Got a quick question - how sensitive is the 12v inverter (http://www.adafruit.com/products/448#Description) to a little higher voltage?
I plan to use a length of el wire to light the speedometer in my 1970 VW Beetle, but its voltmeter shows the engine's generator sends ~14v, maybe 14.5v while on the highway.
Should I use a voltage regulator or will it be fine? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062600 ?
I'm pretty happy with the way it works at the moment and I'd hate to shorten its life
Repainted the outer trim so I'm waiting for that to dry before I put it back together, but here's what it looks like
Cheers.
EL Wire power question
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- adafruit_support_mike
- Posts: 67485
- Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:51 pm
Re: EL Wire power question
I've never cracked one of those inverters open to see what it has inside, but it's always good to err on the side of caution.
The 7812 voltage regulator is extremely common, but it has a minor weakness of requiring at least 2v of headroom to work.. the voltage on its input side needs to be at least 14v.
You'd probably have better luck with a "low dropout" regulator like this one: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Fai ... zxyopxw%3d
The 7812 voltage regulator is extremely common, but it has a minor weakness of requiring at least 2v of headroom to work.. the voltage on its input side needs to be at least 14v.
You'd probably have better luck with a "low dropout" regulator like this one: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Fai ... zxyopxw%3d
- somewhereinusa
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:42 am
Re: EL Wire power question
Does this look like how this should be wired in?
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- adafruit_support_mike
- Posts: 67485
- Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:51 pm
Re: EL Wire power question
I'm sorry, I didn't notice there was no link to a datasheet on that page.
This should tell you everything you need to know: https://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/KA/KA278R05C.pdf
There's a "typical application circuit" at the bottom of page 13.
This should tell you everything you need to know: https://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/KA/KA278R05C.pdf
There's a "typical application circuit" at the bottom of page 13.
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.