Greetings,
I would like to operate a sensor using my particle electron, the operating voltage to this sensor is 12VDC and I was looking for level shifter from 3.3V to 12V but no success yet, any recommendation please? is it possible to operate this sensor with no external power supply? only using 3.7V Lipo battery/10000mAh.
Thank you
@majj_11 If the supply voltage to your sensor is +12VDC then it would be easier to use a 12V battery supply, power the sensor from that and then have a DC:DC converter - switched PSU is more efficient - to take 12V down to 3.3V or 5V to power the electron. You can also get cheap DC: DC Buck Boost Converters to take 3.3V from LiPo up to 12V but this may drain you LiPo battery pretty quickly depending upon the current the sensor draws. If the signal output from the sensor is 12V it would need to be reduced to 3.3V range using a resistor bridge.
Thanks a lot armor
@majj_11, if you let us know which sensor you are using, we can provide more specific recommendations, adding to @armor’s great ones.
If you end up using @armor suggestion and need to go from 12 v down to 3.3 or 5 take a look at these. I have been using them for some time now and I really like them.
Traco Power
Note that these are the 2amp versions. They have 1 amp for I think $1 or $2 less.
Traco DC DC CONVERTER 3.3V
Cheers,
Tom
@GasGen I would second the Traco and also Recom R-78E3.3-0.5 - Non Isolated POL DC/DC Converter, ITE, 1 Output, 1.65 W, 3.3 V, 500 mA, Fixed, Through Hole which are cheaper - depends on the quantity you buying as to whether this matters!
Great suggestion. The Recom is way cheaper. I have not used one so I can’t attest to the heat generated. @majj_11, One thing I would caution is to ask the guys here what size you should get in mA, if you don’t already know that is. I tend to oversize everything because I am an odd one. If I need a 1 amp unit I buy a 2amp. 
Cheers,
Tom
Before making any recommendations, I would still want to know what the sensor is!