G+_Rud Dog Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Welcome back! Built me a little something while you were away. Sorry for the shadows cell phone pic. It is the particle core driving a relay. Do you think the battery is overkill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Travis Hershberger Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 The only way to make that battery even better is to have a solar cell to charge the thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_William L. DeRieux IV Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Rud Dog I don't think the battery is overkill -- having a larger current capacity (read as: amperes hours and/or watt hours) just means that the battery has a longer runtime. However, if the current capacity provides a runtime that is longer than the device will be in operation -- then I might have to amend my previous statement and say that it is overkill -- but having a longer runtime than is needed really doesn't matter (and is better than having a battery that is underrated). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_David Peach Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I have a project where a 6V battery powers a motion detector. After it had been in operation for 9 months I tested the battery and saw no noticable voltage drop. It was about 6 months ago that I last checked it. I should check it again and see how it's doing. UPDATE: I just checked my battery. It is at 6.23V which is exactly what it read 6 months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Rud Dog Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 The board you see now will expand to four relays and power my sprinkler valves. It will be located in a far back section of the yard where no power is available. Thinking of using latch relays to lessen the load on the battery. The project is a work in progress. Once the second phase is in place will test the battery life of the circuitry. This will decide if I need to add a solar panel. Running the board and so far it has made it the first night. The timer is set to control the relay every Tuesday and Thursday for 15 minutes. What is missing is the current the solenoid valves will draw hence the latch relay possible modification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Rud Dog Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 Update: BEWARE! This circuit was tested for weeks with out any problems. When it was finally moved to the end location and powered up all was fine. Then it just stopped working leaving damaged component, the Particle Photon. Setup the circuit you see in the photo minus the particle photon and left it powered on while I surfed the web and did other desk type activities. Half way through my morning the relay clicked and the green led was shinning brightly indicating it had been activated. Grabbed my voltmeter and sure enough the output of the UBEC had gone from input of 12VDC output of 5VDC to 12VDC input and output of 12VDC. Once the UBEC was powered down and powerup it was functioning properly. Not sure if I got a bad UBEC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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