This circuit was designed to ensure that an amplifier circuit containing a TDA1516Q would not exceed its maximum supply voltage when the load is small. This amplifier is used in a PC to increase the audio power somewhat. The PC power supply, however, created so much interference that an additional power supply was required. Discrete Low-Drop Regulator Circuit Diagram The power supply has its own power trans-former with a secondary voltage of 12 V AC. After rectification and filtering this results in a DC voltage of about 16 V. The regulator consists of a P-channel MOSFET SJ117, the gate of which is driven via a voltage divider connected to T2. The base of T2 is held at a constant voltage by LED D2, so that the volt-age across emitter resistor R2 is also constant and therefore carries a constant cur-rent. When the output voltage is higher than about 13.5 V, zener diode D1 will start to con-duct and supply part of the current through R2 — as a result the MOSFET will be turned on a li...