Buck Regulator Olympics is the current advanced contest in /r/diyelectronics on reddit:
The goal is to build a switching buck DC-DC converter from discrete components that can step down a fairly common input voltage to another common output voltage–in this case, 3.3V
Constraints
- Output voltage of 3.3V.
- Minimum current of 100mA.
- Can not be a prepackaged buck regulator solution
- Must build from scratch using discrete components
Winners
- One winner be picked by a panel of judges including kentaurus712 and RTA5
- One winner will be picked by community votes
- Selection criteria:
- Cost efficiency (lowest overall BOM cost)
- Power efficiency
- Output tolerance
- Features:
- Feedback loops
- error correction
- overcurrent protection
- turn-on voltage enables
Prizes
- Both winners will receive $30 gift code for OSH Park
Deadline
- April 30th, 2016