Valefod 6 Pack LM2596 DC to DC High Efficiency Voltage Regulator 3.0-40V to 1.5-35V Buck Converter DIY Power Supply Step Down Module

I built a Max97220 headphone amplifier/line driver/preamplifier and to prevent it ever being destroyed by overpowering the 5 volts DC limit, I used this power supply regulator. I blew up the first one with reverse polarity so I added two 1N4004 diodes to the front to prevent reverse polarity destruction. The diodes drop a few millivolts but better safe than sorry. Works like a charm. The resistor in the photo was just a dummy load for test and setup but I ended up leaving a 10k ohm resistor in parallel with the MAX97220 supply VCC to maintain an idle current of 0.5mA on the 2596 board. It also has an LED in series with a 1k ohm resistor drawing another 3mA. The 1N4004s turned the LM2596/Max97220 combination into a radio receiver so I connected the audio ground on the negative terminal of the LM2596 PCB and it ran 100% perfect and silent. Great little board!

Perfect item for my project...fast delivery

So far, so good. I bought a six pack of these voltage regulators. The first one I hooked up I messed up and reversed the input voltage. This immediately smoked the regulator; so beware that there is no reverse voltage protection on the input. This was completely my mistake, and not an issue with the product. I hooked the second voltage regulator up to my test setup, and it worked great. I used a 32VDC power supply salvaged from an old HP printer as the input supply. I tested the output with a high power 2kohm resistor. I was able to adjust the output voltage to a steady 12.00 volts according to my digital multimeter. The input voltage remained approximately the same as before I connected the output load. Then I switched the load to a small DC motor with a gear train attached. The voltage output remained very stable at +/- 0.01 volts from the 12.00 volts I had set with the resister test. Overall I'd say these are inexpensive and very nice little voltage regulators, and a good value for the money. I intend to add a little voltage meter and build a little benchtop power supply with this one.

The 10 units arrived inside of a box, sealed individually inside anti-electrostatic packaging. I hooked up each individual buck regulator and it's a 10/10 for me as far as getting working units goes. The potentiometer needs a solid 5 or 6 turns counter-clockwise for the voltage to come down, but I got all of them down to 5v from a 12v source. Did some quick load-testing by connecting power resistors to see if the voltage would drop, it did not. Unfortunately I don't have a scope handy so I can't comment on the output noise. I think as a simple power supply for home crafts and DIY projects these will suffice just fine. Build quality is perfectly reasonable, if anything I wish the through-holes were a bit bigger as well as the soldering pads, but it's still workable if one doesn't try to connect a 14G wire.

These work great and I'll probably buy more eventually for other DIY projects