5 Volt 5 Amp LM338 Voltage Regulator

Contents hide

In this tutorial, we are going to make a “5 Volt 5 amp Voltage Regulator”.

A voltage regulator is used for two reasons, to regulate or vary the output voltage of the circuit, and to keep the output voltage constant at the desired value despite variations in the supply voltage or the load current. We need dedicated high power voltage regulators for high voltage and high current circuits. Here we designed a 5 Volt 5 amp Voltage Regulator to give regulated output voltage at 5-ampere output current by using IC LM338 5 amp adjustable regulator from Texas Instruments, it is easy to use since it only needs two resistors to set the output voltage.

Moreover, its load and line regulation circuit design make it exceptionally reliable compared to other commercial power supplies. LM338 is a three-terminal positive voltage regulator with the capability of delivering a 5 Amps current over a 1.2 V to 32 V output range. It gives a short-circuit-protected output. This IC provides better thermal overload protection and current limit constant with temperature.

Buy Now

Hardware Components

The following components are required to make a 5V Voltage Regulator Circuit

S.no	Component	Value	Qty
1.	IC	LM338	1
2.	Ceramic Capacitor	0.1µF, 1µF	1,1
3	Resistor	270Ω	1
4.	Variable Resistor	1KΩ	1
5.	Connecting Wires	–	1
6.	Power Supply	9V to 12V	1

LM338 Pinout

For a detailed description of pinout, dimension features, and specifications download the datasheet of LM338

5V Voltage Regulator Circuit

Working Explanation

Let us observe the circuit, LM338 IC is a main part of the circuit, it is available in two different packages and we can choose depending on our circuit design. LM338 has three terminals first pin 1 is an adjustment pin, pin 2 is Output, and pin 3 is Input.

First, you’ll only need two resistors to set a constant output voltage, here the Voltage divider setup is made by these two R1 and R2 resistors, the value of variable resistor R2 decides the output voltage Range from LM338. Now C1 and C2 are Ceramic capacitors and it is here to provide filter function to the input supply and output supply. Use a heat sink over the LM338 for better operation. The circuit provides an adjustable output right from 1.25V to the maximum applied input voltage which shouldn’t be more than 35 volts.