7812 12V Linear Regulator Regulated Load Supply

Application

This circuit uses 7812 12V Linear Regulator as a fixed positive rail regulator feeding a simple resistive load. It is a practical starting point for checking input headroom, output voltage, and load current in a small regulated supply.

Design Context

VIN is set to 18 V and feeds the regulator input. The regulator common pin is tied to ground, and RLOAD connects the regulated 12 V output to the same return. Vin, Vout, and Iload probes make the steady-state operating point visible in the table.

Expected Behavior

Vout should settle near 12 V while the input remains at the unregulated supply value. The load current flows from the regulated output through RLOAD to the common return.

Key Values

• VIN: 18 V input supply.
• RLOAD: 2.4K load resistor.
• Expected output rail: 12 V.
• Simulation: DC operating point for steady-state supply behavior.

Suggested Experiments

• Increase or decrease RLOAD to compare output current and regulation margin.
• Move VIN closer to the output voltage to explore dropout behavior.
• Add input or output capacitors when comparing this idealized starter circuit to a datasheet application circuit.

Featured Component

7812 12V Linear Regulator is the fixed-output linear regulator in this supply. The demo highlights its input, common, and regulated-output terminals in the standard three-terminal application topology.