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Better understanding of portable lithium battery pack

Sameh Mohamed

Jun 11, 2017
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Firstly I am a newbie in electronics. Been a software developer for over 10 years and I know my way around desktop hardware, but that's mostly it.

I am self-teaching robotics using Raspberry Pi. I bought this battery pack a few months back and it works well when connected directly to the Pi board.

However I would like to connect it to this motor controller which is in turn connected to the PI. Problem is this controller accepts + and - wires rather than USB.

I opened up the pack and I am hoping to get help here on understanding the bits and pieces of what I am looking.

Please see image attached

Firstly: what is the white material there and what is its purpose?

Secondly: this battery has two outputs: a USB one; the left side and an AC one; second from the right. Why is the AC output covered in white material?

Finally: how can I hack it so that it outputs two wires out of the AC or USB output?
 

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Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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Doesn't the battery pack have a user manual that shows you where its outputs are? It has an AC adapter that feeds its battery charger. It does not have an AC output but has USB and a few adjustable voltage outputs.
The white material is some "goop" that holds parts down so they don't break their wires but the person who put it made a big mess.

It is designed to feed a laptop or cell phone to charge its battery and it might not be able to power the motor controller.
 

Harald Kapp

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The specs for the motor controller say "Power input Voltage 6-25V". This controller will not be reliably powered by the 5 V USB port of the power bank.
You'll have to use the DC output which is switchable between 12 V, 16 V or 19 V.
The power bank comes with a set of adapter cables for operating a laptop. You can cut off the connector at the laptop end of the aadapter cable and connect the wires to the motor controller's power supply terminals.
 

Sameh Mohamed

Jun 11, 2017
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Thanks Harald Kapp. Vielen Dank! I tried that a few months ago but wasn't a very serious try. I will re-try this week.
 

Sameh Mohamed

Jun 11, 2017
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The specs for the motor controller say "Power input Voltage 6-25V". This controller will not be reliably powered by the 5 V USB port of the power bank.
You'll have to use the DC output which is switchable between 12 V, 16 V or 19 V.
The power bank comes with a set of adapter cables for operating a laptop. You can cut off the connector at the laptop end of the aadapter cable and connect the wires to the motor controller's power supply terminals.

Hi Harald,

I did as you recommended; connected the wires of the DC output to the controller, however some strange issue is happening. As soon as I turn on the battery pack, it lights green then goes dead (almost like it's shorted).

However the same connection works just fine when connected directly to a motor and directly to this other motor driver I have. I am wondering if there' some programming on the PiBorg Reverse that conflicts with the battery pack. Any thoughts on your end?

Thanks again!
 
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