Mud Duck Aviation Forums

 Help ! I need to find a way to convert 12 volts dc, from a motor bike battery to 8 volts dc for my camera down link receiver. I can't seem to find what I want on the Radio Shack web site. Do they make something already for RC airplanes, maybe in the electric power parts?
                   Thanks for the help !     Mike

Hi Mike,

  I don't know if you will find anything in the R/C hobby that will regulate to 8VDC as 8VDC is not a common operating voltage for any electric items.  I don't think it will be impossible to find something, but I will need to do a few searches before I can come up with some ideas.

  The circuitry is actually quite simple to build your own regulator from off-the-shelf-parts from Radio Shack if all else fails, but lets see if we can find something plug-n-play for you first.  I'll update the thread when I come up with something.

Greg

Thanks for the help Greg.
               Mike

Here is a simple solution that dawned on me just after looking for links:  Can you purchase a car adapter for the camera?  If you can, all you need to do is either use the circuitry encased in it, or if you want as little electronic exposure as possible you can buy a 12VDC (cigarette adapter) recepticle from Radio Shack and connect that directly to the battery.

If you already though of this you may need to break out the soldering iron and make it yourself as below.

If you are up for a Do It Yourself (DIY) project you can make one with this semiconductor and the following links to guide you a bit. Here is what I came up with after doing a few searches:

The PDF for the 8VDC semiconductor (regulator):
http://www.tranzistoare.ro/datasheets/37/54063_DS.pdf


Order individually from Digi-Key: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=LM7808CT-ND

top photo shows voltage regulator board for a similar use but little details: http://www.w6mtr.org/1-Watt_TX/TXA5-RCb-ATV.htm

Battery forum thread with some suggestions:
http://209.59.141.76/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2526&highlight=

How to make a powersupply (voltage step-down) 12v to 5v example: 
http://www.tinyted.net/eddie/ppb/PspPowerBrick.html


Just some food for thought, I'll post more if I come up with anything
Greg