Your power supply problems just got SOLVED! This little circuit board may look tiny but inside is a high efficiency DC/DC step-down converter which can output up to 3 Amp at 5V without the need of any heat-sink or forced cooling. (It does get a bit toasty at 3A though) UBEC stands for "universal battery eliminator circuit" and this UBEC is designed to replace a 5V supply in RC planes and 'copters but its also great for any kind of microcontroller or electronics project that runs off of 5V. Adafruit tried a half dozen different 'BECs and found this one to be the best in terms of range and stability. You can check the technical tab for the analysis of input/output range and current draw.
To use, connect 6V up to 16V (recommended) to the IN-side wires and 5V will be generated on the OUT-side wires. You'll get 5V (+-5%) regulated output from higher voltage input. 3A output current, 5A peak - if you're trying to draw 3A you'll need to give it a little more than 6V though, 7V works well. The UBEC has built in filter capacitors on the input and output, but its a switching supply so its a little noisy compared to a linear regulator.
Adafruit pulled the heatshrink off of one and found an MP2307 you can check the datasheet for conversion efficiency and other specifications.
UBEC DC/DC Step-Down (Buck) Converter - 5V @ 3A output (0:40)
Technical Details
Adafruit pulled the heatshrink off of one and found an MP2307 you can check the datasheet for conversion efficiency and other specifications. The input capacitor might be rated for 16V max.
Here are some numbers Adafruit found when attaching various loads to the UBEC:
Iout | Vin | Iin | Vout |
0.5A | 6V | 0.47A | 4.9V |
0.5A | 7V | 0.39A | 5.2V |
0.5A | 9V | 0.35A | 5.2V |
0.5A | 12V | 0.28A | 5.25V |
Iout | Vin | Iin | Vout |
1A | 6V | 0.9A | 4.8V |
1A | 7V | 0.79A | 5.2V |
1A | 9V | 0.67A | 5.1V |
1A | 12V | 0.52A | 5.2V |
Iout | Vin | Iin | Vout |
2A | 6V | 1.85A | 4.9V |
2A | 7V | 1.67A | 5.1V |
2A | 9V | 1.28A | 5.0V |
2A | 12V | 0.97A | 4.9V |
Iout | Vin | Iin | Vout |
3A | 7V | 2.6A | 5.0V |
3A | 9V | 1.88A | 4.7V |
3A | 12V | 1.43A | 4.8V |
This product is listed in:
Documentation and Resources:
- The Maker Revolution
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- How to Use DC Regulators/Converters
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So, you might have the best project in the world, an amazing idea and design, but no matter how clever your circuitry or how advanced your prototype is, unless you can power your project correctly, it all counts for nothing. Often you will need diffe...
- Powering Portable Projects: Batteries
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Want to make your project portable? We've put together a quick guide to get you up to speed on battery options and help you decide which batteries might be best for your project. Batteries are a whole different game to plug packs and benchtop power s...
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Tags: alkaline batteries battery lipo nicad nimh portable power supply
- Our recommendation on Breadboard Power Supplies
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So, you’re looking for the right way to power your breadboard? You’ve found that your Arduino Uno just doesn’t quite have the juice to power up your circuit. It's likely that the microcontroller can output around 400mA when using th...
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Tags: 3.3v 5v breadboard power supply
Customer Reviews
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Review by Alex
verified purchaser
Rating Works perfectly, used it in a DIY dashcam battery backup system in my car, no issues with it. (Posted on 16/11/2018)
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Review by Paul
verified purchaser
Rating Simple to wire up and does what it says. (Posted on 26/04/2018)
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Review by robert
verified purchaser
Rating Excellent service - have bought a number of items off Core Electronics - prompt and responsive to queries about the products themselves. Highly recommended. (Posted on 26/03/2018)
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