Very simple project - Micro Lipo charger questions

[zenmaster]

Hi,

I am looking to use the Adafruit Micro Lipo w/MicroUSB Jack - USB LiIon/LiPoly charger coupled with a Lithium Ion Polymer Battery (3.7v 100mAh) to power a small LED lamp in my daughters bedroom. This will replace the need for batteries in the lamp, although I might introduce a switch to select voltage sources in the future.

My question is around the charger - I was wondering if I can use the charger's 5V/GND/BAT connections to power the LED array? This means I can connect the battery to the charger via JST and also power the LED array at the same time. The PiGRRL progject uses the same charger, and from the circuit diagram (https://learn.adafruit.com/system/asset ... 1405976796), it looks like I can have an output voltage from the charger go to some other component.
Is my understanding correct, or is the Adafruit Micro Lipo charger JUST a charger?
If it can supply the voltage, which connections should I use? What is the difference between 5V and BAT? The LED lamp uses 3 x 1.5V AAA batteries, but dims over time as the batteries deplete so a 3.7V source should be fine.
Can it supply output voltage that the same time as charging the battery, or is it a one thing at a time deal?

If it cannot supply output voltages, would my best bet be to use a switch to select modes - charging and in use - as in the SNES EZ Key Bluefruit Game Pad project (https://learn.adafruit.com/snes-ez-key- ... cuit-build)

Also, if I wanted to extend the red/green LEDs to be visible through the lamp casing, should/can I just solder wire to the left/right of the LED's and extend to new ones, or should I de-solder the onboard LED's, solder on some wire and then reconnect the LED's in their new positions?

Cheers for any help you can provide!

[adafruit_support_bill]

Yes, it is possible to connect your LED in parallel with the battery. When the charger is not plugged in, the LED will take power from the battery. When it is powered, the battery charge current will be shared by the battery and the LED. This will slow down the charging of the battery, but this may be an acceptable compromise in this case.

To extend the indicator leds, it is probably better to remove the existing ones before adding new ones. Otherwise, they will both likely be rather dim.

[zenmaster]

thankyou very much for your response bill :)