Hey serow - and others too - I didn't mean to let my lack of means (or brains) limit your options.
OK so I present courtesy google -
Transistor regulated power - on the nose all the time.
A 7812 is a 12V, 7805 is a 5 volt, etc etc, rock solid transistors, 100 years old design - literally 100 generations of refinements have got this working perfect.
For tons and tons of reading to help put you to sleep -
http://lateblt.tripod.com/3pinvolt.htmThe salient item -
The pinout for a three-pin voltage regulator is as follows:
1: Voltage in
2: Ground
3: Voltage out
For example, with a 9-volt battery, you'd connect the positive end to pin 1 and the negative (or ground) end to pin 2. A 7805 would then give you +5 volts on pin 3.
Look up diagrams etc if you want to actually learn, instead of letting my hack methods guide you wrong - easy.
Cool.
Srinath.