Rod -- nice job -- this might be what I've been looking for -- so a coupla questions: I am currently running variable AC track power for my American Flyer/Flyonel, etc. I've been wanting to replace the lighting in my passenger cars and cabeese using the LED strips, which run at ~12V DC and came to the conclusion I'd need to have a buck-boost circuit to provide power to the lights to account for the time when the AC track voltage was less than 12V. I assume your circuit is a buck system, so at track voltages less than 12V AC, the output DC voltage would be less than that - presumably at whatever voltage the regulator is set for? If the input voltage goes below the regulator set point, then I gather the output DC voltage is zero?
Assuming your board would work in my case, then I have two operational questions: first, you say that the board should have an isolated ground. In my case, most/all of my passenger cars and cabeese are grounded through the metal chassis, so the current light bulb circuit is grounded through the connection between the outside shell of the light bulb socket and the metal chassis (which is then connected to the truck and metal wheels to the "base" rail). I assume this all means that I need to isolate the ground side of the 12V DC so that the only ground connection is between the LED strip and the ground side of the output on the board. Second, you mention that the voltage regulator chip gets hot, so one needs to keep it away from anything plastic. Almost all of my passenger cars have plastic shells. If the board were mounted to the chassis so that all the components are "in the air" is that sufficient? Does the regulator get as hot as the incandescent bulb that would be replaced by all this?
thanks,
Rich
