i am using 7805 regulator for getting 5v voltage...in its datasheet it says that we have to connect a capacitor between Vi and ground pin and another capacitor between Vo and ground pin...why are these capacitors required and can the regulator without these capacitors??

 

Yes it will regulate without the use of these caps, but not recommended. The Vi/Vo caps are used for filtering out RF signals and help your regulator have a cleaner output. Otherwise you could get spruious signals coming in, that won't get filtered and cause your 5V rail to be noisy. This could cause problems depending on what you are powering.

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The capacitor improves the transient response.

When you connect and disconnect a large load - when the load is connected there's a voltage troff and then the load is disconnected there's a voltage spike. Adding a capacitor in parallel with improve the situation as it will provide power during thr troff and absorb the spike.

The input capacitor isn't required if the regulator is close (<150mm) to the battery or rectifier smoothing capacitor.

http://www.electro-tech-online.com/a...converter.html

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The input capacitor is recommended if the regulator is more than a couple of inches away from the filter in the DC power source. This capacitor helps get rid of noise "riding" on the DC input.

The output capacitor helps minimize transients and high frequency noise on the output from the regulator.

In non-critical applications, you can do without them. Also, the values are not very critical. 100 nF (0.1 F) in and out will be fine in most cases.

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i have to convert 12v from a dc adaptor ..is it recommended to use capacitors??

 

Always use them. As the guys have said, they are used for filtering. Regulators can also be prone to oscillation if any noise is induced as well. Usually you only need to filter the output but it is good design practice to use both. I like about a 4.7uf cap on the output. .1uf should be sufficient on Vin.

 

Yes, use both input and output capacitors.

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What kind of current are you drawing from the 7805? Anything more than about 175mA @ 12V, is going to start producing a lot of heat!

Jim

 

I recommend using 10-100uF capacitors on the input and the same on the output. It is a good practice to use a .1uf cap in parallel on both input and output. Electrolytics do not filter out high RF frequencies very well do to their design. The .1uf caps (i.e. ceramic or mica) do a much better job at higher frequencies. So use both.

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Not only they filter RF, but also take care that the regulator won't oscillate.

You can fry any LM78XX type without any load connected just by oscillations.

It is always good practice to use four 47nF capacitors across each pin of a bridge rectifier.

The 100nF capacitors should be as close as possible connected to the regulator IC.

Check the screenshots for details.

Boncuk

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I've seen that before but I've never bothered using them.

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They are an advantage in an environment where machines are running, such industrial areas, reducing spikes and RF riding on the AC to a great extend.

Using pin spaces of double the pin space of the rectifier AC in and DC out can be straight lines on the PCB layout.

Hans

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I'm still not convinced.

The mains transformer will have a huge core loss at RF frequencies, therefore it should provide adequate suppression and a single 100nF ceramic capacitor on the output of the rectifier should remove any remaining RF.

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Mains transformers will pass RF b/c of interwinding capacitance, so I think Boncuk is right. True isolation transformers take extra precautions to prevent this.

 

Small capacitors across rectifiers can reduce RF interference caused by diode switching. I see it mostly in receivers.