Circuit Playground Express does not work when powered from b

CircuitPython on hardware including Adafruit's boards, and CircuitPython libraries using Blinka on host computers.

Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
Locked
User avatar
gofraidh
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:11 pm

Circuit Playground Express does not work when powered from b

Post by gofraidh »

Hello,
I recently purchased Circuit Playground Express Soil Sensor Mini Kit (https://thepihut.com/products/adafruit- ... r-mini-kit). I finished coding up the circuit to measure humidity (code here: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Le ... re/code.py) of soil but discovered that no matter what I try to do, the circuit does not work when the power is supplied from the battery holder instead of the computer via micro usb.

I am attaching pictures of this. In the first, the LEDs correctly light up based on the measured humidity, in this case, the power is supplied through the USB. In the second, the LED stay red while the circuit is powered from battery (3x AAA), even if I turn the values down a lot they remain red.

I replaced batteries but that did not help. I tried to supply power through usb from other sources but the circuit probably needs phone, laptop, or tablet to use the usb. I contacted The PiHut and they advised I post here for advice.

Can you please provide any assistance/suggestions to help me find what might we wrong? My conclusion so far is that I think that the holder might be faulty.
Attachments
USB Powered - Works
USB Powered - Works
IMG_3434.jpg (750.26 KiB) Viewed 268 times
Battery Powered - Does not Work
Battery Powered - Does not Work
IMG_3435.jpg (719.17 KiB) Viewed 268 times

User avatar
eng1user
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:26 pm

Re: Circuit Playground Express does not work when powered fr

Post by eng1user »

Here is my experience of a similar issue (related to sound & the Circuit Playground Bluefruit).
If I upload a program using ring tone.
With USB still plugged in it works fine.
If I remove USB and connect the battery the ring tone does not work, all other selected options I am using work fine.
However, if I leave the USB connected then connect the battery then remove USB everything works fine.
Not sure if you have tried this or if it would help in your case but worth a try.

User avatar
gofraidh
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:11 pm

Re: Circuit Playground Express does not work when powered fr

Post by gofraidh »

eng1user wrote:Here is my experience of a similar issue (related to sound & the Circuit Playground Bluefruit).
If I upload a program using ring tone.
With USB still plugged in it works fine.
If I remove USB and connect the battery the ring tone does not work, all other selected options I am using work fine.
However, if I leave the USB connected then connect the battery then remove USB everything works fine.
Not sure if you have tried this or if it would help in your case but worth a try.
Hi, I tried this but it does not seem to matter whether I plug in the battery while the USB is plugged in. This does not resolve the issue unfortunately.

Locked
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.

Return to “Adafruit CircuitPython”