Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

General GBZ-related chat goes here. Share ideas, tips and tricks, or ask questions that don't fit into the hardware/software help forums.
docholiday11x
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:08 am
Been thanked: 6 times

Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by docholiday11x » Mon May 22, 2017 12:17 am

I am trying to power my GBZ with a pi 3 with a powerboost and NIMH batteries. I have not bought the rechargeable batteries yet, but I have tried it with alkaline batteries.

The problem is it only stays charged for a few minutes. I'm using standard duracell cheap batteries, and idk if the problem is the voltage, consistency of output, or that its just not putting out enough power. (thinking this because on adafruits page it says to make sure the alkaline or nimh batteries are capable of putting out that kind of amperage)

Does anyone have any recommendations for rechargeable batteries that will fix this problem? Stuck using b model since the c one doesn't output enough power, and the standard li poly batteries just dont hold a charge for long enough and id rather not take the thing apart every time to charge it up.

User avatar
abrugsch
Posts: 971
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:00 am
Has thanked: 356 times
Been thanked: 430 times
Contact:

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by abrugsch » Mon May 22, 2017 6:40 am

uhhhh can you make sure your powerboost works with NiMH batteries? most of the adafruit ones are for LiPo/LiION ONLY.

NiMh uses a different charging methodology that's not compatible with LiIon chargers

docholiday11x
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:08 am
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by docholiday11x » Mon May 22, 2017 11:23 am

https://www.adafruit.com/product/2030

check it out here. works with alkaline and NIMH batteries

User avatar
Helder
Trailblazer
Trailblazer
Posts: 2985
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 8:33 am
Location: Rogers, AR
Has thanked: 1459 times
Been thanked: 3114 times

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by Helder » Mon May 22, 2017 4:02 pm

Correct it does work with the batteries you mentioned but it does not charge them which is probably what most of us were thinking.
Chat with me and other members On Discord

Don't contact me about obtaining my board files (as you will not get them). If my Boards or PCB Kits are sold out, they will be restocked as soon as I can get them and there is demand for them. You can join the mailing list on my Website to be notified when they are available.


Helder's Game Tech Website

We will not support any cloned work so don't come to us with technical issues to resolve, go talk to the cloner for help.

User avatar
abrugsch
Posts: 971
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:00 am
Has thanked: 356 times
Been thanked: 430 times
Contact:

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by abrugsch » Tue May 23, 2017 4:59 am

Helder wrote:
Mon May 22, 2017 4:02 pm
Correct it does work with the batteries you mentioned but it does not charge them which is probably what most of us were thinking.
yes, exactly that! :oops:

docholiday11x
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:08 am
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by docholiday11x » Tue May 23, 2017 7:06 am

ah I can see what you mean considering most people use the 1000c. Downside is that model doesnt output enough power for my use case.

so far duracell copper tops dont supply enough current. I am recieving some NIMH rechargables tonight that i will test out and report back.

curious if the voltage difference will have an impact as well. Alkaline being 1.5 and NIMH 1.2. (3 batteries used)

User avatar
abrugsch
Posts: 971
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:00 am
Has thanked: 356 times
Been thanked: 430 times
Contact:

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by abrugsch » Tue May 23, 2017 9:08 am

1.5 and 1.2 are only nominal voltages anyway... they both vary from around 0.8 up to 1.6 ish.

decent nimh's (eneloop or other similar spec ones) should give you a fair bit of current TBH

docholiday11x
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:08 am
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by docholiday11x » Tue May 23, 2017 10:34 am

abrugsch wrote:
Tue May 23, 2017 9:08 am
1.5 and 1.2 are only nominal voltages anyway... they both vary from around 0.8 up to 1.6 ish.

decent nimh's (eneloop or other similar spec ones) should give you a fair bit of current TBH
Thats what i'm hoping for. Im guessing the duracell ones were never intended for that much output. I thought about eneloop but went with amazon basics instead since I heard that they were just rebranded eneloops.

Worst case scenario i send em back and get the eneloops.

docholiday11x
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:08 am
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by docholiday11x » Tue May 23, 2017 9:21 pm

no success, for some reason the powerboost will convert a lipo to enough energy to power the pi 3 GBZ, but alkaline and NIMH batteries will not get boosted enough. no idea why this might be

User avatar
abrugsch
Posts: 971
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:00 am
Has thanked: 356 times
Been thanked: 430 times
Contact:

Re: Powerboost 1000b with NIMH

Post by abrugsch » Wed May 24, 2017 6:32 am

docholiday11x wrote:
Tue May 23, 2017 10:34 am
... since I heard that they were just rebranded eneloops.
I did a bit of research into new generation NiMH's about a year ago as I only recently rediscovered them. (I used NiMH about a decade ago and they were not that great. I spent more time re-charging than using them since they'd go flat in between usages, but modern "Pre-charged" or "long life" ones the new generation of NiMH and actually hold their charge for a considerable amount of time now) the Tl;Dr version is that Amazon basics batteries may have once been re-branded eneloops, but that's no longer the case and they have quite different discharge profiles.

short story is you trade off capacity for re-charge cycles, i.e. you get more re-charges out of them if they have a lower mAh rating, and some brands are better (performers and/or value) than others. (and eneloop weren't the best either!)

I had a spreadsheet of cost/power rating but it'll be horribly out of date now, so I'd do some googling yourself, but for this application you certainly want the higher mAh ones of the best brand you can find. if possible try and get a datasheet for it, and for a Pi3 you may need to run them in parallel as well as series, so 2x2 or 2x3 before the boost to give you 3x1.2v @ 2x the rated current output. (voltages multiply in series, amperages multiply in parallel)

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest