POWER IS NOTHING WITHOUT REMOTE CONTROL
This project represents what I believe can be a very effective tool for makers in the electronics and microcontrollers world: a portable, battery operated, voltage and current controlled power supply you can control via a mobile application on your smartphone.
When it comes to power supplies there are multiple factors influencing their effectiveness, some though are more important than others when you live your passion in the world of microcontrollers.
FlexiPower, with its limited power rating,Ā Ā is certainly not intended as a replacement for a benchtop power supply, but when it comes to portability and stability it can probably be classified in the higher ranks.
The design is simple and tries to minimize component costs while still providing a range of capabilities useful forĀ makers in the field:
- dual channel (you can decide to go single channel,Ā by just populatingĀ only one andĀ save on components cost)
- maximum supply voltage isĀ 20VĀ withĀ a 20mV resolution
- maximum supply current isĀ 1AĀ per channel
- fine-grained current measurement depending on maximum drawn current:
- 10uA resolution for current up to 40mA
- 20uA resolution for currentĀ up to 80mA
- 40uA resolution for currentĀ up to 160mA
- 80uAĀ resolution for current up to 320mA
- 2mA resolution for current up to 1A
- current limiting resolution of 4mA
- very low output noise, with practically no noise for output voltages equal or lesser than 6V
- remote control over WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- data logging and output analysis (via the remote app)
- recharge from any 1A 12V DC supply, including car outlets
- reverse voltage protection
- dedicated current sensing connector
Ā
This project has been picked as the winner for the CircuitMaker Summer Project Contest 2016!