Voltage regulation circuit 12V to 5V in 5A range

[Ioannis]

By "if its really 90mA per display then a 1000uF might help a little" seemed to me that you meant 1000uF per display.

In any case though, the 1084 or even the humble 7805, do not have any problem with large capacitance.

I bet a reverse biased diode, across output/input pin, would be needed to protect the regulator, in case the Reg. input is grounded for whatever reason while the outuput cap is still charged.

Ioannis

[Demon]

...
I bet a reverse biased diode, across output/input pin, would be needed to protect the regulator, in case the Reg. input is grounded for whatever reason while the outuput cap is still charged.

Ioannis

Yup, I saw that in the datasheet.

Haven't done any of the suggestions for the LCDs yet. I'm doing voltage regulator heat tests for now; looking for the best heatsink setup.


This is how I'm running the LM1084-ADJ now:




Black is from the datasheet, red is my adjustments.

[richard]

Haven't done any of the suggestions for the LCDs yet. I'm doing voltage regulator heat tests for now; looking for the best heatsink setup.

if you solve the backlight issue then you will most likely find the wall warts simple smps are not the problem and the regs and heatsinks are unnecessary

[Ioannis]

The LCD datasheets note that the backlight is 5v at 90mA, isn't it?

So I understand that no current liminting resistor is necessary, as it is included on the LCD board.

Ioannis

[richard]

So I understand that no current liminting resistor is necessary, as it is included on the LCD board

you may be correct but that does not explain why the backlights cause so much noise.
it would be a 2 minute job to apply 5v to the backlight and measure the current .[i would used a cc regulated ps just in case]
i have never come across an lcd of that type with anything onboard to limit led current.

[Ioannis]

i have never come across an lcd of that type with anything onboard to limit led current.

Well, there are not many but they exist. I use them all the time to avoid external resistors.

If the datasheet marks it as 5V then the LCD includes the limiting resistor. Otherwise they note 4 or 4.2 volts at specific current and specific resistor for 5V supply.

Ioannis

[Demon]

I've put on hold debugging/testing LCDs, ADC and whatnot until I get a handle on power regulation.

Thanks to Ioannis, the datasheet for the TPS voltage regulators led me to TI's WEBBENCH; that tool is just remarkable for the newb like me. I've spent the last 2 days playing with various ICs, checking their availability on JLCPCB and such.

The 2 best features has to be that Alternate and Simulate features; you can chose equivalent parts that are no available at JLCPCB, and see exactly what the output ripple will look like.

I've narrowed down my choice to a TPS56637. I can run 5V @ 5A using 7V to 12V at 11.4mV Vout Peak-Peak; it can do more, but the output ripple degrades as you push it.

This is awesome because it gives me a wider range of power supply adapters. I was initially fixated on running on 9V to limit heat from conventional voltage regulators.

The datasheet even gives a very detailed PCB layout:



Thanks mucho Ioannis!