Voltage Regulator?

[havand]

I'm looking for a voltage regulator that will take something like 10-15 volts and regulate it to 13-14V. I've been looking through IC chips, but I'm not too sure what i've been looking at. It seems most things boost or buck, but not both. It also seems confusing about how to configure the output. I have not had much luck finding an 'off the shelf' solution either.


Basically, i'm trying to find a solution to condition power for a charger. Another route would be to find a totally different charger that would accept a range (10-15) and charge a 3 cell pack. If anyone has seen either of these things or knows about how to physically make a voltage regulator and what chips I need, PLEASE help me out.

 

[TMorita]

http://www.dimensionengineering.com

Lots of easy voltage regulators.

Toshi

 

[havand]

Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately, I didn't find quite what I needed there. I've had a hard time finding a buck / boost regulator that can handle the current I need, in a small enough package.

 

[zelda]

Most 12V RC Charger accept 10 - 15 Volts in the 50 to 80$ range
They have a own boost regulator who accepts only batterys as power source.
Most Powersupply (AC to DC) have too much voltage spikes to power up such a charger, PC power supplys included!)

zelda

 

[Illum]

well what current value are you looking for?

 

[JamesWong]

Yes, it is difficult to find bulk-boost switching regulator. Because bulk-boost circuit needs 2 switching elements.

If we don't need input and output having the same ground reference (no external connection is required between input and output), you can config a switching regulation into "negative output" mode. In this mode, the input voltage can be lower or higher than output (absolute value). This configuration should be provided in the datasheet of most switching regulators.

 

[havand]

Good info guys. I was looking for an input of something like 10-15 and a current output of up to 1.5A with an adjustable constant voltage regulator that I can set to ~ 13.5V.

 

[Wok]

Havand,

If size isn't a problem, check out the generic car laptop chargers. The one I have has switchable outputs from 14>24V, 3A5. I have tested its input down to 10V5 [flat car battery]....cheap too

eng hoe

 

[altis]

It sounds like you are float charging a lead acid battery. If you are, then you might consider something like one of these:

http://www.mascot.no/pdf/2544.pdf