Charging Scoop from Notecarrier A

Hardware
1

Two Main questions here
Is it possible to charge the Scoop from the Notecarrier A when it is powered by USB?

Can you imagine a scenario using a Notecarrier A and a Scoop, and a Solar Panel,e.g Voltaicsystems P124, where

  • you can power the Notecarrier A from the USB and
  • at the same time charge the Scoop, and
  • when there is no USB Power then the Solar Panel will power the Notecarrier A, and
  • the Solar Panel will also charge the Scoop

I am considering using this item from Adafruit charger, bq24047 to accomplish this, along with this item from Voltaic to split the power coming in from USB and send it to the Notecarrier and the bq24047 charger.

Lastly: do you think the Scoop is comparable to this Voltaic Systems LIC-C117?

2

Hi @johnedstone ,

You shouldn’t need any other hardware, as what the Notecarrier A provides is just what you need. You can plug a power source into the USB connector, plug the Scoop into the LIPO JST connector, and plug your solar panel into the SOLAR JST connector. Done.

And yes, it looks like that LIC from Voltaic is very similar in form and function to the Scoop.

Rob

3

I understand the configuration you described. Yes, that is the simplest.

However, in one scenario, I’d like to charge the LIC while powered by USB.

And in other scenario, I’d like to power with USB, so I can get an alert when my power provider is off line, as well as have the option to later take the box outside and power with solar without reconfiguring. (And in ether case have the LIC charged)

I hope that makes sense.

4

Yep, this is the default behavior.

Are you saying you want to “fall back” to USB power when solar/LIC is unavailable/depleted? If so, that is not possible, as the Notecarrier will always default to USB power if connected and available.

8

I apologize, I haven’t clearly defined what I am trying to do.
Let me begin again.

I’m describing two distinct applications using the same configuration, so that I can deploy the device in either one of two environments.

The first case: the blues device will report to the Notehub when USB power is on/off, that is, it will have some kind of battery backup
It will be …

  • powered by USB,
  • have the USB charge the LIC (e.g. Scoop)
  • and when the USB power fails, then the LIC will take over and capture the “USB off/on” alert. And, the LIC will continue to power the device until the USB power is restored

The second case: the blues device is powered by LIC and charged by solar.

  • There is no USB required.

Here is a picture of the current working solution

configuration_v2
configuration_v2400Ă—533 354 KB

You will note that in this configuration:

  • the blues device can be powered by either USB or LIC
  • the LIC can be charged by either USB or Solar
  • the LIC is being charged by the load out of Adafruit’s bq24074, and
  • the LIC out is connected to the blues device lipo connection
  • Note: this configuration as been tested with Voltaicsystems.com P124 and P126 solar panel
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