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RESISTOR TO REDUCE L200 POWER DISSIPATION ELECTRONIC DIAGRAM Instead of in series with the input, the resistor R can be connected between pins 1 and 2 of the IC if the load is constant. You can see this in the right figure. This will make some part of the load current flows through the resistor and the other part through the device.

This circuit came about as the result of an  urgent need for a NiMH battery charger. No  suitable dedicated IC being immediately to  hand, the author pressed an L200 regulator and a 4.7 kΩ NTC thermistor into service.  Those components were enough to form the  basis of a charger with a cut-of f condition  based on cell temperature rise rather than  relying on the more common negative delta-V detection. Simple L200 Charger Circuit Diagram : The circuit uses the L200 with the thermistor in the feedback loop. When ‘cold’ the  output volt age of the regulator is about 1.55 V per cell; when ‘warm’, at a cell temperature of about 35 °C to 40 °C, the out-put voltage is about 1.45 V per cell and the  thermistor has a resistance of about 3.3 kΩ.  This temperature sensing is enough to pre-vent the cells from being overcharged. P1  adjusts the charging voltage, and R2 limits  the charge current to 320 mA. The IC is fitted with a small 20...