Dear all,
I have a project (one taking me away from the little line follower for a while, but I will be back ) where I'm designing a system that will be running on a sailing boat. Some sensors, data logging and maybe a display later if the first part of the project proves successful.
Because of the sensors, I would like to run the system on 5V. 3.3V is possible, but it seems 3.3V would be the lower possible margin for some sensors and maybe it is not such a good idea. The power will come from a 12V car like battery some 10m away from the picaxe+sensors. I think it makes sense to send 12V down to sensor location and convert there for lower power line losses. The circuit would require 20mA at most, but designing for at least 100mA would be a good idea (and maybe even more if it does not cost anything) for future functions like the aforementioned display. While the environment is 'harsh', it does not have the automotive problem of starting the engine or even running it - the boat has electric propulsion running from electrically isolated battery bank. So the power source in question is running some LED lights, VHF, charging phones onboard and the like. Relatively clean power.
It would not be me, if I would not be trying to design something small, so size matters . With that said, the design of enclosures and some mechanics is still totally up to me, so strange form factors of purpose built modules could be acceptable, for an example. SMD is preferred over TH.
I have browsed various solutions for a while now and I really feel puzzled. It is not like there are no solutions out there - it is rather the other way around. Farnell returns roughly 28.000 parts for voltage regulator. I can narrow it down to a few hundred, of course, but that is still a lot to choose from.
Maybe there are proven parts/designs out there that have already worked well for some folks?
Thank you for your time,
Edmunds
I have a project (one taking me away from the little line follower for a while, but I will be back ) where I'm designing a system that will be running on a sailing boat. Some sensors, data logging and maybe a display later if the first part of the project proves successful.
Because of the sensors, I would like to run the system on 5V. 3.3V is possible, but it seems 3.3V would be the lower possible margin for some sensors and maybe it is not such a good idea. The power will come from a 12V car like battery some 10m away from the picaxe+sensors. I think it makes sense to send 12V down to sensor location and convert there for lower power line losses. The circuit would require 20mA at most, but designing for at least 100mA would be a good idea (and maybe even more if it does not cost anything) for future functions like the aforementioned display. While the environment is 'harsh', it does not have the automotive problem of starting the engine or even running it - the boat has electric propulsion running from electrically isolated battery bank. So the power source in question is running some LED lights, VHF, charging phones onboard and the like. Relatively clean power.
It would not be me, if I would not be trying to design something small, so size matters . With that said, the design of enclosures and some mechanics is still totally up to me, so strange form factors of purpose built modules could be acceptable, for an example. SMD is preferred over TH.
I have browsed various solutions for a while now and I really feel puzzled. It is not like there are no solutions out there - it is rather the other way around. Farnell returns roughly 28.000 parts for voltage regulator. I can narrow it down to a few hundred, of course, but that is still a lot to choose from.
Maybe there are proven parts/designs out there that have already worked well for some folks?
Thank you for your time,
Edmunds