EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
General => General Technical Chat => Topic started by: MartyMacGyver on November 20, 2017, 08:20:22 am
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Note: this thread is meant to inspire some discussion on the matter and get recommendations and information.
I'm looking for an adjustable step-down buck converter module for smaller projects. It should have decent efficiency (better than a linear device; switching at a decently high frequency) that can supply up to 3A (edit: or even 2A, as long as it's stable at that current) at anywhere from around 2V to 24 V from an input of up to 30-35 V and is adjusted with one or more multi-turn potentiometers.
I can find them everywhere... however, what I'm gathering is that they are all crap and/or fake:
- The LM2596 modules ubiquitous - and often (always?) centered around a fake LM2596. I've read that they tend to fail in a way that puts full Vin on Vout.
- There are not-so-LDO devices based on the XM1584 - which might be handy if not for the fact they all come with a single-turn potentiometer that's virtually impossible to set to a consistent, desired voltage.
- Then there are modules based on the XLSEMI XL6009 (and now, XL6019) devices... but they are buck-boost and I'm not sure what side-effects they bring to the table.
For all the negative reviews and complaints I've seen here and elsewhere, I'm not finding any such modules that are supposed to be known good/reliable, even if a little more expensive (the BOM cost for genuine parts isn't astronomical).
As there is clearly a big market for cheap and unreliable buck converters, one would expect a market for not-quite-as-cheap-but-solid modules as well. So what's out there that's known good and reliable (when gotten from a reliable vendor) and ready to use?