I am trying to power my Argons and Xenons with a solar panel and LiPO battery. However, the solar panel is 12V, so we need a charge controller/ battery shield to step it down for the Argon, because the on-board step down regulator is only through the USB and may not be suited for this. Is Argon and …

The Gen3 devices (Argon, Xenon) have feather format pins whereas the Photon does not so that a Power Shield aimed at a Photon will not work. You could plug in a LiPo battery and then get a step down converter to produce 5V output from the solar panel and then connect this via the micro USB or VUSB …

Would the legacy converter board work for this?

[image] Re: Classic Adapter: It seems to work. Note the pins overhanging, since the CA is designed to go into an Electron socket.

@ Armor Yes, we like your idea of a solar panel with a step down converter to provide a steady 5V to VUSB. The specs for argon or xenon both say 500mA for VUSB. If we are using something like a buck boost converter to provide a steady 5V, then the amps will vary with the amount of sunlight. Is …

Take a look at this thread - many answers to many similar questions :slight_smile: [image] Boron / Xenon / Argon Carrier for Outdoor Applications Project Share All, I will be creating a carrier board for the Boron to support outdoor use. Here are the main items I plan to…

I haven’t tried this and @shanevanj project share link from @chipmc is probably your best source of best practice. My thinking was that the solar panel regulator ensures that only 5V is supplied to VUSB - so if the solar panel is not producing it will not provide any voltage on VUSB. But you will ha…

If you’re not stuck with the 12V panel, you can use a 6V panel and large Li-Po, with no other hardware required for the Argon. But since the Argon is a hungry device, sticking with a 12V System is a more robust solution for extended cloudy days verses the cost of a very large Li-Po. This is a gene…

Ah! Thank you! This put us on the right track. Definitely saved money too.

Argon Compatability with Power Shield

Hardware

shanevanj November 5, 2019, 4:59am 6

Take a look at this thread - many answers to many similar questions

Topic		Replies	Views
Particle Argon Solar Power Troubleshooting argon	30	4077	February 20, 2019
Argon voltage tolerance for LiPo charging Hardware	2	710	May 7, 2018
Argon and LiPo charging Device OS argon	5	1357	April 8, 2021
Powering Argon from VUSB, Charge LED Flickers if Under 5V Hardware argon	11	1785	May 3, 2021
VUSB pin on Argon Hardware argon	15	2706	November 15, 2024

Argon Compatability with Power Shield

Related topics