On Monday, April 6, 2015 at 11:09:24 AM UTC-4, Ignoramus32423 wrote:
On 2015-04-06, Jim Wilkins wrote:
If you used an LM317 adjustable regulator for the tracks you could
tune the voltage for best performance while retaining control, and
waste less of the battery's energy as heat. You could put a knob on
the voltage adjustment pot so you have a throttle instead of just
on/off control.


Oh, and why would LM317 waste less energy as heat?

It could waste less heat if the voltage is set a bit higher than with you existing regulators. Or it could waste more if the setting is lower.

But you can use switching regulators. And you could probably use something like a Arduino to sense the voltage and control a transistor . In short a switching regulator with intelligence so you could have that soft start.

Dan