DC-DC vs. regulator

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 10:01 pm

which one's more eficient? since my screen is un-modded, i need to save power some other way

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 10:09 pm

DC-DC convertor. You should really mod your screen though, it's not like it looks bad if you do it rightâ€¦

pezman · Post by **pezman** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:54 am

i wont mod anything over 20 bucks. dont mod what your not prepared to lose.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:01 am

the screen was under $20 but i'm not very experienced with modding stuff so i'll wait until the backlight breaks or something to mod it. BTW, are there any 3.3v DC-DC converters?

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:45 pm

Yeah, there is a 7.5v to 3.3v one that I posted somewhere else.

I wrote:Got it, this is the digikey part number for the 3.3v DC-DC convertor we've all been waiting for: 454-1042-ND

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:48 pm

does it need 7.5v or will it work with 8.4v?
EDIT: nevermind, i looked it up myself and it does

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:56 pm

Yeah, it's a good all-around thing. Small, sleek, handles a range of input voltages, only problem is the price, but that just means you should practice soldering on something else first.

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:56 pm

That's really nice. But, are the power savings really worth the extra bulk and the price of it? Regulators are small and only cost about $2.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:10 pm

according to my calculator and if i'm remembering something i heard about DC-DC converters right, the 3.3v line takes 12.6 watts with a regulator and 4.95 watts with DC-DC. that's 1.68 hours with a regulator and 2.7 hours with the DC-DC converter. that's a really big difference (if i calculated it right), it's worth it

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:41 pm

And the DC-DC convertor I posted is almost as small as a 7805, just a centimeter or two longer.

And the power savings are definitely worth it, if I wasn't going to use one in my N64p, the batteries would last about 1:10, with it they last about 2:45. The battery I'm using costs about $20, so 2 of them and a regulator would give me less playtime than a DC-DC convertor, plus the battery is MASSIVELY HUGE. Let's see what we have here: 1 battery + 1 DC-DC convertor is about $45, charges in 5 hours and takes up about 13 cubic inches. 2 batteries + 1 adjustable regulator is about $43, charges in 10 hours and takes up about 24 cubic inches. That's good enough for me!