I am wanting to use a 6v blinking bulb and power it from an 18v transformer. Will this type voltage regulator work? It is supposed to reduce the voltage to 6v, but I’m not sure if it will work for AC.
Thank you!
no, its input must be DC. So just use a wall wart that outputs DC.
but consider that for every Watt of power dissipated by the bulbs at 6V, the regulator which needs to drop the 18V input by 12V needs to dissipate 2 Watts.
you would be better off using a switched regulator that can be adjusted to the desired output voltage (6V)
I got one of these for $7.00 US on ebay. As Greg mentioned, I used an old wall wart for power. This is nice because the digital readout allows you to easily adjust.
Use a transformer to reduce AC voltage, then rectify (and filter) to DC if you want. I assume you mean a Christmas-light bulb run from the auxiliary terminals on a power pack.
Voltage-to-voltage conversion generally assumes “DC” input for DC output. See ‘buck’ and ‘boost’ converters. Good ones rectify the AC to filtered DC if necessary, then ‘chop’ the resulting current, and then filter to get smooth lower-voltage DC output without the sort of high-temperature resistors you’d need to drop voltage the old-fashioned way.
I found a 6V transformer in my stash. It seems to do the job. The bulb is actually a 6V blinking flashlight battery. It seems that 3V and 6V blinking bulbs are the only ones available.
Thank all of you for your replies!
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