Metro ESP32-S2 Solar Charging

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trdmn1
 
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Metro ESP32-S2 Solar Charging

Post by trdmn1 »

I'm a veteran coder, but this is my first real foray into hardware. I'm playing around with several of the Metro flavor boards (Express, Express AirLift, and ESP32-S2), along with the original Arduino Uno and Nano boards, and the programming part has been a lot of fun for me. I'm still learning my way around the physical components, though.

Here's hill I'm charging (no pun intended) today.

The Metro ESP-S2 has a charger built on board, which is fine, but I was wondering if it were possible to charge that from a 6V solar panel? Would I be correct in assuming that plugging the barrel connector from the panel into the Metro wouldn't be an adequate solution, for many different reasons (7V min, highly intermittent/variable power, etc)? Even beyond the voltage rating, would a 2W panel even be enough? Would it have to be rated higher than 2W?

On hand, I have, in addition to the boards mentioned above, the Solar/Lipo v2 charging board from Adafruit, as well as the PowerBoost 1000, which I'm not entirely sure is working correctly (95% certain it's my fault; also still learning to solder correctly). I've used these in the past for battery maintenance on the Express and Express AirLift.

At this point, my questions are academic, because I'm just trying to work with the components I have on hand before I go loading up the shopping cart and spending money on things I'm not sure I need or can use. I'm basically just trying to take the Metros out for a spin and see what they're capable of.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro ESP32-S2 Solar Charging

Post by mikeysklar »

Your Solar / Lipo V2 would be a good way to add a solar panel.

Solar/Lipo LOAD JST <--> Power Boost JST <--> USB cable <--> Metro

https://learn.adafruit.com/usb-dc-and-s ... ng-1887758
projects_batt_load.jpg
projects_batt_load.jpg (427.16 KiB) Viewed 139 times

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trdmn1
 
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Re: Metro ESP32-S2 Solar Charging

Post by trdmn1 »

Right, and I've done that before. I just wanted to find out if there was any way to feed it with the panel using the charger built into the Metro ESP32-S2, but there doesn't seem to be an efficient way to do that. I'm also right now trying to debug the boost converter I have, because it doesn't seem to be doing any boosting (5v pin on the board only seems to be putting out battery voltage level at the moment, not sure why), and none of them seem to be in stock on the site.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro ESP32-S2 Solar Charging

Post by mikeysklar »

You can switch to the current bq24074 charger which would be the most efficient way to go about panel / battery / Metro and cut out the boost. The load out 2-pin JST from the bq24074 can go right to a JST 2-pin LiPoly connector on the metro.
adafruit_products_Metro_ESP32_S2_pinouts_Power.png
adafruit_products_Metro_ESP32_S2_pinouts_Power.png (286.25 KiB) Viewed 133 times
As far as you current boost not showing 5v can you show the soldering on it and do you have a load connected?

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trdmn1
 
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Re: Metro ESP32-S2 Solar Charging

Post by trdmn1 »

Thanks for that, Mikey. Any way that I can remove the boost from the chain is fine by me. I'll give that a try.

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