The items shown above are part of a 5.8GHz video transmitter (#5) setup offered by Range Video. All items are sold as individual items and like a big dummy I forgot to get Santa Clause order their powersupply (#4) when she placed her order for the transmitter.
So the luck of the Irish kicks in and Mr. Murphy ordered their last Filtered Linear Power Supply and there's no telling when they will be back in stock. So I'm on the hunt for another suitable power supply that will output the required 3.3v to run the transmitter and camera. I've poked around and found that a lot of the setups used by fellow DIYDrones members have built in voltage regulators and are just attached to a lipo (typically 7.2v).
I have a few other projects in mind beyond the video transmitter for my Raven so getting a good lead on a good ps would be very nice to have.
I did manage to find several power supplies that may work but I'd like to know what more experienced tinkerers think.
#1
Breadboard Power Supply 5V/3.3V by Sparkfun
This one is intended to use a walwart in the recommended 7-9v range. It outputs a selectable 5v or 3.3v but forgive the newb-ness, I'm not sure if I HAVE to use a walwart. Wouldn't a 2 or 3 cell lipo do the DC trick just fine?
#2
DC-DC 12V to Dual output 5V / 3.3V LED Power module
This E-Bay special is pretty cheap and has free shipping. It seems like it would do the job just fine and would not need to be converted to not being a plug in for a breadboard. But would a LED power module work for the above mentioned video transmitter? Voltage is spot on to what I need but I'm unsure of the LED part of the description...
#3
You tell Me... If all these finds are junk and you use something else, please let me know. Also if you have a design I could build that would work too.
Comments
@ Renato - I have wondered about that, but also considered that I might need to supply power to other items at a higher voltage. I'd like the ability to split the power source for multiple items with possibly different voltage requirements. Per your comment though, seems like I can do some testing w/the 1 cell lipo.
@ Owen - So you use a bat, on pin is connected to the pos input, another is connected to pos output and the ground is common? Could you post a small diagram or pic so I'm sure to understand this trick? Dont want to burn anything up...
I have used these switching dc-dc converters for numerous projects. They are a little more expensive than linear regulators (like the ones in your post), but they take a very wide input voltage range (5-36V) and have a high current capacity (~1A) without generating any heat and they are considerably more efficient (98% vs about 75%). They come in various output configurations (the linked one is 3.3V as per your post), I have used the 5V variety connected directly to a 4 cell lipo (~15V) and never had any problems!
Obviously they don't come on breakout boards, but I tend to solder wires directly to the legs then cover the whole thing in hot glue to stop it fatiguing.
I use this module for over one year simply connected directly to 1 lipo cell. Yes, directly !
No sensible overheating, even no heatsink or airflow.
Used in house for tests for many minutes without cooling.
The power is sensible bigger when fully charged, I estimate it at 300mW based on consumed current difference vs 3.6V
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