On Paper: Voltage Regulation (Bring the Voltage Down to the Circuit's Operating Voltage)

A voltage regulator takes a higher voltage and provides a set voltage that the regulator is designed to output. There are a few types of regulators: switching regulators, high dropout regulators and low dropout regulators. Regulators have an input and an output. The input is the raw voltage that you provide through battery, wall adapter, power supply, transformer (with rectification and smoothing with capacitors). The output is the voltage that the regulator is designed to provide. Dropout is the amount of voltage the regulator needs to keep the rated output voltage. Examples of common voltage regulators: 7805 - provides 5 volts and is a high dropout Max603 - 5v output Max604 - 3.3v output