The Maximum output current for HT7333 is 250mA. As the ESP32 has spikes of current that varies from 300 mA to 400 mA, I think that one good alternative to this is the LT1763-3.3. The quiescent current of LT1763-3.3 is a bit bigger (30uA) but it can delivery current up to 500 mA. What do you think, Andreas?
Wow! What a comprehensive coverage of regulator selection and application. I’ve been in the electronics business for 35 years and never have I seen so much valuable content in 22 minutes!
Thank you for a comprehensive overview of the major differences of these regulator types. Every time I watch your videos I realise how much more I need to learn :-D Keep up the great work Andreas.
While a bit crude, you can usually find better quality switching regulators on old PCBs. I've had better results than the cheap modules I've bought before. Things like old wifi routers usually use one or more step down supply circuits that are designed well and they don't interfere with the radio circuit on board. I've also found a few Buck-Boost SEPIC converters on old wireless keyboards and mice. When I'm salvaging these circuits I usually check them beforehand to see the output and the basic topology. Then I mark an outline to cut and use metal shears type scissors to quickly make my own modules from the original PCB. I think that's a bit crude for a Pro EE like Mr Spiess, but for the beginner or hobbyist it's a handy way to learn about different circuits and do some real world recycling ;) -Jake
Finally found the video after 30 min searching. Yesterday I watched this without being logged in and it did not show in the history, but forgot the author's name. I enjoyed the video - informative and entertaining at the same time. Thank you!
Thanks for another excellent video. I am a retired Mechanical engineer so my exposure to electronics, up till now, has been limited. Your videos are well done and I feel that I am learning lot from them.
Excellent video again. I got a little muddled up at the end when you were summarizing the quiescent currents and the devices. For my head there were too many numbers to keep track of. A table would have been superb. No matter, this was super helpful for me and I really appreciate your efforts. I recently did a project using a MCP1703A. It has a very low quiescent current of 5uA.
Thank you Andreas, recently I was graphing heat dissipation by Buck converter powering from 12v Battery to Raspberry Pi. And at right time you uploaded the video. Now I have understood many important factors for selecting the regulator.
Super useful tutorial both in the telling & in the interesting & useful comments discussions as I am currently struggling with creating a low voltage & low quiescent currents along with noise suppression for a project. Thank you for sharing!
Another great instalment and even better Building on your previous posts. You have to listen out for the new information and then the light bulb clicks on😋. Clear concise = Andreas Spiess
Thanks for this video. I thought my wireless doorbell fried when I changed batteries to step down regulator and transformer but was the noise which blocked the signal! Now it works with a regulator ic. Thanks!
Learned a lot from this video. The Swiss Government should hire you to be their online RUclips Electrical Engineering teacher. Are you a former EE instructor ? Your presentations are very good.
Important! learned a lot. Thanks. By the way, at 5:00, I felt that you treat your components like some life forms. And I agree totally, every component deserves it's/his/her right to life:)
I'm very impressed by all of your videos. Outstanding informative, very didactical and very well structured. Answers to a lot of questions I had or never had, but should have had :-) Very inspiring. Please keep on going like this. I became a patreon of yours.
Thanks for another great informative video Andreas. I favour the MCP1702 series LDO linear regs, especially for deep sleep battery operations. Key feature is the 2uA quiescent current. The 3.3V version has a drop out voltage of 525mV which isn't too bad.
Hello Andreas, thank you for this very informative video! This is truly a subject that interests all makers. A little more information on buck/boost converters would have completed the topic. I personally like to use them to make projects that can take a range of input voltages. Thanks for all the time you invest to help us all move forward and I'm always looking forward to viewing you latest video on Sunday's. 😀
Fantastic video Andreas. Maybe your best yet. If felt like the longer format allowed you to be much more through. Clearly you put a lot of time into creating this one (even more than usual). Thank you.
Hi Andreas, My project use 3 AAA battery, so I need a regulator to power the Microchip PIC at 3.3v. Quiescent current is mandatory for extend battery life. Micro most of the time is in sleep mode and it consume less than 1uA. I used the Microchip MCP1810 LDO. It has only 20nA!!! Another plus is that when input voltage is less than 'drop out voltage' input is shorted to output (LDO is excluded); so I can use battery down to 3v or less.
Thank you Andreas! I'm issuing a Winter Topic Slide Warning: For projects that are 'mostly mains powered', I frequently use microcontrollers together with an added 18650 LiPo battery as an uninterruptible power supply. The use case I'm describing is not very different from a solar power use case. I found that a combination of a charge controller module, a buck-boost module, and a pair of diodes works well enough for this, but it is not efficient, it is fairly expensive, and it doesn't seem to maintain the battery very well. Now, I imagine this to be a very common use case, but either there are no such power management chips, or I am incompetent at searching vendors' parts catalogs. In all your searches for efficient parts, have you or one of your brilliant fans come across an efficient solution to A) power a microcontroller, B) maintain a correct charge on a 1S-3S LiPo pack, and C) efficiently manage the power transfer between the external supply to the LiPo and back?
Very nice. Deep sleep miniatures, I can see a use for those, wake on demand, wake on request, wake and upload, wake and broadcast, wake and receive. Great Video; the housings you made for your instrument displays, were exceptional. Not only are they easy handy, they look great, nice tools. I could actually see being able to combine them like legos, and serve a function. That would actually be kind of cool. One of your blocks could be a power supply, snap on an op amp, or any of so many nice little circuits found out there. Pop on a strob. a VU meter, a light detector, a mic module with a pre amp. Some of the modules could be lights, speakers, both combined. every module with some sort of indicator or read out, Of course they are kits, you have to build yourself. Finished they are tools for testing. bread board circuits inside, easy change and test similar components. Just Tripping out on your electronics, which deserves recognition for ingenuity. imagination. practical application. clean math with clean parts, and a clean work area with all the testing equipement. That would be a great job, designing testing equipment, that gave the user the feel of real power, flipping switches, fine tuning, mode selecting analyzing power. signal generating, analyzing zoom in, out red light flashing power. I want to build . Fun hobbie. I created an under sea world with green and blue LEDs that happened by accident, I saw a concept, and now it's an environment.
@@AndreasSpiess Nice. The guys at the electronics store where I get a lot of my supplies sell the printers, they have one set up, and I always have to see what they are up to. I would sure like to have one.
There is another very simple solution, a shunt regulator, such as the TL431. It is "like" a super Zener diode (in reverse) and in PARALLEL (not in serial) with the "load". It can be adjusted to fit any voltage from 2.5V to 36V (without exceeding the voltage of the source, it is not a booster), with ZERO drop out voltage and requiring just 1 mA to work (in parallel with the amperage delivered to the load) (You can "typically" have it to work for a current as low as 400uA, but it is preferable to have 1 mA to be "sure"). So the power dissipation, for your example, can be as low as 0.001A * 10V = 0.01W. The TL431 may be delivered in a TO-92 case (looking like a discrete BJT), and you only need to add one, two or sometimes three resistances to make the required circuit (plus connectors). Its cost is really low (0.06$CAN at Amazon). Its SPICE model is available with the free version of TINA (distributed by Texas Instrument) (Just be careful, BEWARE, TINA does not use the standard TO-92 numbers for the pins, mis-wiring the TL431 is a huge possibility, consult the spec sheet and wire accordingly, not intuitively). If it is becoming warm to the touch, you probably have miss-wired it. The major problem, in the actual case, is that even without "load", 1mA is a large "quiescent" amperage. So we would have to disconnect the circuit, somehow.
Thank you for the info. For small currents a good idea. The TL431 has to "eat" the whole current if no load is attached. And the resistors have to be small enough to provide the voltage at max current.
This is great for constant current applications. Would love a video series for data channel conversions and necessary side effects. Been having issues driving LED strips and either dropping 5v to 3.3v data channels or vice versa.
If you are talking about level conversion between 3.3 and 5v: There are many small boards available which do exactly that. From 5 to 3.3v only you can use a voltage divider.
Another view of the inductor and capacitor in the switching circuit is as a low pass filter "smoothing out" the AC you are making into DC by turning the switch off and on (vs the energy tank explanation :) )
You should consider output voltage ripple in quiescent mode. As the controller usuallys switches from discontinious current mode to pulse skipping when there is nearly no load. This may result in significant higher ripple on output, which may not fit your requirements anymore or even can trigger a brown out detector of a micro controller. Allways remember to measure ripple voltage as close to output caps as possible! Even the ground wire of the probe can become an antenna at these frequencies...
This was more an overview video. So I had to stay at the surface. Anyway, I recommend for the ESP projects relatively big capacitors which might help in this case.
Hi Andreas, great work as always! Could you name the tiny BOOST converter PCB module with BC035 making on it that you used at the end of the video .. which BOOST converter IC does it use? What about the M8-03 BUCK converter module you showed on ALiExpress? Which IC does it use?
Nice tutorial. I did a review of the efficiencies of a buck boost and a LM7805 recently. The buck boost did not perform as expected. I did another video troubleshooting it. Turns out the boost chip was getting hot even when it should have been in buck mode. After removing the boost I got the efficiency the manufacturer promised but the output voltage dropped. Not sure why though. Thankfully Dave set up a decent forum. While I did not get the direct answer from the responses it got me thinking along the correct lines.
I know. You may not be able to replicate my problem. Its the troubleshooting steps that I may not have thought of that are important. Also I am moving locations in 2 weeks so I will not have the said board or any electronic equipment. Regardless it would still be interesting to get the perspective on how to solve problems.
Great video. You probably knew I was going to say this ;-) Btw, you have a Prusa MK3 ! Omg, I'm realy getting jealous now. I'm already saving for this.
Yes, I have the new Prusa. My old one had intermittent problems and I read a lot of good stuff about Prusa. When I got on his page, he just released the new model. This timing enabled me to be one of the first who ordered one. Not cheap, but I am so used to 3D print...
Thanks a lot for this lesson and measuring the spectrum of the DC/DC converters. So These tiny switchers are not compatible with the cheap radar devices. But a 7805 helps out. A very interesting topic ist the stability of the regulators. The LDO & low quiescent current seems to be more sensitive to ESR of capacitive loads ; the old 78xx and the AMS1117 seem to be more robust in that aspect.
I think, Regulators have many aspects. I just got a mail fromTI with their selection. Overwhelming. Obviously different applications need different LDOs... BTW: Radars are higher. Maybe they would survive it from an RF point of view...
Btw: These tiny DC/DC converters are compatible with ESP8266 and ESP32 although their EMC behaviour. In some applications I am using them in a small metal can. These cans were reused and they originally the contained a kind of medicine ("Ipalat"). Hope this also helps a bit against EMC ;-)
Yes TI has a lot of brillant regulators and I know them from my business. Sometimes you can get some of them in reused products of automotive industry on ali or eBay. But up to now I could not find readymade modules using modern TI regulators on our typical sources. Maybe you TI contact Person can help? I tried to use These tiny DC/DC converters with the Radar motion sensors and the HB100 as well. It did not work properly. On Petes blog you can find some filters proposed (tech.scargill.net/microwave-for-the-weekend/). Maybe it helps, using a 7805 was faster and simpler for me.
Hi, I am searching for a regulator circuit ic for lowering the voltage from 27 to 24 volta at 15 amperes. I am not able to find any which supports more than 8 amperes. Example LM2576 ic supports max 3 amperes, i need one which can use 15 amps. Please suggest.
Andreas! In my quest to build an Adafruit Huzzah 32 set-up for some sensors reporting via WiFi/MQTT every 10th minute (ie.. more often than yours :)), and being solar powered so it can run for ever, I have followed and learnt much from many of your videos. Revisiting this one, i can happily report that i am ALMOST there. I only want to use one battery, so it goes on the MPPT solar charger. I then connect the load from it to a buck-booster and power the Huzzah via 5 V USB. It is weirdly enough the only way i got it to work (to many components!). Problem: i must now turn off the booster via its Enabled pin (as youre talking about @ 18:50), but how can i then switch it on from a completely un-powered Huzzah? I ask you this: if i put a big capacitor on the USB of the Huzzah (which is in deep-sleep, time wake up), will that enable me to enable the buck-booster just long enough to switch itself on, and thusly power the Huzzah? Is this safe? Do i need a resistor somewhere to limit current? And thanks for your videos again. Wonderful! /Axel
I would make sure the Huzzah is never unpowered. This should be possible in your design if you have enough power. You could measure the battery voltage for example.
whitefields5595 You can check Texas Instruments TPS63020 device. This one is a buck boost for single cell lipo batteries and has quiescent current of about 30uA. Pretty much the best i found so far as buck boost converter. I am waiting for the chineese guys to make some designs and selling them on aliexpress... Well, I can provide ready design files, if some one needs...
whitefields5595 if you do, please check, that PS/Sync pin of the chip is connected to ground, or the quiescent current will be more likly in mA... I made this error in my first design, by just copy their sample design, where it is connected to VinA, resulting in continous current mode... I use it in combination with Linear LTC4067 as charger... I like this combo, but it is kind of expensive, compared to the chineese stuff.
You are very kind, thank you. I will let you know how I get on. I've used the 18650 on my bike to make a computer and am now developing a power meter based on strain gauges on the pedal crank. I've got LED strip brake lights driven by a boost converter , RTC and a OLED display. I'm pleased I can power all this from the 18650 but have to be careful as the voltage drops, hence my post.
Sali Andreas, love your Swiss accent! I also have not been able to get rid of mine. As long as you call the meat on the plate not like the timber no worries. But the FBI is like ei so is the quiescent current. English is not regulated like German. Downunder we drive on tyres while in the US they use tires. There are tongue breakers. California has Yosemite and in the land of Koalas we eat Vegemite, both same ending but different pronunciation. Acronym abuse gets one confused so in our ham radio club ce hand each other upper sideband siticks!
13:58 Does anyone know why they use an R as decimal point for inductors? You would think using an L for inductors and leave the R for resistors only would be less confusing. 15:11 Usually you can't trust the specification given by the AliExpress seller. This particular converter happen to have a manufacturer's web page with some useful information. The input range is given as 4.5-24V and the quiescent current as 0.85mA. www.qskjpower.com/ProductDetail/709788.html
I wondered that myself, but never really found an answer to it. My guess: it's a remainder from the old days where they used stamps to print the value on (nowadays it's mostly inkjets) and they already had the "R" from making resistors. Also an "R" is much less likely to be misread for anything on a bad print. An "L" could easily be misread for a "1" if part of the print is obscured by dirt or didn't take at the time of printing at all. Or maybe it was the chinese starting it, who can't tell the difference between an "R" and and "L" ;) . It is not really confusing, because the shape is usually quite clear and you have values that wouldn't have any letter in them anyway.
What about employing one or more smoothing caps across the output to deal with the ripple from the switching converter as you would in a mains supply PSU? I love your sense of humour too Andreas, it's a huge bonus to your videos.
Very good video. Personally i try avoiding variable converters because i have had problems with bad trimpots that throws the voltage out of the set value. I stick to fixed regulators.
Is there a way to filter out the high-frequency ripple created by the switching converters? Maybe decoupling or smoothing capacitors of various values?
These power supplies already have capacitors and usually also inductors built-in. You always can increase their size. But for really "quiet" power supplies most people use analog designs.
Maybe you ask yourself the question: "Who could be interested in having their Oscilloscope shown in every video". RUclips is my hobby and I can assure you that you do not get rich with it.
Great video! I wish I would have watched it before I made the experience that my 1A regulator overheated already with 0.2A. There are two issues for which I would like to see more info (maybe you have it already in another video). Which capacitors (size and type) should be used with the regulators? Which temperature is acceptable i.e. in a small case? I know the datasheets have some information about both these points but I am sure you have additional practical advice. Thanks
We also use the data sheets for our work. Not a lot to add. To avoid that the ESP does unwanted resets I add a 1000uF capacitor. Maybe you watch my deep sleep video if you are interested.
@@AndreasSpiess Thanks for your fast reply. I had a problem with an Arduino Mega 2560 Pro Mini with USB power supply. It stopped working after a few seconds. I added a 470uF capacitor and all worked fine. I was surprised that the USB port from my expensive ASUS Motherboard was not "good enough". I watched already your deep sleep video. Interesting!
What is the start up current for ESP32 module ? What is the max current for ESP32 module? Some say it can go upto 1.2A. Is that correct ? HT7333 max current is only 250mA and hence it cannot be used for ESP32 module. Right ? Which buck booster module /IC would you recommend for esp32 module ?
Dear Andreas could you please be so kind and post links for ordering the same switch button and the banana sockets you used for your DIY box for the AliExpress meter? How did you wire the meter? Have you added a dedicated battery for powering the meter itself? Or is that what the 2nd pair of plugs is for? Any schematics maybe? Thank you very much!
can I use two LDO's in parallel to increase maximum current? HT7333's low quiescent voltage is great, but outputs only 250mA... I want to be on the safe side with at least 500-600mA
Buck-boost and SEPIC are not the same thing. There are 4 different topologies used as combined step-up and step down: 1. Buck-boost en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck%E2%80%93boost_converter 2. SEPIC en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-ended_primary-inductor_converter 3. ZETA (inverse SEPIC) www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/zeta-that-other-dc-dc-topology-2016-05/ 4. Ćuk en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%86uk_converter
If you were reducing from say 12v to 3.3v, but needed a smooth supply, would there be any benefit to taking the voltage down to 5v with a converter with a decent smoothing cap, and then using a linear regulator to take it down to 3.3v to give a smooth output without as much power loss?
Hi Andreas. I did not understand the part of the antenna and the switching regulator, if, for example, I want to powerup a sensor node that uses an esp8266 or esp32 I should avoid using a regulator? because I want to run this node with a battery. Thanks a lot for the information.
Hi Andreas, what a coincident this video came up today. I have through the last couple of days researched on this topic. Im currently working on a WiFi AP(using an ESP8266) project to be driven by solar-cells. My plan is to have the 8266 running about 4-8 hours a day and deepsleep the rest. If the sun here in California is enough, I may increase on time to 8-10. I have all ready watched through some of your videos over the last year in regards of the solar-cells that has been really helpful. My plan is to use some 6v solar-cells charging a 1S lipo pac(around 5-10Ah). So, my question that I have not really seen an answer on is what the most efficient way to drive the ESP8266 from 3.8-4.2volt down to 3.3. is it to step it up to like 5 and then down to 3.3 using switching converters or is it better to go straight to 3.3 from the lipo with a LDO regulator? I just ordered some MCP1700-3302E that has less then .2V dropout voltage, but after this video I'm not sure that this is the best option. I'm hoping for your (or anyone else ) input on this. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge through this great channel. Regards, Emil, CA, USA
Yes, but a big enough capacitor would be pretty big. What about connecting a switching regulator with a voltage slightly higher than the output to an LDO? This would be quite efficient since the LDO only has to drop a few millivolts and smooth because of the LDO's noise rejection.
@@AndreasSpiess I wanted to test however won't make sense to buy the Otti for my small tests. If you run by something that you would recommend for testing and does not cost $600 please share.
Super tutorial again thanks. I am currently testing low power applications using €1 Attiny85 + p-channel Mosfet as low quiescent current interrupt driven supervisor on regular 3.7v LiPo. The Attiny/Mosfet powers up Espressif based ESP-Now, LoRa or LoRaWAN MCU's via LDO depending on the application. The Esprdssif chip triggers it's shutdown and Attiny's deep sleep. Looking at Attiny + software serial for LoRaWAN frame count for fast ABP transmits. Your thoughts?
Sounds like a good solution for deep sleep. And the ATTiny for sure does not need a lot of current. I would like to compare this concept with the Low power unit of an ESP32.
Andreas Spiess For sure, me too. The large LiPo with no parasitic regulator on the Attiny is the lure. All Espressif chips currently need LiFeS04 or a regulator I believe.
The 24K you calculate are the temperature RISE due to the power dissipated, not the final temperature. Your regulator would be 24K higher then ambient. How else would it give off the 1 W ?
another exzellent presentation. I really love watching you as you really make things easy. Can you also post the types or AliExpress links of the regulators you measured. Will make live easier if I need one to order
Excellent video as always! What if saving money is not the primary goal? Instead if we wanted to focus first on efficiency and then on a smooth output with low noise? How can we find such?
As mentioned, it depends on the input voltage. For a Lipo and 3.3 volts, I probably would go with an LDO. Switchers are always the second choice for me because of ripple and noise. I only use them if I need.
Maybe connecting a switching regulator with a voltage slightly higher than the output to an LDO? This would be quite efficient since the LDO only has to drop a few millivolts and smooth because of the LDO's noise rejection. And for a LiPo, the best would be a buck-boost converter since, with an LDO or buck converter, the voltage must be higher than 3.3 V for the MCU to operate properly. Better use 2 smaller cells in series and a buck converter. And probably some EMI shielding (a piece of aluminium foil should do).
Hi Andreas, nicely done video. I believe I saw a USB isolation board at 18:02 (bottom right of the video). I am assuming you use it for data logging to a computer or laptop. I want to use it for the same purpose in order to use a USB oscilloscope with my PC. Can you share your experience about it? Or, perhaps you can make a video on using this isolator with a USB scope?
Request for research: two load scenarios (a) 3.3v micro/arduino and (b) 5v micro/arduino... Power source: Battery operated using 2x18650 either in series with a buck converter or in parallel with a boost converter.. My guess is on the serial/buck being the best option
your meter-link does only point to the ali-express login. Would it be please possible, to tell, what a meter it is, you wanted to link to, so that we could search it for ourselfes?
Mr. Andreas Ams1117 outputs 1Amp for my esp07 module the issue is its rest if powered on for long time. could you recommend me a better alternate of Lm1117 as I power it from 5v USB.
Hi Andreas, please make a extra video of the power meters. Allready, i have all the parts ordered and even your case is allready printed. But i don´t know how to connect everything... :(
I am not sure if I will do that because they are quite big and usually, we do not need the currents they provide for our small devices.
6 лет назад
Thanks for the video. I love those small switcher modules, but have never verified the efficiency and do not have the instruments to measure the ripple. If I understand correctly, one could put and LDO after the switcher to smooth out the output. Could you tests this setup? Say and HT7333 following the switcher module set at 3.5v?
ERROR CORRECTION: Low Quiescent Regulator is HT7333, not HT7111. Sorry.
Prison time for such blatant mistake ! Oh wait you are not a surgeon :D
Another small omission creeped in at 9:51. It should be 24C over ambient temperature. So 25C ambient + 24C regulator ~50C total.
Hi 7133 with 24v input voltage and 2.5 microamps Quiescent is better than 7333
Unfortunately, the HT7133 will not work with most icrocontrollers as it supports only 30 mA
The Maximum output current for HT7333 is 250mA. As the ESP32 has spikes of current that varies from 300 mA to 400 mA, I think that one good alternative to this is the LT1763-3.3. The quiescent current of LT1763-3.3 is a bit bigger (30uA) but it can delivery current up to 500 mA.
What do you think, Andreas?
Wow! What a comprehensive coverage of regulator selection and application. I’ve been in the electronics business for 35 years and never have I seen so much valuable content in 22 minutes!
Thank you for your nice words!
Thank you for a comprehensive overview of the major differences of these regulator types. Every time I watch your videos I realise how much more I need to learn :-D Keep up the great work Andreas.
You are welcome. I hope this is encouraging ;-)
Danke für deine tollen und gut verständlichen Videos. Hab schon sehr viel von dir gelernt!
Vielen Dank für deinen Support!
While a bit crude, you can usually find better quality switching regulators on old PCBs. I've had better results than the cheap modules I've bought before. Things like old wifi routers usually use one or more step down supply circuits that are designed well and they don't interfere with the radio circuit on board.
I've also found a few Buck-Boost SEPIC converters on old wireless keyboards and mice. When I'm salvaging these circuits I usually check them beforehand to see the output and the basic topology. Then I mark an outline to cut and use metal shears type scissors to quickly make my own modules from the original PCB. I think that's a bit crude for a Pro EE like Mr Spiess, but for the beginner or hobbyist it's a handy way to learn about different circuits and do some real world recycling ;)
-Jake
I am also a maker and do not build things to sell ;-) I like your idea.
Clear and concise, very Swiss! Thanks Andreas.....
You are welcome!
Finally found the video after 30 min searching. Yesterday I watched this without being logged in and it did not show in the history, but forgot the author's name. I enjoyed the video - informative and entertaining at the same time. Thank you!
You are welcome. Glad you found it.
Thanks for another excellent video. I am a retired Mechanical engineer so my exposure to electronics, up till now, has been limited. Your videos are well done and I feel that I am learning lot from them.
Good to read. I had to learn some "mechanical" stuff when I bought my CNC mill. Was not easy...
Excellent video again. I got a little muddled up at the end when you were summarizing the quiescent currents and the devices. For my head there were too many numbers to keep track of. A table would have been superb. No matter, this was super helpful for me and I really appreciate your efforts. I recently did a project using a MCP1703A. It has a very low quiescent current of 5uA.
You are right. A table would have been a good idea. Maybe next time...
Thank you Andreas! You are making the world and the people better every day
Thank you!
Thank you Andreas, recently I was graphing heat dissipation by Buck converter powering from 12v Battery to Raspberry Pi. And at right time you uploaded the video. Now I have understood many important factors for selecting the regulator.
Thank you for your feedback!
Really great video to refreshes my half-learned, half-forgotten knowledge from my electronics course 10 years ago :D
Glad you liked it!
Super useful tutorial both in the telling & in the interesting & useful comments discussions as I am currently struggling with creating a low voltage & low quiescent currents along with noise suppression for a project. Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome!
It's amazing how much you can cover in 20 minutes. Good work.
Thank you!
Hey Andreas, you just got this video mentioned on Hackaday. Good job and hope your channel continues to grow. May the Swiss accent keep on going!
Thank you for the info. I did not know.
I tought physics for a while and you are definitely my reference. thanks so much.
You are welcome!
Enjoying your channel a lot and thankful your English accent is heaps better than my Swiss mate who has lived in Australia for nearly 30 years..... :)
Thank you!
I am amazed at how informative these videos are. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you like them!
Thank you so much! You are one of the most valuable persons who can change people's value.
Thank you for your nice words!
Another great instalment and even better Building on your previous posts. You have to listen out for the new information and then the light bulb clicks on😋.
Clear concise = Andreas Spiess
Thank you very much!
One of the best videos you've ever done. Very detailed!
Thank you!
Thanks for this video. I thought my wireless doorbell fried when I changed batteries to step down regulator and transformer but was the noise which blocked the signal! Now it works with a regulator ic. Thanks!
You are welcome!
Learned a lot from this video. The Swiss Government should hire you to be their online RUclips Electrical Engineering teacher. Are you a former EE instructor ? Your presentations are very good.
No, I am not an electronics instructor. But I did some courses at Universities in other topics
Another great one.... I’m learning tons on the Channel! Thanks
You are welcome
Important! learned a lot. Thanks.
By the way, at 5:00, I felt that you treat your components like some life forms. And I agree totally, every component deserves it's/his/her right to life:)
You are welcome!
I'm very impressed by all of your videos. Outstanding informative, very didactical and very well structured. Answers to a lot of questions I had or never had, but should have had :-) Very inspiring. Please keep on going like this. I became a patreon of yours.
Thank you for your nice words and for your support!
Very well explained, Andreas. This is one of my favorite videos to start learning microcontrollers!
Thank you!
Very nice videos sir...from the philippines here...🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
Thank you!
Danke vielmal, Andreas!
Gerne mehr von solchen "basics" Videos.
Viele Grüsse in die Schweiz!
Bitte, gern geschehen. Mal sehen, was sich dazu noch eignet. Ich möchte nicht etwas machen was es schon in Duzendware gibt ;-)
Thank you for your posts. I enjoy just listening to them at my bench or desk. Keep them coming!
You are welcome!
Thanks for another great informative video Andreas. I favour the MCP1702 series LDO linear regs, especially for deep sleep battery operations. Key feature is the 2uA quiescent current. The 3.3V version has a drop out voltage of 525mV which isn't too bad.
Thanks for your feedback.
Hello Andreas, thank you for this very informative video! This is truly a subject that interests all makers. A little more information on buck/boost converters would have completed the topic. I personally like to use them to make projects that can take a range of input voltages. Thanks for all the time you invest to help us all move forward and I'm always looking forward to viewing you latest video on Sunday's. 😀
You are welcome. I already abused my 15 minutes rule ;-) Maybe in a later video.
Fantastic video Andreas. Maybe your best yet. If felt like the longer format allowed you to be much more through.
Clearly you put a lot of time into creating this one (even more than usual). Thank you.
You are right concerning time ;-). You are welcome.
Hi Andreas, My project use 3 AAA battery, so I need a regulator to power the Microchip PIC at 3.3v. Quiescent current is mandatory for extend battery life. Micro most of the time is in sleep mode and it consume less than 1uA. I used the Microchip MCP1810 LDO. It has only 20nA!!! Another plus is that when input voltage is less than 'drop out voltage' input is shorted to output (LDO is excluded); so I can use battery down to 3v or less.
Thank you Andreas! I'm issuing a Winter Topic Slide Warning: For projects that are 'mostly mains powered', I frequently use microcontrollers together with an added 18650 LiPo battery as an uninterruptible power supply. The use case I'm describing is not very different from a solar power use case.
I found that a combination of a charge controller module, a buck-boost module, and a pair of diodes works well enough for this, but it is not efficient, it is fairly expensive, and it doesn't seem to maintain the battery very well.
Now, I imagine this to be a very common use case, but either there are no such power management chips, or I am incompetent at searching vendors' parts catalogs. In all your searches for efficient parts, have you or one of your brilliant fans come across an efficient solution to A) power a microcontroller, B) maintain a correct charge on a 1S-3S LiPo pack, and C) efficiently manage the power transfer between the external supply to the LiPo and back?
I still have this use case on my list for solar. Maybe it will become one day a video...
...because I can not watch them die in front of my eyes ... instant like, kind sir!
Thank you!
Very nice. Deep sleep miniatures, I can see a use for those, wake on demand, wake on request, wake and upload, wake and broadcast, wake and receive.
Great Video; the housings you made for your instrument displays, were exceptional. Not only are they easy handy, they look great, nice tools. I could actually see being able to combine them like legos, and serve a function. That would actually be kind of cool. One of your blocks could be a power supply, snap on an op amp, or any of so many nice little circuits found out there. Pop on a strob. a VU meter, a light detector, a mic module with a pre amp. Some of the modules could be lights, speakers, both combined. every module with some sort of indicator or read out, Of course they are kits, you have to build yourself. Finished they are tools for testing. bread board circuits inside, easy change and test similar components.
Just Tripping out on your electronics, which deserves recognition for ingenuity. imagination. practical application. clean math with clean parts, and a clean work area with all the testing equipement.
That would be a great job, designing testing equipment, that gave the user the feel of real power, flipping switches, fine tuning, mode selecting analyzing power. signal generating, analyzing zoom in, out red light flashing power. I want to build .
Fun hobbie. I created an under sea world with green and blue LEDs that happened by accident, I saw a concept, and now it's an environment.
Maybe you start to build your own system with such boxes? I made a video on how to design them quite easy...
@@AndreasSpiess Nice. The guys at the electronics store where I get a lot of my supplies sell the printers, they have one set up, and I always have to see what they are up to. I would sure like to have one.
Spectacular as always! Looking forward to the box design and print video.
Thank you!
Beautifully illustrated.
Many thanks!
Thankyou so much for your time and eplaining so clearly these topics.
You are welcome!
There is another very simple solution, a shunt regulator, such as the TL431. It is "like" a super Zener diode (in reverse) and in PARALLEL (not in serial) with the "load". It can be adjusted to fit any voltage from 2.5V to 36V (without exceeding the voltage of the source, it is not a booster), with ZERO drop out voltage and requiring just 1 mA to work (in parallel with the amperage delivered to the load) (You can "typically" have it to work for a current as low as 400uA, but it is preferable to have 1 mA to be "sure"). So the power dissipation, for your example, can be as low as 0.001A * 10V = 0.01W. The TL431 may be delivered in a TO-92 case (looking like a discrete BJT), and you only need to add one, two or sometimes three resistances to make the required circuit (plus connectors). Its cost is really low (0.06$CAN at Amazon). Its SPICE model is available with the free version of TINA (distributed by Texas Instrument) (Just be careful, BEWARE, TINA does not use the standard TO-92 numbers for the pins, mis-wiring the TL431 is a huge possibility, consult the spec sheet and wire accordingly, not intuitively). If it is becoming warm to the touch, you probably have miss-wired it. The major problem, in the actual case, is that even without "load", 1mA is a large "quiescent" amperage. So we would have to disconnect the circuit, somehow.
Thank you for the info. For small currents a good idea. The TL431 has to "eat" the whole current if no load is attached. And the resistors have to be small enough to provide the voltage at max current.
excellent video, as always. big thumbs up from your neighbour in Austria.
Thank you!
This is great for constant current applications. Would love a video series for data channel conversions and necessary side effects. Been having issues driving LED strips and either dropping 5v to 3.3v data channels or vice versa.
If you are talking about level conversion between 3.3 and 5v: There are many small boards available which do exactly that. From 5 to 3.3v only you can use a voltage divider.
Pledged. Excellent channel helping my MFA computational art at Goldsmith s London!
Thank you for your support!
Another view of the inductor and capacitor in the switching circuit is as a low pass filter "smoothing out" the AC you are making into DC by turning the switch off and on (vs the energy tank explanation :) )
I agree.
You should consider output voltage ripple in quiescent mode. As the controller usuallys switches from discontinious current mode to pulse skipping when there is nearly no load. This may result in significant higher ripple on output, which may not fit your requirements anymore or even can trigger a brown out detector of a micro controller. Allways remember to measure ripple voltage as close to output caps as possible! Even the ground wire of the probe can become an antenna at these frequencies...
This was more an overview video. So I had to stay at the surface. Anyway, I recommend for the ESP projects relatively big capacitors which might help in this case.
Very nice! Clear and concise.
:-)
Thanks for making these videos, they are very interesting and thanks for sharing your knowledge. :)
This video reminded me the Electronic course in my University. Very insteresting!
Thanks!
Hi Andreas, great work as always!
Could you name the tiny BOOST converter PCB module with BC035 making on it that you used at the end of the video .. which BOOST converter IC does it use?
What about the M8-03 BUCK converter module you showed on ALiExpress? Which IC does it use?
Informative AND humorous! Thank you.
You are welcome!
My fave buck regulator it's the TSR2433, I like the single package so and three pins so less chance for me shorting it out on something!
Nice product!
Awesome video Andreas! Really learnt a lot! Thank you!
Happy to hear that!
Great intro to powering projects.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing 😀👍
You are so simple in your examples, I like that 👍
You are welcome. I always try to create understandable videos. Thank you for confirming that I got it right!
wie immer ein exzellentes Video.. weiter so und vielen Dank für deine großartige Arbeit.
Bitte, gern geschehen
Another excellent video. Thanks Andreas.
You are welcome!
Nice tutorial. I did a review of the efficiencies of a buck boost and a LM7805 recently. The buck boost did not perform as expected. I did another video troubleshooting it. Turns out the boost chip was getting hot even when it should have been in buck mode. After removing the boost I got the efficiency the manufacturer promised but the output voltage dropped. Not sure why though.
Thankfully Dave set up a decent forum. While I did not get the direct answer from the responses it got me thinking along the correct lines.
Because of such things I made my next video on finding errors. Maybe you find there some procedures you used to find the issues ;-)
That would be very interesting. The solution I found is not the best.
I will not solve your problem, just show how errors can be found in general ;-)
I know. You may not be able to replicate my problem. Its the troubleshooting steps that I may not have thought of that are important.
Also I am moving locations in 2 weeks so I will not have the said board or any electronic equipment. Regardless it would still be interesting to get the perspective on how to solve problems.
Great video. You probably knew I was going to say this ;-)
Btw, you have a Prusa MK3 ! Omg, I'm realy getting jealous now. I'm already saving for this.
Yes, I have the new Prusa. My old one had intermittent problems and I read a lot of good stuff about Prusa. When I got on his page, he just released the new model. This timing enabled me to be one of the first who ordered one. Not cheap, but I am so used to 3D print...
Hi, Andreas. During 17:58 while you were talking about measuring current, I see your probe is actually measuring voltage?
Great, informative video! As usual for your channel!
Thank you!
Thanks a lot for this lesson and measuring the spectrum of the DC/DC converters. So These tiny switchers are not compatible with the cheap radar devices. But a 7805 helps out.
A very interesting topic ist the stability of the regulators. The LDO & low quiescent current seems to be more sensitive to ESR of capacitive loads ; the old 78xx and the AMS1117 seem to be more robust in that aspect.
I think, Regulators have many aspects. I just got a mail fromTI with their selection. Overwhelming. Obviously different applications need different LDOs...
BTW: Radars are higher. Maybe they would survive it from an RF point of view...
Btw: These tiny DC/DC converters are compatible with ESP8266 and ESP32 although their EMC behaviour.
In some applications I am using them in a small metal can. These cans were reused and they originally the contained a kind of medicine ("Ipalat"). Hope this also helps a bit against EMC ;-)
Yes TI has a lot of brillant regulators and I know them from my business.
Sometimes you can get some of them in reused products of automotive industry on ali or eBay. But up to now I could not find readymade modules using modern TI regulators on our typical sources. Maybe you TI contact Person can help?
I tried to use These tiny DC/DC converters with the Radar motion sensors and the HB100 as well. It did not work properly. On Petes blog you can find some filters proposed (tech.scargill.net/microwave-for-the-weekend/). Maybe it helps, using a 7805 was faster and simpler for me.
You will find a link to the discussions about radar sensors and ESP8266 in my new video. It is very interesting...
New Video? #183 or #184 we all are waiting for?
Hi, I am searching for a regulator circuit ic for lowering the voltage from 27 to 24 volta at 15 amperes. I am not able to find any which supports more than 8 amperes. Example LM2576 ic supports max 3 amperes, i need one which can use 15 amps. Please suggest.
Andreas!
In my quest to build an Adafruit Huzzah 32 set-up for some sensors reporting via WiFi/MQTT every 10th minute (ie.. more often than yours :)), and being solar powered so it can run for ever, I have followed and learnt much from many of your videos. Revisiting this one, i can happily report that i am ALMOST there. I only want to use one battery, so it goes on the MPPT solar charger. I then connect the load from it to a buck-booster and power the Huzzah via 5 V USB. It is weirdly enough the only way i got it to work (to many components!). Problem: i must now turn off the booster via its Enabled pin (as youre talking about @ 18:50), but how can i then switch it on from a completely un-powered Huzzah? I ask you this: if i put a big capacitor on the USB of the Huzzah (which is in deep-sleep, time wake up), will that enable me to enable the buck-booster just long enough to switch itself on, and thusly power the Huzzah? Is this safe? Do i need a resistor somewhere to limit current?
And thanks for your videos again. Wonderful!
/Axel
I would make sure the Huzzah is never unpowered. This should be possible in your design if you have enough power. You could measure the battery voltage for example.
Andreas, another excellent presentation. It would be useful if you could do one specifically on low voltage (
whitefields5595 You can check Texas Instruments TPS63020 device. This one is a buck boost for single cell lipo batteries and has quiescent current of about 30uA. Pretty much the best i found so far as buck boost converter. I am waiting for the chineese guys to make some designs and selling them on aliexpress... Well, I can provide ready design files, if some one needs...
STPCmt, thanks so much for this. I will ask my local supplier to get some in for evaluation
whitefields5595 if you do, please check, that PS/Sync pin of the chip is connected to ground, or the quiescent current will be more likly in mA... I made this error in my first design, by just copy their sample design, where it is connected to VinA, resulting in continous current mode... I use it in combination with Linear LTC4067 as charger... I like this combo, but it is kind of expensive, compared to the chineese stuff.
You are very kind, thank you. I will let you know how I get on. I've used the 18650 on my bike to make a computer and am now developing a power meter based on strain gauges on the pedal crank. I've got LED strip brake lights driven by a boost converter , RTC and a OLED display. I'm pleased I can power all this from the 18650 but have to be careful as the voltage drops, hence my post.
I would be interested in the design file...
Sali Andreas, love your Swiss accent! I also have not been able to get rid of mine. As long as you call the meat on the plate not like the timber no worries. But the FBI is like ei so is the quiescent current. English is not regulated like German. Downunder we drive on tyres while in the US they use tires. There are tongue breakers. California has Yosemite and in the land of Koalas we eat Vegemite, both same ending but different pronunciation. Acronym abuse gets one confused so in our ham radio club ce hand each other upper sideband siticks!
“Reading data sheet is useful and it’s depends on your personality” 😂👍 TRUE
:-)
RTFM
13:58 Does anyone know why they use an R as decimal point for inductors? You would think using an L for inductors and leave the R for resistors only would be less confusing.
15:11 Usually you can't trust the specification given by the AliExpress seller. This particular converter happen to have a manufacturer's web page with some useful information. The input range is given as 4.5-24V and the quiescent current as 0.85mA. www.qskjpower.com/ProductDetail/709788.html
I wondered that myself, but never really found an answer to it. My guess: it's a remainder from the old days where they used stamps to print the value on (nowadays it's mostly inkjets) and they already had the "R" from making resistors. Also an "R" is much less likely to be misread for anything on a bad print. An "L" could easily be misread for a "1" if part of the print is obscured by dirt or didn't take at the time of printing at all. Or maybe it was the chinese starting it, who can't tell the difference between an "R" and and "L" ;) .
It is not really confusing, because the shape is usually quite clear and you have values that wouldn't have any letter in them anyway.
Thank you Andreas for your clear explanations!
You are welcome!
Mounting four resistors in series is not 4 x 5 watts it is the same as your 10 volt drop but 10/4 across each, 2.5volt x 0.5amp or 1.25watts
I said they are rated at 20 watts, not that they got 20 watts. As you point out, they still only had to dissipate the 5 watts.
for the meter you and the STL File for the box I would love to see where to get the power switch and plugs for the cable so they fit into the holes.
Maybe I create an instructable...
Would be awesome
What about employing one or more smoothing caps across the output to deal with the ripple from the switching converter as you would in a mains supply PSU?
I love your sense of humour too Andreas, it's a huge bonus to your videos.
Caps are usually good;-)
Very good video. Personally i try avoiding variable converters because i have had problems with bad trimpots that throws the voltage out of the set value. I stick to fixed regulators.
I agree.
Is there a way to filter out the high-frequency ripple created by the switching converters? Maybe decoupling or smoothing capacitors of various values?
These power supplies already have capacitors and usually also inductors built-in. You always can increase their size. But for really "quiet" power supplies most people use analog designs.
Holy mother of God. Your oscilloscope is worth £11,000!!!!! You must be loaded from all your videos. Sugar. I'm stunned!!!
Maybe you ask yourself the question: "Who could be interested in having their Oscilloscope shown in every video". RUclips is my hobby and I can assure you that you do not get rich with it.
Great video! I wish I would have watched it before I made the experience that my 1A regulator overheated already with 0.2A. There are two issues for which I would like to see more info (maybe you have it already in another video). Which capacitors (size and type) should be used with the regulators? Which temperature is acceptable i.e. in a small case? I know the datasheets have some information about both these points but I am sure you have additional practical advice. Thanks
We also use the data sheets for our work. Not a lot to add.
To avoid that the ESP does unwanted resets I add a 1000uF capacitor. Maybe you watch my deep sleep video if you are interested.
@@AndreasSpiess Thanks for your fast reply. I had a problem with an Arduino Mega 2560 Pro Mini with USB power supply. It stopped working after a few seconds. I added a 470uF capacitor and all worked fine. I was surprised that the USB port from my expensive ASUS Motherboard was not "good enough". I watched already your deep sleep video. Interesting!
it's been 5 years now and I think we'd love an update on voltage regulators :)
Maybe...
What is the start up current for ESP32 module ?
What is the max current for ESP32 module? Some say it can go upto 1.2A. Is that correct ?
HT7333 max current is only 250mA and hence it cannot be used for ESP32 module. Right ?
Which buck booster module /IC would you recommend for esp32 module ?
Maybe you watch my video about ESP8266 deep sleep. There you find all answers. They are very similar to the ESP32
Dear Andreas could you please be so kind and post links for ordering the same switch button and the banana sockets you used for your DIY box for the AliExpress meter? How did you wire the meter? Have you added a dedicated battery for powering the meter itself? Or is that what the 2nd pair of plugs is for?
Any schematics maybe? Thank you very much!
You should find the details in this video: ruclips.net/video/8gmzQuk9OwA/видео.html
@@AndreasSpiess Indeed! :-D Thank you! That video is more than I was hoping for! Awesome!
Andreas. Do you have a video on the wiring of those little meters? What is the green banajack wired to - and what is it's purpose? Thanks !!
I plan to do an instructable.
can I use two LDO's in parallel to increase maximum current? HT7333's low quiescent voltage is great, but outputs only 250mA... I want to be on the safe side with at least 500-600mA
No. But you can use its bigger sister (HT7833)
Buck-boost and SEPIC are not the same thing.
There are 4 different topologies used as combined step-up and step down:
1. Buck-boost en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck%E2%80%93boost_converter
2. SEPIC en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-ended_primary-inductor_converter
3. ZETA (inverse SEPIC) www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/zeta-that-other-dc-dc-topology-2016-05/
4. Ćuk en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%86uk_converter
Thanks for the clarification!
If you were reducing from say 12v to 3.3v, but needed a smooth supply, would there be any benefit to taking the voltage down to 5v with a converter with a decent smoothing cap, and then using a linear regulator to take it down to 3.3v to give a smooth output without as much power loss?
In very rare situations this might help.
Hi Andreas. I did not understand the part of the antenna and the switching regulator, if, for example, I want to powerup a sensor node that uses an esp8266 or esp32 I should avoid using a regulator? because I want to run this node with a battery.
Thanks a lot for the information.
You need a voltage regulator if your battery power is higher than 3.6 volts.
@@AndreasSpiess well, avoid using a switching regulator i mean?
Hi Andreas, what a coincident this video came up today. I have through the last couple of days researched on this topic. Im currently working on a WiFi AP(using an ESP8266) project to be driven by solar-cells. My plan is to have the 8266 running about 4-8 hours a day and deepsleep the rest. If the sun here in California is enough, I may increase on time to 8-10. I have all ready watched through some of your videos over the last year in regards of the solar-cells that has been really helpful. My plan is to use some 6v solar-cells charging a 1S lipo pac(around 5-10Ah). So, my question that I have not really seen an answer on is what the most efficient way to drive the ESP8266 from 3.8-4.2volt down to 3.3. is it to step it up to like 5 and then down to 3.3 using switching converters or is it better to go straight to 3.3 from the lipo with a LDO regulator?
I just ordered some MCP1700-3302E that has less then .2V dropout voltage, but after this video I'm not sure that this is the best option. I'm hoping for your (or anyone else ) input on this.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge through this great channel.
Regards, Emil, CA, USA
For a small voltage difference, linear LDOs are perfect. So you are on the right way with your order.
Thanks for your feedback Andreas.
Pulled up my chair to this one.👌🏿
Was necessary, I think. Became a little longer than planned...
For the buck converter, couldn't you use a capacitor to smooth out the ripples it outputs to make the power cleaner?
A capacitor might help. But usually, it is not easy to get this ripple away...
High frequency not only come from wires.
Yes, but a big enough capacitor would be pretty big. What about connecting a switching regulator with a voltage slightly higher than the output to an LDO? This would be quite efficient since the LDO only has to drop a few millivolts and smooth because of the LDO's noise rejection.
Do you have a video on the Best step down converter for our 3.3 mcus? There are so many options and hard to select which would be best.
I do not have something like that. You just have to set your goals and then compare specifications.
@@AndreasSpiess I wanted to test however won't make sense to buy the Otti for my small tests. If you run by something that you would recommend for testing and does not cost $600 please share.
The datasheets should be enough for a comparison.
Super tutorial again thanks.
I am currently testing low power applications using €1 Attiny85 + p-channel Mosfet as low quiescent current interrupt driven supervisor on regular 3.7v LiPo. The Attiny/Mosfet powers up Espressif based ESP-Now, LoRa or LoRaWAN MCU's via LDO depending on the application. The Esprdssif chip triggers it's shutdown and Attiny's deep sleep. Looking at Attiny + software serial for LoRaWAN frame count for fast ABP transmits.
Your thoughts?
Sounds like a good solution for deep sleep. And the ATTiny for sure does not need a lot of current. I would like to compare this concept with the Low power unit of an ESP32.
Andreas Spiess For sure, me too. The large LiPo with no parasitic regulator on the Attiny is the lure. All Espressif chips currently need LiFeS04 or a regulator I believe.
I see...
The 24K you calculate are the temperature RISE due to the power dissipated, not the final temperature.
Your regulator would be 24K higher then ambient. How else would it give off the 1 W ?
You are right. I think I mentioned this fact in the video
another exzellent presentation. I really love watching you as you really make things easy. Can you also post the types or AliExpress links of the regulators you measured. Will make live easier if I need one to order
I think I placed the links of the two switches. the others can be found by entering the part number.
Excellent video as always! What if saving money is not the primary goal? Instead if we wanted to focus first on efficiency and then on a smooth output with low noise? How can we find such?
As mentioned, it depends on the input voltage. For a Lipo and 3.3 volts, I probably would go with an LDO. Switchers are always the second choice for me because of ripple and noise. I only use them if I need.
Maybe connecting a switching regulator with a voltage slightly higher than the output to an LDO? This would be quite efficient since the LDO only has to drop a few millivolts and smooth because of the LDO's noise rejection. And for a LiPo, the best would be a buck-boost converter since, with an LDO or buck converter, the voltage must be higher than 3.3 V for the MCU to operate properly. Better use 2 smaller cells in series and a buck converter. And probably some EMI shielding (a piece of aluminium foil should do).
Hi Andreas, nicely done video. I believe I saw a USB isolation board at 18:02 (bottom right of the video). I am assuming you use it for data logging to a computer or laptop. I want to use it for the same purpose in order to use a USB oscilloscope with my PC. Can you share your experience about it? Or, perhaps you can make a video on using this isolator with a USB scope?
I think I already covered it in one of my videos. But I do no more remember in which one. Using this with a USB oscilloscope is a good idea.
Request for research: two load scenarios (a) 3.3v micro/arduino and (b) 5v micro/arduino... Power source: Battery operated using 2x18650 either in series with a buck converter or in parallel with a boost converter.. My guess is on the serial/buck being the best option
I still have a plan to finish my solar video. But it will most probably be for 3.3 volts.
It was only an idea for a video... Not a demand...
your meter-link does only point to the ali-express login. Would it be please possible, to tell, what a meter it is, you wanted to link to, so that we could search it for ourselfes?
Here it lists all meters. Maybe this direct link works for you? s.click.aliexpress.com/e/cNaZdMAy
Mr. Andreas Ams1117 outputs 1Amp for my esp07 module the issue is its rest if powered on for long time. could you recommend me a better alternate of Lm1117 as I power it from 5v USB.
Maybe you watch my ESP8266 low-power videos. You need to attach a capacitor.
Hi Andreas, please make a extra video of the power meters. Allready, i have all the parts ordered and even your case is allready printed. But i don´t know how to connect everything... :(
You should have gotten the wiring with your meters. But I still plan to do an instructable...
Hi Andreas
Thanks for video. I was wondering if you compare between step down buck converter characteristics such as xl4015 and lm2596.
Thanks
I am not sure if I will do that because they are quite big and usually, we do not need the currents they provide for our small devices.
Thanks for the video. I love those small switcher modules, but have never verified the efficiency and do not have the instruments to measure the ripple.
If I understand correctly, one could put and LDO after the switcher to smooth out the output. Could you tests this setup? Say and HT7333 following the switcher module set at 3.5v?
Sometimes this concept is used. But this is a niche. I will use it if a project requires such a design
Sir, I want to build AC dimming circuit for smart home project. Can you share some tips 🙂. Really enjoy your videos.
So far I have no plans for such a video :-(
@@AndreasSpiess Ok :`) . Take love from Bangladesh