Reasonable heat output and the raduino regulator

 

 

Bob W4GHV asks how hot the regulator on the Raduino should get.

The Raduino has a 7805 regulator sticking awkwardly out of the side of the Raduino board.  Unsoldering the 7805 regulator and mounting it   on the reverse side of the board (facing inwards) can fix that little awkwardness.

The regulator also has another problem.  It gets hot!  It is fed with 12v DC input from the rig and produces regulated +5V for the Arduino Nano and the 16×2 Display unit.   The display itself draws up to 100mA.  The Nano typically draws around 35-70 mA, but it depends on exactly  what is connected.   The voltage difference between the input and output multiplied by the current is power dissipated in heat in watts (i.e. typically a bit over 1 watt).

The 7805 regulator can feel quite hot to the touch.   However, there is really no danger that it will get overheated at 12 to 13.8v input voltage and typical current draws from the Raduino unit.  Allison KB1GMX says however, “Keep it under 70C (168F) as the device has a thermal shutdown and it lives longer”.

You can share the heat around by installing a resistor between the 12vDC line and the 7805 regulator input. Skip, NC9O, added a 47 ohm resistor in the 12vdc into the regulator by cutting the trace from pin 15&16 on the Raduino. He used a  1/4 watt resistor, but calculations by others suggest a 1/2 watt or 1 watt resistor would be better.

The alternative is to remove the regulator altogether and feed the Raduino from a suitable 12v to 5v buck power supply (obtainable off eBay or Aliexpress for very little outlay) or set the output of the buck power supply to just over 7v if you can’t be bothered removing the 7805.    For those of us thinking about touch screens, this makes quite a bit of sense!

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