CREE Design Circuit 12Volt Power Supply Diagram
Recommended USA or Japanese origin discretes. 3 CREE chips
Forum Discussion
Mex,
You do realize that a LM338 is a "linear" regulator?
PER HERE
Linear regulators waste a lot of power in the form of heat, pretty much dissipating the same amount of heat as a plain old resistor.. In some respects using a resistor in series with the LEDs will be more energy efficient than a linear regulator..
LM338 is not a more efficient switching regulator.
That thing will eat your lunch and ask for more, pretty much negating the energy savings of a LED..
Although there are switching regulator chips you can buy, not really recommended for the amateur DIY person since in the wrong hands without proper circuit design you can end up with a very bad RFI transmitter..
There are plenty of variable output switching regulators prebuilt for reasonable prices to bother with building a linear regulator from scratch now days.
You do realize that a LM338 is a "linear" regulator?
PER HERE
Linear regulators waste a lot of power in the form of heat, pretty much dissipating the same amount of heat as a plain old resistor.. In some respects using a resistor in series with the LEDs will be more energy efficient than a linear regulator..
LM338 is not a more efficient switching regulator.
That thing will eat your lunch and ask for more, pretty much negating the energy savings of a LED..
Although there are switching regulator chips you can buy, not really recommended for the amateur DIY person since in the wrong hands without proper circuit design you can end up with a very bad RFI transmitter..
There are plenty of variable output switching regulators prebuilt for reasonable prices to bother with building a linear regulator from scratch now days.
