I like the cleverness of this project and how “neat” it looks.  Forgive my question however:  What exactly does it do?  I’m asking because I’m truly interested!  Thanks.

hi andrew, its just a 5V regulator based on the super common LM7805.

The reason i free-formed the circuit is because i didnt want to make a PCB. I needed somthing that was easy to integrate into a larger project and so i included the screw terminals for ease of use.

This dongle will take 10V DC From a rectified transformer and regulate it down to 5V to power a dev. board.

I kinda like it, but caps don't do well strapped to a heat source

Yeah, I gave that some thought too.

But form factor, ease of use and simple retrofit to an existing circuit was priority.

Im planning on letting it run for a couple of days under full load (actual intended use, not max LM7805 currents) and monitoring how hot it really gets (thingspeak!).... if i have to swap it once a year im happy.

The supply transformer  has a 250ma max current and this will be supplying a lipo battery backed switching 3.3v supply (it has to go through the battery to work)... so "technically" it only needs to supply charging currents.

I liked how nicely the parts just merged.... it was destiny!