low cost 5A 25vi/p , adj o/p buck reg.

LTC3810.

Yes.

YAW (you are welcome) :-)

Thanks but I need something small.... 8 pin soic ?

For five amps? That would require a water cooling feature :-)

I've found MAX 8546 + fairchild fet FDS6982..... suits the bill ( I think)

Only 174 in stock at Digikey, I'd be careful if that goes into a product. Then again I never spec Maxim parts anyway.

Plenty(enough) in Farnell UK... (I'm uk)

Did you see the TPS40200D 8-SOIC

Semtech makes some inexpensive controllers as well.

Well, yeah, with an external FET there are tons of chips.

Ok, it's your design. But I warned ya :-)

A noticeable chunk of my consulting income resulted from Maxim design-outs. The usual: You can easily buy or sample engineering quantities. Then the purchasing folks place an order for x reels ... phsssst ... "Oh dang!"

Yes I know maxim sourcing can be a real PITA.... I did say ext fet was ok... I'll check out those parts above, thx.