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Brians256 · 08-02-2006, 11:21 AM

You can use a resistor if the load is constant. If not, you could use several diodes in series and use the almost constant voltage drop "feature". Start from 12V and drop 0.7V (a typical value) per diode to get to the desired value. Size the diodes to the current being used and use the real voltage drop for those diodes.

Diodes are really meant to control the direction of current flow, but you can use them to drop the voltage. Diodes are made with a bandgap (google it) and any time you cross a bandgap, you get a voltage drop that is mostly independent of the current flow.

08-02-2006, 11:21 AM	#2
Brians256 Pro/Staff Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Klamath Falls, OR Posts: 1,439	Re: 9.5 Volts from PSU? You can use a resistor if the load is constant. If not, you could use several diodes in series and use the almost constant voltage drop "feature". Start from 12V and drop 0.7V (a typical value) per diode to get to the desired value. Size the diodes to the current being used and use the real voltage drop for those diodes. Diodes are really meant to control the direction of current flow, but you can use them to drop the voltage. Diodes are made with a bandgap (google it) and any time you cross a bandgap, you get a voltage drop that is mostly independent of the current flow.