Pololu 12V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S18V20F12

I use this to power a . small LED strip for light on a 3d printer. It uses power from a USB port. I like the small form factor and it is able to dissipate heat enough to not overheat like the smaller version.

Photo No. 6 in the advertisement shows a top view of the circuit board, with a potentiometer installed on the board. Not other view shows that. In fact, there is no potentiometer so you are stuck with the 12VDC output. The output voltage is within the stated parameter which is good. This board allowed me to ditch 4 1 1/2 V AAA cells and go with one 9V high output battery. Since I am only driving LEDs for photo work, the upgrade to 9V allows me a much longer time in the field using the lights. Dimensions are accurate as well which is good because I engineered my printed case on them.

Been using it for 3 months now and have not had any issues.

Description is confusing and misleading. I thought I was getting an adjustable regulator, but what I got was a fixed 12 volt regulator. I should have researched the part number listed in the title, but on the other hand I shouldn't have to leave Amazon to figure out what part I'm getting.Here is a section of the description that illustrates the confusion:"This powerful step-up/step-down regulator efficiently produces a fixed 12 V output from input voltages between 3 V and 30 V while allowing a typical output current of up to 2 A when the input voltage is close to the output voltage and offering typical efficiencies of 80% to 90%. Its ability to convert both higher and lower input voltages makes it useful for applications where the power supply voltage can vary greatly, as with batteries that start above but discharge below the regulated voltage.These step-up/step-down regulators take an input voltage from 3 V to 30 V and increase or decrease it as necessary to produce an adjustable 4 V to 12 V or 9 to 30 V output, depending on the version. They are switching regulators (also called switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) or DC-to-DC converters) with a single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC) topology, and they have a typical efficiency between 80% and 90%. The available output current is a function of the input voltage, output voltage, and efficiency (see the Typical Efficiency and Output Current section below), but it will be around 2 A when the input voltage is close to the output voltage."These 2 paragraphs are describing 3 different Pololu products, S18V20F12 - Fixed 12v regulator (what I received), S18V20ALV - Adjustable 4v - 12v regulator, and S18V20AHV - Adjustable 9v - 30v regulator.The pictures are confusing as well, all the boards look similar so when I clicked through them I thought they were all the same product and when the one image pointed out the voltage adjustment potentiometer, I thought that was the product I was getting, I didn't notice that 2 of the pictures were missing the potentiometer.

Despite information in the product page and images, this model does not have the potentiometer to adjust the output voltage. It will output a solid 12v.This worked for my application, but may not works for others.You'll also need to solder in the wire connectors, so some assembly is required. I found the soldering pads on this board not to be the best, and had some difficulty getting a good solder joint on the input/output adapters.

Worked great for me.

worked fine

Use this for finnicky products that need exactly 12v regardless of what your battery input is doing.