Hi again all,
OK luckily I have been able to stop production of the PCB's without penalty, so I think Nigel's suggestion of a switching regulator is best as all my worries about heat will go away, however this brings two issues for me, PCB design for a switching regulator due to increased components and component values, also noise.
So any suggestions on the simplest "switching regulator" you know, when I say simple I mean as simple a LDO / Linear regulator 1 main component and a couple of caps would be fantastic. and what if any issues do you think I will have with noise?
[EDIT] I looked at the AMS1117 you pointed out Nigel, this looked ideal but then I spotted its max 15v input I need max 30v input or am I mising something? [END EDIT]
Thanks everyone so far and meanwhile I will go hunting for a switching reg.
Steve
P.S. I am still thinking of a 5v switching regulator into a 3.3v regulator, so please tell me if this is a good / OK./ bad idea.