I'm building a affordable portable phone charger, similar to the size of a typical Iphone charger with modular USB plug.
My power source comes from a 12V solar PV system hence i need recommendation for a 12V to 5V switching regulator chip or very small device
It will be preferable if the component can be brought from element14 and cheap.
Thank you!
sooooo, why don't you look at the element14 website? They post prices! So you can figure out how cheap it would be!!
Why do you need a switcher? How much current are you drawing? These are pretty fundamental questions. A switcher is going to be more expensive than a linear, what with inductors and diodes and all.