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The 7805 regulator on the HCS2-DX is capable of supplying 1 Amp which is plenty to drive the HCS2-DX plus a few daughterboards. However some daughterboards can draw a decent amount of current (the Voice and DTMF boards for example). The 7805 regultor reduces the voltage from 12VDC to 5VDC and dissipates the extra energy as heat. If you start draing 500mA or more, the heatsink can get VERY warm.
First, the 7805 has a thermal shutdown feature so if you overload it, the regulator will turn itself off. There is no need to worry about it bursting into flames or anything.
Here are some suggestions to reduce the temperature of the regulator:
- Mount your HCS2-DX so the heatsink fins run in a vertical line. This helps the thermal cooling as air rises up across the heatsink.
- Use a bigger heatsink. Creative Control Concepts has bigger heatsinks available for systems with a large number of daughterboards.
- Use a +5VDC supply to drive the HCS2-DX. You can bypass the 7805 regulator and drive your HCS2-DX with a high quality, regulated +5VDC supply capable of supplying 1 Amp or more. You bypass the regulator by installing a jumper in position R8 WARNING!!! Adding this jumper removes any overvoltage and reverse polarity protection the regulator and diode D1 provided. If you connect a power supply higher than +5VDC or reverse the polarity with R8 jumpered you WILL damage your board!
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Home Automation FAQ : 
I have a newer HCSII-DX2 but still cannot mount my daughterboard