Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

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xxlawman87xx
 
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Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

So have assembled my minty boost with a lipo battery and the usb/solar charger and it works great. My only issue is when I leave the 2.1mm plug inserted (even with no power to it) it wont allow me to use the mini USB port to charge the lipo battery. Is this a security feature or is there a way to bypass this? I want to be able to hardwire the solar panel to the usb/solar charge board and still have the option of the mini usb port iff needed. Can anyone shine some light on this for me? thanks!

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Yes, that's a safety feature. Inserting the plug mechanically breaks the ground connection from the USB plug.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Yes, that's a safety feature.
Solar panels in particular can be damaged by reverse current from other power sources wired in parallel when they are shaded.

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xxlawman87xx
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

Ah. I see now. Do you have any recommendations so that I can achieve the result I'm looking for without compromising the safety or integrity of the solar panel?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You could make a small wiring harness with a usb socket and a SPDT switch. The switch could be wired to toggle between input sources.

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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

You could also wire the panel to the DC-In pin pad, but put a diode on +5V to prevent backflow. Probably want to do the same with the mintyBoost to prevent backflow to that as well.

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xxlawman87xx
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

Finally got it all together. Using some spare connectors from my nitro rc truck i was able to find a nice system to re-position the capacitor. I decided to not hardwire the solar panel. Just a simple solar powered lipo Minty boost!
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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Nice job!

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xxlawman87xx
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

So I noticed something about the kit. It does not work with an Ipad. I think it has to do with the charge rate of the device. I cant seem to find the charge rate listed in the description. I was wondering what the charge rate is or if there is another solution to the ipad problem. OH and yes the chips to get very hot during discharge to a device. So hot in fact, I added some heatsinks to the them. Still satisfied overall. Really go the my brain gears moving for future ideas....(insert evil meniacal laugh here)
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xxlawman87xx
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

sorry for DP but I just saw the charge rate is .5 amps......anyway to boost this?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

I don't think there's any way to increase the charge rate.
Anyway, if things get hot at 500mA, it would probably glow at 1A.

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xxlawman87xx
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

adafruit_support_rick wrote:I don't think there's any way to increase the charge rate.
Anyway, if things get hot at 500mA, it would probably glow at 1A.
Thats unfortunate. Oh well, I have an old mophie powerstation that I may hack up and take the charging guts out of it. Mophies, do not support pass through of current but with the use of the usb/solar charger I think i can bypass this. the mophie charging board will give me a charge rate of 2.1 amps.....now just have to figure out how to do it.

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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by adafruit2 »

The chip in the mintyboost itself is unable to go past 500mA - no way to go higher!

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xxlawman87xx
 
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Re: Question about charging minty boost with usb/solar

Post by xxlawman87xx »

adafruit2 wrote:The chip in the mintyboost itself is unable to go past 500mA - no way to go higher!
Yes I know. I think you may be misunderstanding my intentions. I plan to not use the minty boost circuitry at all. I am going to attempt to use the charging circuitry from a Mophie powerstation which will allow a charge rate of 2.1 amps and then use the usb/solar lipo charger to recharge the battery the mophie charging circuitry will utilize. I am not 100% this will work but its worth a shot.

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