Simple DC to DC converter circuits:

6V to 12V DC-DC Converter with Transistors

This converter circuit can provide up to 800mA of 12V power from a 6V supply.

6V to 12V DC-DC Converter with IC

This step-up converter is intended for use in a car, has a 6V battery and won't support a
modern radio that needs 12V. The circuit described here converts 6V to 12V at 1A
sustained load current.

A simple step-up converter.

This step-up converter is intended for use in a '67 Citroën 2CV. This car, and I use the
word loosely, has a 6V battery and won't support a modern radio that needs 12V. The
circuit described here converts 6V to 12V at 1A sustained load current.
It works something like this:
When the switch is closed an extra
current flows through the inductance
and stores energy there. The
capacitor supplies the load with
current during this time.
After the switch closes the capacitor
is charged by the energy stored in the
inductance and an extra current starts
flowing through the load, causing the output voltage to rise (energy is supplied directly
from the input source also as long as the diode is forward biased). During this time, the
system behaves like a RLC-circuit, so, after a while, the current decreases. The switch is
then closed again and the cycle repeats. One could say that charge is pumped from input
to output, increasing the output voltage up to the point where there is an equilibrium
between the discharging of the capacitor while the switch is closed and the charging by
the inductor while the switch is open.
The output voltage equals (ton / toff + 1) x Uin and is controlled by PWM of the switching
action. For more information, see the Wikipedia article.
To implement this, I have used the LM2577T-ADJ from National Semiconductor. It
operates conform the given discription and is connected like so:
Switcher/regulator LM2577T-ADJ
(National
Semiconductor)

IC
R1 and R2 Voltage devider for 20Kohms pot.
monitoring output (Bourns)
voltage
Cin Decoupling 0.1μF, 63V MKS
condensator (WIMA)
L Use a good quality 160μH toroïd (2.5A,
coil! 70mohms, nickel-
iron core)
D Current higher than FR603 60V reverse
output current! breakdown, 3A
Schottky-diode
Rc and Cc Pole-zero 2200ohms, 5% and
compensation network 1μF, 63V elco
(Philips)
Cout Get a low ESR type! 2200μF, 16V elco
(Telecon)
You can download the PCB design here (only 4Kb). It's in CorelDraw 3.0 format (zip
compressed).
If you want to design a an other DC/DC converter with different specifications, you
might want to take a look at National Semiconductor's site; they have a design tool there
that can design your circuit for you.

6V to 12V Converter
Home > Circuits > Power Supply > 6V to 12V Converter

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This inverter circuit can provide up to 800mA of 12V power from a 6V supply. For
example, you could run 12V car accessories in a 6V (British?) car. The circuit is simple,
about 75% efficient and quite useful. By changing just a few components, you can also
modify it for different voltages.

Schematic

Parts

Total
Part Description Substitutions
Qty.

R1, R4 2 2.2K 1/4W Resistor

R2, R3 2 4.7K 1/4W Resistor

R5 1 1K 1/4W Resistor
R6 1 1.5K 1/4W Resistor

R7 1 33K 1/4W Resistor

R8 1 10K 1/4W Resistor

C1,C2 2 0.1uF Ceramic Disc Capacitor

C3 1 470uF 25V Electrolytic Capcitor

D1 1 1N914 Diode

D2 1 1N4004 Diode

D3 1 12V 400mW Zener Diode

Q1, Q2,
3 BC547 NPN Transistor
Q4

Q3 1 BD679 NPN Transistor

L1 1 See Notes

Heatsink For Q3, Binding Posts

MISC 1
(For Input/Output), Wire, Board

Notes
1. L1 is a custom inductor wound with about 80 turns of 0.5mm magnet
wire around a toroidal core with a 40mm outside diameter.
2. Different values of D3 can be used to get different output voltages
from about 0.6V to around 30V. Note that at higher voltages the circuit
might not perform as well and may not produce as much current. You
may also need to use a larger C3 for higher voltages and/or higher
currents.
3. You can use a larger value for C3 to provide better filtering.
4. The circuit will require about 2A from the 6V supply to provide the full
800mA at 12V.

Related Circuits
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Coil/High Voltage Generator, 12VDC To 120VAC Inverter, LASER Power
Supply, Power Supply, High Current Power Supply, Dual Polarity Power
Supply, High Voltage High Current Power Supply, Transformerless Power
Supply, Fixed Voltage Power Supply, Voltage Inverter, Voltage Inverter II,
 Automatic Load Sensing Power Switch, 12V To 24V DC-DC Converter, Solid
State Tesla Coil

Comments
Add A Comment

william 6V to 12V Converter Friday, June 25, 2010 10:40:32 PM

Hello everyone I wanted to know if this scheme works because I put it in and
throw me out scooter 6 volts alternating and I Servino 12 volts to charge a 12
volt battery always and some neon

Angelo 6V to 12V Converter Friday, June 18, 2010 10:39:41 PM

Hi i am just 12 years old and i made it work. But this circuit doesent seem to
be efficient it only charges the capacitor with the 12 V inverted voltage. So
this project lackks of amps. This is useful to low power 12 V appliances.

anonymous L1 info? Friday, June 11, 2010 7:10:39 PM

Hey could you give me a little more info on L1, such as actual inductance or
what core you used?

Monday, November 23, 2009

Mr.HornY 6V to 12V Converter
10:54:15 AM

Thanks for your stupid circuit, Iv got some problem with reading this... 1- Any
punctual value for darned L1? 2- Why you didn't connect ground together?

wizard 6V to 12V Converter Sunday, August 30, 2009 2:13:38 PM

hello. i am trying to understand how things working.. you said that the circuit
will require about 2A from the 6V supply to provide the full 800mA at 12V... if
you use smaller amperage from 2A like 100mA and convert the current
within the circuit, you cant get 800mA at 12V? i am looking forward for your
reply Thank you

Newton Brawn 6V to 12V Converter Monday, August 17, 2009 1:21:29 PM

It is Working! And the load is 988mA! COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE THE ALL
DIMENSIONS OF FERRITE CORE ?? regards

Tuesday, August 04, 2009 2:45:51

danan 6V to 12V Converter
AM

how to make the coil L1 please give to me the clue

Daniël 6V to 12V Converter Monday, July 27, 2009 9:42:36 AM

I build it and the results are very good, I used the centerring of an old car-
amplifier to make the coil and put 80 turns of 0.8mm D3 became 15V and
the output is 15-16V with an input from 7.5-15V It gives al little noise ... it
works very good with only a few comonents. current is 0.75A

Luca 5V to 12V Converter Friday, July 24, 2009 4:37:04 AM

Hello everyone, Let me know that I have to perform changes to your model,
to build a converter from 5V to 12V. why would I need to take power from
usb port of the laptop and maintenance of an antenna that operates at 12V
and consumes only 6W. Could you help? Thanks in advance. Luke.

Bones 6V to 12V Converter Monday, June 29, 2009 5:43:10 PM

Is there any way to reverse this circuit? to convert from 12V to 6V? i've been
checking out voltage stabilizer circuits and i found a few good ones but i
have no idea what ratings too look for in resistors and diodes etc. any help
would be highly appreciated. thanks,

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DC-DC Converter With Variable VDC Input

A DC-DC converter or another name known as buck

regulator or switching regulator (because the input voltage can be either above or below
the desired voltage output), provides stable regulated output voltage to supply electronic
circuits.

LM2576 converter circuits perform same function as the commonly known

voltage regulator LM7805 from National Semiconductor. The 7805 voltage
regulator dissipates a lot heat. The higher input voltage, the more heat is
generated. The extra input energy is converted to heat, keeping the output
voltage regulated at 5V.

LM2576 DC-DC Converter Circuits

There a variety of capacitors out there in the market. Capacitance, voltage
rating, dielectric material, etc... . Choose a suitable voltage rating across the
capacitor. The circuits deals with high current, therefore it will be better to
choose a low ESR (equivalent series resistance) Aluminum electrolytic
capacitor. As a general guide, a higher voltage rating has lower ESR rating.

The inductor coil use should be able to handle the current passing through
the inductor coil. If the wire is too thin, the coil may be burn or just fail. My
previous circuit uses small wattage inductor (package like a big resistor). The
circuit couldn't work and was later found to be IC problem. I have not yet do a
test to check on the possibility of the inductor contributing to the failure.

Using a inductor meter to measure the inductance will be easier. Inductance

value can be observe immediately for any modification to the coil of wire. The
inductance value can also be calculated, depend on the coil size, number of
turns, wire size used, dielectric of the core etc... .

The 1N5822 is a high current, high speed, schottky diode and is suitable for
this digital switching circuit. Schottky diode (Schottky Barrier Rectifier),
means that the forward voltage drop is low. For this application, a low
forward voltage diode is necessary.
12 to 28V Boost Regulator LM2585

This boost regulator is for those times when you have a 28v relay, but want
to use it with a 12v source. The circuit is built around the National
Semiconductor LM2585, and uses the energy stored in an inductor to
boost the 12 to 28v. Output voltage can be varied by adjusting the ratio of
resistor values on the feedback pin.

The voltage regulator circuit does it's switching around 100 Khz, but
generates no noise if SMT components are used. Output is good for about
half an amp continuous, enough to power two or three large microwave
relays. The board measures 1.5"x2".
It is important to note at least these three cautions before powering up the
board:

• A short-circuit on the output will kill U1 and D1. Always use a 1 ohm 5w
resistor, or a 2.5A fast fuse on the 12v input lead.
• Do not omit the LED (D2); It provides a visual indicator of a properly
operating boost condition, but more importantly, it also provides a
minimum load for the output, preventing an output "spike" which will
otherwise appear when the load is disconnected abruptly.
• Keep the ratio of r2 and r3 to 22 or less to keep the output voltage
within the ratings of C4 (C4 on my board is rated at 35wvdc). This ratio
plus 1, multiplied times 1.25v, determines the output voltage.