As a result of visiting Hamfest, I ended up with a laptop to take apart – a fairly new Toshiba Satellite C675D with a broken screen. It’s not a Hamfest if you don’t bring home something to take apart of course! Today we’ll be testing the battery it came with to see if it’s salvageable.The date code says it was made in 11/2011.
Neat! Never thought of using a SMBus reader to salvage an old laptop battery. You could probably use an Arduino or Bus pirate instead of the TI eval adapter.
NEW PRODUCT – 2.1mm DC Barrel Jack to Alligator Clips – Turn a wall adapter into a mini power supply with this incredibly useful adapter. A high quality molded 2.1mm DC barrel jack is brought out to red (center positive) & black (ring negative) alligator clips. Works with just about every wall adapter, good for about 2 or 3 Amps of current and up to 24VDC.
NEW PRODUCT – 2.1mm DC Barrel Plug to Alligator Clips – Turn any battery pack into a power supply with this incredibly useful adapter. A high quality molded 2.1mm DC barrel plug is brought out to red (center positive) & black (ring negative) alligator clips. 2.1mm is a near-standard for electronics, so with this adapter you can easy clip and connect packs and wires to a power jack. Good for about 2 or 3 Amps of current and up to 24VDC.
HOUSTON – (May 7, 2013) – A group of Rice University mechanical engineering students are getting a charge out of having the coolest new shoes on campus.
As their capstone project that is required for graduation, four seniors created a way to extract and store energy with every step. Their PediPower shoes turn motion into juice for portable electronics and, perhaps someday, for life-preserving medical devices.
In celebration of New York’s Bike to Work Day, the team at Voltaic Systems mounted a 60 watt solar panel on the back of an old-school road bike and rode the streets of the city, distributing a free charge-up. It’s good for everything from phones, tablets to laptops, as pictured. Via voltaicsystems.
Here’s a recent story with updates on the s0ccket project, the collection of soccer/(foot) ball kinetic energy to be used to power lights and other devices later that night — some new developments since this innovation appeared back in 2010. Thanks to Michael Reilly for the tip.
Who ever said that play can’t change the world? The Soccket ball, developed by two Harvard alumns, is a regulation-size soccer ball containing an inductive coil mechanism that captures and stores a small electrical charge. With a tiny flip cap that reveals an 1/8″ input, after less than 30 minutes of play, the Soccket will power an LED light for 3 hours, charge a battery, or operate other small devices, including an iPhone or portable CD player.
Think powering a small LED isn’t a big deal? According to the World Bank’s 2009 report, 65% of people in Africa and 25% of Latin America still have NO access to electricity. And since soccer is one of the world’s most popular sports — particularly in African and Latin America — the Soccket ball could be a meaningful source of electricity, especially to kids who often find ways to play even in harsh environments. So far 2,500 Soccket balls have been distributed through pilot programs for kids ages 7-12 in Tlaquepaque, Mexico; and in Chicago and Newark here in the states.
The Soccket’s outer measurements are identical to a regulation ball, and, tech pack included, it weighs only two ounces more. Made with a foam core and spongy foam fabric wrapped in vinyl, it can keep rolling after a puncture, unlike conventional soccer balls. The lead engineer for the team reports that the Soccket’s bounce is a little less than standard, but they’re working to improve it to match what players are used to.
This kit uses inductive charging to transfer power “wirelessly” from one coil to the other. You put in 12v 1A on the transmitter end, and on the other end you get 5v 0.6A.
I initially had some trouble getting it setup. I was trying connectors in every different position, every combination I could think of. It took me a day to realize my power supply was set to 9v rather than 12v. Once I upped the voltage, I could hold the coils an inch away from each other and still keep a charge. I also tried putting things in between the coils to see how much interference it could take. It had no problems with a coupon book, business cards, a small plastic mint case, though it did have issues being between a remote.
It is not everyday that you run into people designing their own power supplies — check out this great project from the Adafruit Forums by community member “Physics_Dude”:
Alright, I recently had the need to build a rectified AC/DC power supply. Yes, I mean rectified, not regulated. It won’t be used to power sensitive projects.
I used Adafruit’s current and volt meters to read out said values.
Panel Current Meter – 0 to 9.99A: Put a current meter anywhere with this very handy display. This panel meter requires a DC voltage to run, and then has two thick gauge wires to measure current draw. A shunt is already on board so its very easy to hook up! (read more)
Panel Volt Meter – 4.5V to 30VDC: Put a voltage meter anywhere with this very handy display. This panel meter simply connects to whatever DC supply you are trying to track, easy to wire up! (read me)
Here’s a handy technique that I haven’t seen covered anywhere lately: DIY friction/spin welding. While welding pieces of plastic to other pieces of plastic (in this case specifically styrene, notable because of all of the hobby supplies used in model building at your local craft store) might not sound extremely exciting until you starting thinking about — 3D printing, tiny electronics enclosures, armatures and jigs. I have a feeling that Fran is definitely onto something big for your workshop, office, or hackerspace!
Citizen! New opportunities await you in the exciting field of Friction Welding….. At Home! Yes – you too can enjoy the countless wonders of permanently attaching some plastic things to other plastic things – at will. Amaze your friends! In this video you will learn how to make your own friction welder, and I demonstrate just how amazingly strong a spin-weld is. Have fun, be safe, and enjoy!
Speaking of GravityLight’s low power solution, several people have written in to request more coverage in the blog on how transformers and power supplies for DIY projects work, and how to select them. Ladyada has a tutorial up on the Adafruit Learning System that addresses quite a few of the power supply options that pertain to the types of DIY projects most frequently attempted by our community:
What is a power supply?
A power supply is a device that supplies power to another device, at a specific voltage level, voltage type and current level. For example, when we talk about a 9VDC @ 500mA power supply can provideas much as 500mA of current and the voltage will be at least 9V DC up to that maximum current level. While it sounds simple, power supplies have a lot of little hang-ups that can be very tricky for the uninitiated. For example, unregulated supplies say they can provide 9V but really may be outputting 15V! The very common 7805 regulator datasheet claims it can regulate up to 1000 mA of current, but when you put a 15V supply on one side, it overheats and shuts down! This tutorial will try to help explain all about power supplies.
Why a power supply?
When you start out with electronics, you’ll hear a lot about power supplies - they’re in every electronics project and they are the backbone of everything! A good power supply will make your project hum along nicely. A bad power supply will make life frustrating: stuff will work sometimes but not others, inconsistent results, motors not working, sensor data always off. Understanding power supplies (boring though they may be) is key to making your project work!
A lot of people don’t pay much attention to power supplies until problems show up. We think you should always think about your power supply from day one – How are you going to power it? How long will the batteries last? Will it overheat? Can it get damaged by accidentally plugging in the wrong thing?
I have completed a sophisticated Highly Efficient Qi Lime Pi ProtoShield. The boards are on their way! The Qi Lime Pi is a Qi/Battery powered and prototyping shield for the Raspberry Pi.
Presenting the Qi Lime Pi..In Red, Green, Black and Moldy Purple!
NEW PRODUCT! In-line power switch for 2.1mm barrel jack – Add a power switch to any project simply by plugging this between the power supply. This is the most useful thing you never knew you needed! You’ll want to pick up a bunch for your electronic projects.
Comes with a 5.5/2.1mm barrel jack on one end an a plug on the other. In between is an in-line switch that is rated for 125V and 2Amps (its normally used for lamps, we suppose). Since most people will be using it with no more than 12VDC, we think it can probably handle up to 5A at that voltage.
BACK IN STOCK – 5V 1A (1000mA) USB port power supply – UL Listed – Need a USB jack for charging or powering a project, but don’t want to lug around a computer? This switching supply gives a clean regulated output at up to 1000mA! 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are “US 2-prong” style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one up at any hardware store for a $1 or so.
This adapter was specifically designed to provide 5.25V not 5V, but we still call it a 5V USB adapter. We did this on purpose to solve a problem that occurs often with USB-powered gadgets: they draw so much current than the resistance of the cable causes a voltage drop, so instead of 5V, the device sees 4.75V or so. To avoid this problem, we made the adapter 5.25V. This is because the USB power specification allows up to 5.25V, and its safe for all 5V electronics, and has the benefit of making up for any loss due to thin USB cables. Basically, you can use it where ever USB 5V power is needed, with no risk of damage, and it will happily work at the full current range, no matter what cable you use!
The adapter does not have a cable, instead there is a USB ‘A’ type port on the bottom, where you can plug any USB cable in. The data lines have resistors on them, to match what is inside of an ‘Apple iPhone’ type charger, and we tested this adapter successfully with an iPhone 4 so it ought to work with anything that can charge with an iPhone adapter.
This adapter is great for use with an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, teensy, NETduino, etc.! Also good with our Lithium-polymer battery chargers, so you can just carry a USB cable.
This particular adapter is very nice, with a red indicator LED to let you know its working.
NEW AND UPDATED – 5V 1A (1000mA) USB port power supply – UL Listed. Our awesome 5V (really 5.25V) 1A adapter – Now UL Listed! Great for powering or charging USB gadgets! Need a USB jack for charging or powering a project, but don’t want to lug around a computer? This switching supply gives a clean regulated output at up to 1000mA! 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are “US 2-prong” style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one up at any hardware store for a $1 or so.
This adapter was specifically designed to provide 5.25V not 5V, but we still call it a 5V USB adapter. We did this on purpose to solve a problem that occurs often with USB-powered gadgets: they draw so much current than the resistance of the cable causes a voltage drop, so instead of 5V, the device sees 4.75V or so. To avoid this problem, we made the adapter 5.25V. This is because the USB power specification allows up to 5.25V, and its safe for all 5V electronics, and has the benefit of making up for any loss due to thin USB cables. Basically, you can use it where ever USB 5V power is needed, with no risk of damage, and it will happily work at the full current range, no matter what cable you use!
The adapter does not have a cable, instead there is a USB ‘A’ type port on the bottom, where you can plug any USB cable in. The data lines have resistors on them, to match what is inside of an ‘Apple iPhone’ type charger, and we tested this adapter successfully with an iPhone 4 so it ought to work with anything that can charge with an iPhone adapter.
This adapter is great for use with an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, teensy, NETduino, etc.! Also good with our Lithium-polymer battery chargers, so you can just carry a USB cable.
This particular adapter is very nice, with a red indicator LED to let you know its working.
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