Power Specifics - Untethered; JST Polarity & Solar Reqs

Hardware
#1

Hi all, I’ve completed the upstart tutorials and am ready to take my NoteCarrier-A out into the wild… untethered.

I’ve purchased a 3.7v 3000mAh Lipo battery, I know some LiPos have non standard JST polarity. Before I plug my battery into the NoteCarrier, what is the polarity of the JST connectors (both battery and solar) on the NoteCarrier-A?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for solar panels? I have nominal experience with solar charging and want to be sure I order the right one.

Any help is greatly appreciated!! Thank you all, happy transmitting.

-E

:dark_sunglasses:

#2

Adafruit has a few solar panels of 1W and up. For example: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3809
Screen Shot 2020-12-09 at 2.16.38 PM

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#3

Hey Eric, great question, we need to get this documented in the Notecarrier-A datasheets. If you look at your battery or solar panel with the key facing up and the holes towards you, the red, positive wire should be on the right. These are safe to use with the Notecarrier.

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IMG_45631699×1763 344 KB

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#4

You may already know that…
You need a charge controller for your LIPO battery. This allows you to use various solar panels without risk. The main issue is that so far those controllers I found and tested cannot charge your battery at the same time as you draw on it.
The alternative is to purchase a battery pack that allows simultaneous charge/draw. RavPower have some models that do that, but they are a costly not mentioning bulky.
If you find a solution to the simultaneous issue please share!

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#5

Still looking for additional specs…

  1. LiPo input voltage range? Only 3.7v?

  2. Solar input voltage/current range?

  3. Does the system have a charge controller to charge the lipo when the solar is connected? What about when USB is connected?

Thanks!

#6

Hi Tom,

Thanks very much for posting your question. And welcome to the Blues community.

The battery will charge via USB or solar. I need to check on the other questions with our hardware team. There is some sparse availability with the holidays, so there may be some delay in the response.

Thanks again.
Cheers,
-Greg

#7

Following up:

Here is the datasheet for the charger we are using:
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/bq24210.pdf

On a related note: you can view the schematics for Notecarriers here:

for insight into this type of technical info.

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