank circuit would be required for that (see other threads).

Mine runs when the engine's running only, and for now that's fine for me.