Battery Banks: A solution

[Pentium]

I didn't make this personally, but why haven't I seen a GBZ with a battery bank within it yet?
Specifically a battery bank (one usually used to charge phones) that has:
-A built in charger
-An internal battery
-A USB output to power the pi
-A LED indication light
All in one slim and compact thing!

*NOTE: just to be clear, I'm NOT selling these things or anything like that. Here's the link to buy it yourself: https://www.radioshack.com/collections/ ... bank-black

....the problem is that it's radioshack. Yeah....
you will be missed

If you find an alternative, please post it below to help people out. I haven't tested if it fits inside a gameboy shell, but it seems like it can, more research pending.
What do you think?

[abrugsch]

They usually (not always) won't supply while they themselves are being charged. Also their casing takes up valuable space for something that's only going to be internal anyway.

[ICMF]

I didn't make this personally, but why haven't I seen a GBZ with a battery bank within it yet?

You haven't looked hard enough? viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3037

The case isn't a huge concern, as it can be removed for a smaller form factor, but there are a number of reasons why it's less common. Most won't do pass-through charging, so you still may need a Powerboost. And they're often more expensive than an equivalent bare LiPo from China. And their capacity claims are just as sketchy as any battery bought on eBay.

Most importantly though, it's not what Wermy used, and since most people are using Sudomod as a guide, they stick with similar components.

[Renalti]

Most importantly though, it's not what Wermy used (...)

I think it's sad that some people could think like that (I am not saying ICMF does, AFAIK he is merely stating a fact). It is great to always challenge something, because worst case you will learn something (why this or that solution wasn't used), best case you will find a better (at least for yourself) solution.

I did the same thing by suggesting to use a I2S amp, directly connected to the Pi output. It would save battery life, space inside the shell... But thanks to this forum, I discovered that they are not that common (maybe not even existing? which is a bummer for this application)

Great idea anyway @Pentium ! (though I personally went with the li-poly battery solution)

Maybe I'll have a look into it. Being able to play while charging the GBZ is not very important to me, plus as you said it features an integrated battery level indicator, which is great! (though you would have to place your battery in a very specific way inside the shell for these leds to be visible)

I'll follow this thread, hoping people will provide ingenious ideas to make it work flawlessly!!

[abrugsch]

Most importantly though, it's not what Wermy used (...)

I think it's sad that some people could think like that (I am not saying ICMF does, AFAIK he is merely stating a fact).

I think ICMF was using 'most importantly' to answer the original question, "why don't we see more of these... Because most people follow wermy's guide without thinking about alternatives" {paraphrasing, not literally quoting}
I don't think he's suggesting most people are thinking like "What Would Wermy Do"

[Renalti]

I think ICMF was using 'most importantly' to answer the original question, "why don't we see more of these... Because most people follow wermy's guide without thinking about alternatives" {paraphrasing, not literally quoting}
I don't think he's suggesting most people are thinking like "What Would Wermy Do"

Well that's precisely what I meant sorry if I was not clear enough.

I meant that people should not simply follow a tutorial to the t, they should instead try to think of other solutions for some parts of the tutorial (I did not mean they see Wermy as a God and would therefore not question his technical choices)

Thank you for allowing me to clarify any unclear thing I wrote, english is not my mother language and I may sometime make mistakes

[abrugsch]

Understood. it's just that most people following tutorials are not necessarily experts in problem solving, so by definition they won't be looking to understand why their thing doesn't work, just that they want to build {a thing} exactly as in the tutorial. such is the spoonfed society we've become
Sorry, it wasn't meant to be an attack, but more a comment on society as a whole.

[Renalti]

Duly noted!

Anyway, still eager to see what some better tinkerers than I am could suggest with this battery bank interesting idea!

[ICMF]

I think ICMF was using 'most importantly' to answer the original question, "why don't we see more of these... Because most people follow wermy's guide without thinking about alternatives" {paraphrasing, not literally quoting}

Yup.

Like, look at the number of posts asking which specific tact switch they should use. Most people are just following the instructions to make the thing, rather trying to add their own innovations. Which is totally fine - it's awesome that hundreds of people have been inspired to make their own device and learn new skills - but it means the builds tend to be similar.



As for the whole power bank thing... The single biggest hurdle is finding a power bank with passthrough charging (it will charge/discharge simultaneously). Most don't, so they'll cut power to the device if you try to charge the battery. That's mostly going to be a matter of either tons of research to find suitable banks, or just trial and error, testing actual power banks.

Apart from that, make sure it uses LiPo pouch cells and not 18650s, and then find one that's small enough for your needs.

So, it will work, and it's a viable solution, but finding exactly the right bank is hard.

[abrugsch]

Apart from that, make sure it uses LiPo pouch cells and not 18650s, and then find one that's small enough for your needs.

That in itself is a little misleading... Most 18650s are li-po (or Li-Ion) but that's not the problem. It's the fact the most (not all) 18650s are unprotected and ideally you want a protected cell. Adafruit has 18650 cells that Li-Ion and protected. They are absolutely fine and were usedin the original PiGrrl project is exactly what they have you use.
Li-po and Li-Ion are interchangeable at a charging level. AS LONG AS THE CHARGER MAX VOLTAGE IS THE SAME OR LOWER THAN THE BATTERY.
Most charger/batteries are 3.7/4.2 V (that's nominal voltage/max voltage) and you can charge a 3.8v/4.35v cell with a 3.7/4.2 charger but not the other way round.