There must be hundreds of thousands of these little switched mode regulator modules in China just waiting to be posted to us for just £1 and 3 pence! It's a simple but very well made implementation of the LM2596 application circuit taken straight from the data sheet.
By Julian
Youtuber, shed dweller, solar charge controller aficionado
You should test it with load !!
Only voltage is meaningless
any idea how to upscale this to take something like 10amps??
Same at $0.74 free P&P from HK. Fantastic!
I'm working on a car project. I have a 1997 Isuzu trooper. They have a G-sensor on the frame near the back axle that always breaks. They aren't available anymore and the purpose was limited in the first place. Today it serves only to keep my CHECK ENGINE light on. So with nearly no background, I've been working at faking out my car's computer. The sensor is powered with a 5-volt reference from the ECM. The ECM is happy when the returning signal voltage is between 1.5 – 2.5 volts. and changes no more than .0002 volts each tenth of a second (changing faster than physically possible). I first thought myself clever when I learned how to reduce voltage with resistors. Unfortunately, the 5v reference drifts from 5.08 to 5.17. So I thought the drift was putting my resistors out of the voltage range. I purchased a buck converter based on the LM2596S, They keep the voltage a lot more stable but it still moves, apparently faster than .0002 volts within 1/10 of a second. I think it's OK for the voltage to move around a bit. It just can't move fast. So what's my next move? A better buck converter? Capacitors?
Thanks for taking the time to teach us. You and others like you are a valuable resource.
Why did you press the inductor with a pencil? I bought two and no one works, I've been testing with a batery 12V 9 A, could you show why doesn't work?
Is it useful for solar or dc loads?
I got 3 of these for £1.97, including P+P :). I notice the chip is rated for a 150Khz switching speed, but the seller says 65Khz… After testing with a scope, they were 52Khz.. However, (with no load) after 13v+ input the switching rate became extremely erratic. I've yet to test them in a real application. The bulk ripple is 3mV PP, with outliers at a max of 40mV PP..
We can use this thing for a charger of 18650?
I paid £5 for 12 of these delivered!
When the voltage increase, does the current or ampere will increase as well?
Hi Julian, I have a 54 volts 2.1 amp charger that needs to be bucked down to 42 volts and those 42 volts can have a current as high as 5 amps. Can you please recommend me a good quality small DC to DC buck converter that will work for my application?! Thanks and great video!
found one on ebay for 0.67 euro incl 9-19 day shipping to the netherlands wich is reasonably fast
If I give this thing 4.5v can I step it up to 5 or 5.5v for a raspberry pi?