The BriteBlox Battery POWAH Board - 5V Battery Booster and Charge Circuit

The Battery POWAH board efficiently boosts its partner 2000mAh Li-Ion battery, or any compatible Li-Ion battery you may have, up to 5 volts in order to power applications that require such voltage, including BriteBlox LED marquees and versatile BriteBlox Wireless Communicators.

What makes it special?

Efficiency is the spirit of the TI TPS61230 buck boost converter which lies at the heart of the Battery POWAH board. This relatively new chip from TI boasts 94% efficiency when providing 1A at 5VDC when driven from 3.7VDC. Our boards are set up to provide 1A at 5V by default, but if you have surface-mount resistors, a soldering iron, and a steady hand, you can tweak the output to deliver up to 2.1A at 5.5V. The charge circuit steadily charges your battery at 500mA, well within the tolerance for charging from a PC USB port. The "CHG" light indicates charging activity, and the "STBY" light indicates when charging is complete. Charging can take place regardless of the power switch's position.

The LTC4054 charge chip provides trickle charge capability for Li-Ion batteries that have discharged to very low voltage levels so they can safely recharge to normal levels. The normal charge rate of the LTC4054 can also be tweaked by adjusting a resistor's value, and a resettable fuse prevents the device from taking more than 1A from the charging line, preventing damage to computers and protecting against power surges. Large ground planes keep the Battery POWAH board from heating up excessively during charge and discharge cycles, preventing as much unnecessary conversion to heat energy and thermal stresses on the components as possible.

What do I get?

• One Battery POWAH board with charge and boost circuitry
• One Li-Ion battery

Performance

Battery & Boost Circuit Performance:

Charge Circuit Performance: