Understanding the Advantages and Disadvantages of Linear Regulators

Despite the popularity of switching DC/DC converters, linear regulators still form a healthy percentage of the business of leading power module chip suppliers such as Maxim, Texas Instruments, Linear Technology, and austriamicrosystems. Modern design techniques and wafer fabrication processes have enabled linear regulators to remain the best choice for a number of applications. This article compares linear and switching regulators and considers which applications could benefit most from the key advantages of the former, including their simplicity, low cost, and ability to provide stable voltages without the ripples inherent to switching converters.

There are two major approaches to dimming LEDs: PWM and analog. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. PWM dimming greatly reduces color changes in the LED with varying brightness levels, because the LED essentially runs at a constant current when it is on and at no current when it is off. However, this advantage comes at the expense of additional logic to create the PWM waveforms.

This is the article that started it all. Get the basics on the DLP-USB1 USB adapter.

Der Funktionsgenerator ist ein vielseitiges und nützliches Gerät, das es ermöglicht, Selbstbau- schaltungen einfach und schnell zu überprüfen. Er sollte deshalb in der "Grundausstattung" eines Amateurlabors nicht fehlen.