Hello, I have an arduino and I want to control the pump and fans for my PC watercooling. They are currently running from small buck converters I bought from amazon (
https://www.amazon.ca/DROK-Regulator-Converter-Electronic-Stabilizer/dp/B00SY37S00/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8).
I've thought about a few ideas:
a) Replace the pots on the existing circuit boards with digital pots - this would work, but the potentiometer is exposed to Vout which can be as high as 12V. Most of the digital pots I've seen either have a Vmax < 12V or don't have a through hole package.
b) Buy a new pre-made circuit from amazon or ebay that is somehow controllable by ardunio - I've looked, and been unable to find anything. A key requirement here is that the output not be PWM'd, as it interferes with the RPM measurement.
c) Build my own buck converters using an IC in a way that could be controlled by arduino
So, unless I can find a solution to a) or b), it looks like I am going to be building my own converters. I've never done that before, and I'm wondering what IC would be best. I'm looking for something with a minimal amount of external components, and able to meet these requirements:
Vin: 12V
Vout: 3-12V, controlled by arduino (I2C, serial, or just an RC filter on a PWM output into a reference pin, whatever works)
Imax: 3A
2 channels (can be 1 IC or 2, don't care)
Ideas? What ICs should I be looking for?