MC34063

[IvIark]

RareDevil on the blog posted this about the aforementioned IC about it's usefulness as a voltage inverter:

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Hi Guys!

Do you know anything about MC34063API ?
http://elinux.org/images/e/e6/MC34063A-D.pdf -> see page 8

Dirt cheap ebay found 50pc/US $3.99 free shipping
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So I had a quick look at the datasheet, saw the inductors and additional components, along with the calculations to work it all out, and thought it looked like a bit too much of a faff compared to the usual suspects like the ICL7660S.  But looking at the datasheet a bit more and the spec is really impressive.  100mA current (more than double the ICL7660S), high frequency oscillator, and up to a 40V input!

I found some software to do the calculations for you here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mc34063uc/

and this online calculator:

http://dics.voicecontrol.ro/tutorials/mc34063/

And it appears to me that you could get 36V from a 9V input by just changing a few components (?!)

I have some inductors and so ordered 50 of the ICs for the exorbitant price of around £2.30 delivered, and so I will have a play with them on the breadboard when they arrive.  

The real reason for posting here was I wondered if anyone had come across these before and if they had used them for voltage boosting or inverting?  They really do look fantastic and I'm trying to work out what the down side is

[rocket88]

i've seen them come up, but never ordered them because i didn't trust myself before to change the charge pump around to make them work. i really hope they do, even though i recently stocked up on 7660s's. but, with that said they do look like they would be fantastic and as you guys across the pond say, they're cheep as chips . i thought they might be a great for tube pedals since they should be able to raise the voltage much higher then the 7660's or max1044.

[Sergio]

Any suggestion on inductors for future projects?

[IvIark]

I bought these figuring them may come in handy for more obscure filters at some point:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191255687267

Looking at the calcs for this IC, it looks as though it's the 150uH and 220uH that would be the most useful values.