Voltage Regulator
Voltage regulator, any electrical or electronic device that maintains the voltage of a power source within acceptable limits. The voltage regulator is needed to keep voltages within the prescribed range that can be tolerated by the electrical equipment using that voltage.
78xx voltage regulator produce positive fixed DC voltage values, where “xx” corresponds to a two-digit number and represents the amount (magnitude) of voltage that voltage regulator produces.
78xx voltage regulator have 3 pins each and the third pin is used for collecting the output from them.The first and second pins of 78xx voltage regulator are used for connecting the input and ground respectively.
Example: 7805 voltage regulator IC produces a DC voltage of +5 volts.