🚀 go-pugleaf

>>i have a signal that varies between approximately -2.5 volts to +2.5 volts
>>and i want to clamp it to the voltage range 0 to 5 volts.  the problem is
>>that all the clamping circuits that i have seen only deal with ideal
>>diodes and that is just not going to work.  i want to find some way to
>>clamp this signal with out placing a 0.7 volt supply on the diode.
>
>
Is this what you want?
input			output
-2.5			0
0 volts - xvolts        0
0 volts + yvolts        5
+2.5 			5

you need to choose x and y (it is easier if they are the same).

I believe what you want to do could be accomplished with an opamp
and some resistors. At least that is the approach I would take.