9V Battery to Power SparkCore and NeoPixel Strip

First of all is it possible to power a SparkCore by itself with a 9V battery?

I’m hoping to run a NeoPixel Strip for a short amount of time with a 9V battery.

I asked the question of what kind of power I’d need to run a NeoPixel Strip and was told this:

https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=66662

72 pixels at 4.5A.

1.) The maximum Vin for the core is 6.0V (http://docs.spark.io/hardware/#spark-core-datasheet-electrical-characteristics)

2.) I remember the Neopixel strip require 5V so i guess that’s not directly possible

9v battery - 300mA-h http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/522.pdf so you wont get any time at all. you would be better off with a bunch of ‘D’ cells in series to get to 6V - but even then maybe for only a very short time. if you really need battery operation, look at LiPo batteries. They have a much higher density and you need to make sure you don’t draw too much from them too fast or they get really really hot.

I guess something like this is the way to go:

Unfortunately, they’re a pain to charge and they’re Out of Stock everywhere I can find them.

Also could someone tell me whether something like this would be just as good for the time being?

http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Storage-Batteries/Lithium-Non-rechargeable/Rechargeable-Li-Ion-Battery-3-7V-2200mAh-(18650)/p/SB2403

drawing 4.5Amps from a battery is not trivial. You should look at Electric Remote control vehicles (planes, cars, quadrotors) batteries. Seems to me they draw a ton of current in a short period of time. www.hobbyking.com is where I have often purchased large LiPo batteries. You need to make sure that the battery is rated for your discharge current. Read the reviews, not all batteries are the same.

Also these are good for learning how to properly select the correct battery for your project - How to Power a Project - SparkFun Learn
Battery Technologies - SparkFun Learn

This link is useful to understand safe discharge rates for high current batteries

You need to pay attention to the 'C' rating on the battery. For example if you had an 2200mAh battery and wanted to discharge it at a rate of 4.4 Amps that battery needs to have a '2C' discharge rating.

Again be very careful when playing around with batteries capable of providing high current discharges. You can arc things accidentally and even burn yourself or start a fire.

This battery is rated to a discharge rate of 1/2C so you should safely get 1.25 Amp discharge. I would not recommend it.

This battery does not have a 'C' rating and is in the AA form, so I would not recommend it.

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Thanks for all the information. It’s much appreciated.

I ended up scouring my items and came across a couple of 3.7v 500mAh Li-Po’s that give me about 45 minutes of time with 72 pixels turned on at full brightness. This is plenty for what we need at the moment.

I’ve got a Bluetooth module from Adafruit that I’m going to try tonight as well.