Better Alternatives to 7805 ?

[Gusse]

LM2936 is much better than 7805 for small current applications

• ultra low quiescent current (Iq <= 15µA for Io = 100µA)
  - e.g in Sleep mode in battery powered devices

• fixed 5.0V with 50mA output
  - 50mA should be enough for PIC, EEPROM and LCD

• needs only 10uF cap for output (stability)

• input voltage up to 40V (HV up to 60V)

Works fine for me.

BR,
-Gusse-

[Normnet]

See MAX666CPA

Not cheap but very simple and power efficient.
For 5 volts no external components required.
No heat sink. No power loss?
Includes low battery detector.

Norm

[Byte_Butcher]

These are rather too much I think for your low current application because the chip alone draws several mA, but I've used the CS5171 with good success. Input voltage is up to 30V. I've used them to get 5 volts at a few hundred mA from a 10v - 15v input source.

http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/CS5171-D.PDF

I don't really have any experience with "small" converters of only a few mA so I can't recommend a "favorite" chip for that...


steve