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I am on the hunt to power an ESP8266 and a relay from 12V while keeping the PCB as small as possible.

I am trying to avoid having to SMD the parts and have been advised against the LM7805 route as there is circa 350mA maximum current.

I have come across this and wondered if it's just marketing or if it would work.

Part available online

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    \$\begingroup\$ 3-pin buck regulator modules like that have been around at least 10-15 years already. They're not snake oil - as long as you buy from a reputable manufacturer or even a reputable electronic component distributor (by which I mean Digikey, Mouser, Newark, etc, and not Alibaba, ebay or Amazon). \$\endgroup\$
    – brhans
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 12:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ Obviously only buy from well-known manufacturers and keep well within their specification. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lundin
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 15:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ I use these all the time. Easy to use and does the job you need. Usually a little more expensive than rolling your own converter, but cuts out a fair bit of work and my use case isn't price-sensitive. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 15:46

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It's a switching regulator. Yes, it can be that small and do what it says.

Whether it's a good one that meets all the specifications is a different question. The company that sells it doesn't even bother with a real datasheet so the thing is of questionable quality.

There are other manufacturers that make similar modules - and they do provide datasheets. MEAN WELL makes the N7805, which is very much like the module you found - except it costs more and comes from a well known company.

There are plenty of other manufacturers. Search around and find a module with datasheet from a reputable supplier.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ its looking like im going a different route and powering the relay from 12v and ill use an 7805L to power the esp via an LDO \$\endgroup\$
    – robbrown92
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 14:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ @robbrown92 These kind of pre-made modules are far more sensible to use than 7805 though. If designing your own step-down isn't an option, then these give reasonable "bang for the buck" (har har), since they will be pre-qualified and one wouldn't expect any EMC issues originating from them. Though 7805 can double down as heating element for outdoor applications... \$\endgroup\$
    – Lundin
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 15:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ I've done some digging and found a part from Morson a K7805 looks like it will be an ideal solution to the problem \$\endgroup\$
    – robbrown92
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 12:09

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