This kit is very easy to use. First you should make sure your kit is all assembled, check the assembly instructions and solder it up!
Please note, there is a silkscreen typo on this version of the board: For the terminal block input, + and - are reversed. The input is polarity protected so if you connect ground to - and positive input to + nothing will turn on. Please swap the wires to use it!

Right hand 'input'

There are two "outputs" on the board. The right hand side is the 'high' voltage side. This is the power coming straight from the DC jack or terminal block. There is a diode to prevent negative voltages but pretty much its going to be within 200mV of the input.
For example, this photo is me testing the output of the right hand side with a 12VDC regulated power adapter attached. The voltage is within 200mV of 12V. The green LED indicates that there is power on the right hand side.

Left hand 'output'

The left hand side is the 'regulated' voltage side. This is the power that is running through the voltage regulator. This voltage is adjustable

If you select 3.3v on the voltage selection switch you will be able to measure that output voltage. The red indicator LED will be somewhat dim

Then you can also select 5V to generate a regulated 5V supply.
Finally, by selecting Adj. you can adjust the supply to anything you want from as low as ~1.3V to within half a volt of the input (which can be as high as 20V).
Once you set the pot, the output voltage is not dependent on the input voltage. That is, if you dial in 6V and you switch from a 9V to 12V supply, the output will stay at 6V.

Heatsinking!

If your supply keeps cutting out and is very hot, it needs a heatsink! You can just slip it on.

This guide was first published on Mar 06, 2013. It was last updated on Mar 06, 2013.

This page (How to Use) was last updated on Mar 05, 2013.

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