Thanks to all for this thread and it's content. From the beginning I've felt that providing practical power to IoT devices in the field is like seeking the Holy Grail. I have so much more to learn...
I'd like to point to Andreas Spiess' YouTube segment "#183 How to select voltage regulators for small projects?"
I greater detail Andreas describes why my resistor/diode regulator was actually a heating element (not so LOL) and he points out the downfalls of Linear Voltage Regulators. He then outlines the value of Switching Regulators and so the Pololu I am about to test should be the way to go if it doesn't get too hot.
The need to step-down the voltage from 12v to 5v is dictated by my sensors. I am using a PIR motion sensor, flame sensor, Lux sensor and I'm testing a radar motion sensor in the one kit. These are all 5v breakout boards although I do have a 3.3v PIR device to test in the next iteration.
For various reasons I'm trying to provide a separate path for powering the sensors rather than the Boron's output. With the Boron and a Buck/Boost converter I could take several routes:
A) 12v SLA --> 5v Step-Down/Up regulator --> Power Rail --> Boron // Sensors
B) 12v SLA --> Boron --> 3.3v pin out to --> 5v Step-Up/Down regulator --> Power Rail --> Sensors
C) 12v SLA --> Boron --> 5v USB pin out to --> Power Rail --> Sensors
To add to the mix I am using the elegant Carrier Board created by Chip which provides a RTC and Watchdog feature that I find useful in the field:
I am once again wiring up a protoboard to test these approaches but would truly welcome comments.
Thanks
philly
