So for my light following robot I need a constant 5v that i can deliver to the motors and the arduino can't provide that without overheating the regulator :\
My solution is a seperate little PCB with a voltage regulator and a heatsink that can take a 9volt battery and make 5v out the other end for the motors, anyone have any good schematics of doing this? I'll design the PCB myself no problem I just need some advice on what value to use especially when I'll be powering 2 motors at once.
edit
Since I will be using a 9 volt battery will i still need the capacitors? What values should they be and I will be using 3 capacitors unless that's too much.
Check out 78B05 switcher from RECOM readily available from various sources. Use just like a 7805. Same pin outs. 1 amp max out. No heatsink needed.
Been using these for some time. Really make your power supply problems go away!
Other voltages are available.
I wouldn't expect that using a 7805 with a standard 9V battery (maybe a lithium would be ok?) would last very long; the 7805 being such a inefficient regulator, coupled with the low mAH rating of a 9V battery - you'll really chew through a lot of batteries in that manner...
vs e-bay Hong Kong and 2-week to 1-month (!) delivery times.
Ah - missed that, my apologies!
The 7805 is really only for when you have a current source big enough for it that the inefficiency doesn't matter as much (ie, mains transformer or large battery); a switching regulator is a better option if it will fit in your budget otherwise. Still, using a standard 9V battery for anything other than light loads, regardless of regulation, doesn't seem like the best idea to me.
