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www.RomanBlack.com
The2transistorBlackregulator
Verycheaphighperformanceswitchmode+5vregulator
RomanBlackAug2006(origNov2001andSept2002)

Whatisit?
Thisisa2transistorcircuitthatcanbeusedtoreplacea+5vregulatorora+12vregulatoretc.
Itcanprovide12vto5vconversion,24vto12vconversion(orothervoltages).Itisaswitchmoderegulatorwhichmeansthat
itisveryefficientatconvertingthevoltages,andwillusealotlessinputcurrenttoprovidethesameoutputcurrent.In
manyportableapplicationsitcanbeamuchbetterchoicethana7805+5vregulatornormallyusedbyhobbyists.

Howitworks
The2transistorBlackregulatorevolvedovera12monthperiodfromanoriginal2transistorsmpscircuitdesignedby
RichardOttosen.
IdidthemainredesigninSeptember2002,withthegoalofreducingpartscounttoanabsoluteminimuminnumberand
pricing,whilealsoattemptingtogetswitchingefficiencyandregulationasgoodasmanysmpschips.Theresultswerequite
good.

ThisisthemainswitchingwaveformwiththeBlackregulatorrunningat93.1%efficiency.Theverticalswitchingtimesare
sofastthecroneededtohaveitsbrightnessturnedrightup.
Thecircuitisa2transistorBUCKoscillatorthatoscillatesaroundthepropertiesoftheinductorL1.Smpsbuck
circuitsstoreswitchingenergyinthemagneticfieldoftheinductor.
Itisveryefficientforthesereasons
Veryfastswitchingtimes
VerylowsaturationvoltageonthemainswitchQ1
Almostallthecurrentusedbythecircuitgoestotheoutputinonewayoranother

Capacitorsprovidea"timedoffperiod"inamonostablefashion,similartosmpschips

Cycleofoperation

The4phasesofthecyclecanbeseeninthewavformabove
(VoltagewaveformatpointZ(Zenervoltage)1div=1v)
TheflatpartatthetopistheONphase(zener=5.6v)
Thesharpdropfrom5.6vto3vistheTURNOFFphase
TherampistheOFF(timedmonostabledelay)phase
ThetinynippleatthetopistheshortTURNONphase

AdvantagesoftheBlackregulator
Partscostisverylow,2cheaptransistorsinsteadofasmpschip
Veryhighefficiency(equaltoorbetterthanmanysmpschips)
Goodregulation
Commongrounddesign(3pinregulator,canreplacea7805)
Worksgreatwithawideinductorrange(ieanycheapsurplusinductor)
Wideflatpowerband(areaofmaxefficiency)
Takeshighinputvoltages(higherthana7805andmostsmpschips)
Goodimmunitytonoiseoninputoroutput
Allpartsarecommon(nohardtogetchips)

PretestedBlackregulatorcircuits
Eachofthesefollowingcircuitshasbeenpretestedandoptimised.Allincludecircuit,partslist,partscosts,photo,test
results,charts.Partscostsareatlowvolumeprices.
+5voutputBlackregulatorLowCost
+5voutputBlackregulatorGoodRegulation
+5voutputBlackregulatorGoodAllRound
+12voutputBlackregulatorHighEfficiency
+12voutputBlackregulatorHighEfficiency+CurrentLimited
Alsomy+5vto+12vstepupconverterHERE

NEW!!!SMPShighefficiencydriversforhighpowerwhiteLEDs
NEW!!!UsingasinglePICasaSMPS

NEW!!!12Dec2011A3transistorNEGATIVEvoltagegenerator
Highvoltageuse
IhavehadsomeinquiriesreusingtheBlackregulatorforhighvoltages,ie40vuptomaybe120vorso.Highvoltage
inputisoneareawherethiscircuitcanreallybeatthededicatedsmpschips(or78xxregulatorchips)asthesechipsrarely
acceptinputvoltagesover30vor40v.
IfyouwanttousetheBlackregulatorforhighvoltagecircuitsIsuggestthefollowing:
MakesureVceofQ1andQ2israted50%higherthaninputvoltage
UseadarlingtonforQ1,soyoucanuseahighvalueresistorforR2tokeepR2dissipationlow
D1mustbeVrratedat50%higherthaninputvoltage,aschottkyprobablywon'tdo.Trya1N4937600v1Afastswitching
diode
IncreaseRZresistance
ReduceC1andC2asRZwasincreased
AresistorinserieswithC2maybeneeded
RetuningoftheC1:C2ratiowillbeneeded,useamuchsmallerC2
R2andRZmayneedtobe0.5wor1wtypescheckheat
Useafuseoncircuitinput!

SimpleDummyLoad
Thisisasimpledummyloadthatgivesalmostconstantcurrentperformance.Ittookaboutaminutetosoldertogether
andmadeanexcellentadjustabledummyloadfortestingthecircuitsuptoabout300mA.Usea4.7ohm5wresistorifyou
needaloadupto700mA,Ijustsoldereda10ohmresistoracrosstheotherresistortogivebothranges.AnybigNPN
transistorshouldwork.

Variableconstantcurrentdummyload;
(requires+5vregulatedsupplyalso).

Black
regulator
Output,
|
|
+5v,|
||
||NPN
500ohmRCTIP3055
potR<B10A80v
RE
||
||
|Rload8.2ohms5w
||(or4.7ohms5w)
||
Gnd**

end
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