The Recom units are a work of Art. They require no heatsink, run cold all the way up to their maximum rated current and happilly handle all kinds of rubbish pumped into them as an excuse for input DC Supply.

They have TWO dissadvantages... (1) They require a minimum load current otherwise they can go into spurious oscillation. A PIC on it's own isn't enough load... I've had to put a 330R Resistor across the 5v Rail just to draw sufficient idle current for them to be stable. (2) The price... I hate the price... even buying, 100, 500 or 1000 pieces at a time, they're just way too expensive.

If you need something better than a 78L05 but don't like the inefficiency of the standard junk 7805, why not try a 78M05 with a small clip-on Heatsink. Not as efficient as the Recom - but you can have twenty of those for the price of one Recom!