Finding a replacement voltage regulator… what do the codes mean

component-selectionvoltage-regulator

So I need to replace the following voltage regulator in an old Atari as it's registering 0.5V between output and ground and 24V on the input, but it's supposed to be providing 12V on the output side of things.

Voltage Regulator UA78M12UC

I'm trying to establish whether either of the following (locally available) parts are suitable replacements:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZV1634

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZV1642

I'm a complete newbie to electronics (I'm a software guy) but I've read on here that the M is for Medium current, so I'm guessing that the 3A regulator I linked to would be capable of the job, but figured it'd be better to ask than to burn out some other component.

Question

What do the parts of the component code mean? I guess the 12 in UA85M12UC means 12V, but I have no idea about the UA78 and UC!

Best Answer

Your first item (the MC78T12) would be a suitable replacement for the 78M12.

UA indicates the manufacturer (Fairchild, I think). Many manufactures make this series of regulator, and all makes should be interchangeable.

78 indicates a series of linear voltage regulators

M is low current (500 mA), so the 78T12 is a bit of overkill...

12 is the output voltage

UC is the package type (TO-220) (different makers use different package codes, just to confuse the user :-) )

Your second link is to a switching regulator - a quite different type of beast.

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