USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger, MintyBoost + Arduino

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Hobbes
 
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Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:54 pm

USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger, MintyBoost + Arduino

Post by Hobbes »

Hi, I've recently found out the hard way that the Arduino Uno R3 consumes batteries, so I spent a little time researching various portable solar options. (My Arduino is configured as a remote timer, so it draws little power, but the clock chews up batteries even in sleep mode.)

I've read through the tutorials & documentation for your USB solar charger (#390) and MintyBoost (#14), and it seems to be what I need. Since you don't accept phone orders, could you provide a complete parts list (with your ID numbers eg solar panel, batteries, etc) so I don't make any mistakes while ordering on-line?

Ok, I've read through the tutorial again, and I've determined what I need to drive my remote Arduino is your solar lipoly charger + minty:

Image

However, I'm a little unsure about the exact parts with respect to cables & batteries. Here's what I have so far:

1. #390 USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger - v1.0
(Is the limited time bonus 2.1mm adapter cable still available?)

2. #14 MintyBoost Kit - v3.0

3. Battery - which one would you recommend? The #328, 353 or 258? My remote Arduino is asleep for 23 hours/59 minutes; it only wakes up to trigger a 9v DC motor (via the R3 motor shield with its own 9v battery) for 1 second, then goes back to sleep until the next day. Rinse, wash, repeat.

4. Solar panel - which one would you recommend? The #200, 262, 700, 500 or 417? We live in coastal Orange County (Calif).

5. If the cable in #1 above is included, do I need anything else to connect the panel, charger, battery, Minty and/or Arduino?

6. #372 10K NTC resistor (The Arduino is outside in a box.)

OK, is this complete or am I missing anything?

adafruit
 
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Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger, MintyBoost + Arduino

Post by adafruit »

You want

#390 USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger - v1.0

#14 MintyBoost Kit - v3.0

Lithium Ion Battery - which one would you recommend? We suggest 2700mAh or higher

6V Solar panel - Get the biggest one you can afford and that we have in stock for the smoothest use. You will need to experiment as well of course - it depends a lot on how much current draw, how big the battery is, whether its cloudy, etc. 2W minimum

USB A-B cable - 3 foot long

We also suggest getting a few extra 2-pin JST cables in case you lose or break them. You will also need soldering iron, solder, heat shrink, diagonal cutters, and any other hand tools

Antonio
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:28 pm

Re: USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger, MintyBoost + Arduino

Post by Antonio »

3. Battery - which one would you recommend? The #328, 353 or 258? My remote Arduino is asleep for 23 hours/59 minutes; it only wakes up to trigger a 9v DC motor (via the R3 motor shield with its own 9v battery) for 1 second, then goes back to sleep until the next day. Rinse, wash, repeat.
I think this is the most important thing...

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