I'm making a tumbling spherical robot.
I intend to use six stepper motors (28BYJ-48), two per axis, to pull/release tethers to roll a wire-framed sphere.
I'll have solarcells charge a lithium battery pack through a TP4056 (+booster) which will power the Arduino Mega and the steppers. There will be a gyrometer attached to the Mega to detect XYZ to inform the program tasked with rolling the sphere.
Much of this is tentative, although I've tested the various components, individually.
I have NOT figured out the power arrangements.
My question is:
I "think" I can solar charge the battery pack through the TC4056 while simultaneously powering the steppers with the same pack.
And it appears as if this simultaneous "charging" & "load" will not destroy the lithium batteries.
But, do I simply attach V+/V- from the battery to both the Arduino AND the stepper drivers?
Or am I missing something, circuit wise?
Would there be a better arrangement for my self-powered, self-directed robot's power structure?
Thanks for any reply.
(First time poster, long time lurker.)
I've watched some youtubes on the TP4056 and this concept of "forever trickle charge."
The videographer seems to think that the charge controller would never over-voltage the battery.
I have seen some circuit videos which explore using a switch to disconnect part of the circuit to disable trickle charging. I suppose I'll just have to try it and see.
Be careful watching self proclaimed "experts" on the internet! There's a lot videos made by ignorant people showing projects violating maximum data, running for a short time, running on pure luck etc.
I have no personal, experience of both charging and discharging LiPo and similar but I've got the message that some controllers can charge only, and a few handle both ways.
Reading the datasheets carefully is the only way to be safe.
