Hi
I've just started hacking with embedded devices and love it so far. My idea is to control 4 NeoPixel Rings with the Arduino Nano 33 BLE (only one at a time) and run the whole sketch from a battery.
I've realized the NeoPixel rings require 5V to operate. Also, the NeoPixel Uber Guide suggests using level shifting to ensure stability (although not a hard requirement).
Now I am confused about the power requirements. According to some posts in this forum, the board was designed to run from coin cells like CR2020. However, they have a shallow capacity, which might be enough only without any peripheral.
The circuit must be able to run from the battery for roughly 14 hours. The whole package (meaning board + LEDs) shouldn't be larger than 7x7x7 cm.
According to the NeoPixel guide, one LED/driver consumes roughly 20 mA (not at full brightness). So for a 16 LED ring, the following calculation should be correct. 16 x 20 mA / 1'000 = 0.32 A.
Further, the Nano itself requires roughly 1A max (Nina B306 = 15mA + LSM9DS1 = 2mA + User application = 950mA = 967mA)
Which leads to a required capacity of at least 18.018 Ah (14h x (0.32 A + 0.976 A)), correct? :-/
Assuming the math is correct, the battery would have to be quite a beast. Is this setup powerable by a battery in a practical manner? I mean, according to the size and runtime requirements mentioned above?
How would I design the (battery-driven) power supply to feed the Arduino and one NeoPixel ring at a time? Should I go for a high-capacity LiPo and step up the voltage with a booster?
Thanks in advance