What is the advantage of using a MP1584 compared to a LM2596?
When I look at a breakout board with a MP1584 it looks unfamiliar (no capacitor, no coil)
(1) the MP1584
(2) is that a coil (4,7µH)?
(3) are those capacitors?
I would assume #2 is the coil. If you are curious you can trace-out the connections (an Ohmmeter can help), draw the schematic, and compare to the manufacturer's recommended circuit shown on the datasheet.
The coil will measure a short (or nearly zero Ohms) with an Ohmmeter.
When I look at a breakout board with a MP1584 it looks unfamiliar (no capacitor, no coil)
The black part above the IC that you didn't mark is probably the output capacitor.
The big square part is the inductor. The small black part is the schottky rectifier diode.
The brown parts are ceramic smoothing capacitors (~4.7-10uF?) across DC input and output.
Electrolytic caps are bad at the higher switching frequencies these supplies use (~1Mhz)
The general advantage of these micro supplies is better efficiency at low loads.
Leo..
What exactly is this "switching frequency"?
A switchmode DC/DC converter uses a switch and inductor to convert from one voltage to another.
The switch (mosfet) works on a high frequency, so inductors and capacitors can be small.
First generation- and bigger supplies work on ~100Khz. Small newer ones upto ~2Mhz.
A switching supply is usually more efficient than a common lineair regulator.
e.g. to convert 12volt to 5volt/1A, ~7watt is lost in a lineair regulator, and ~1watt is lost in a switching regulator.
Leo..