On and off switch when powering Arduino with Powerbank

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

I’m new to Arduino and electronic like these. I ahve read and searched the forum but no one has asked this yet. Is there a way to add an off and on switch when the Arduino nano and led strips are powered by a powerbank?

2

Welcome to the forum

Of course you can add an on/off switch.

One possible problem is that many powerbanks turn themselves off if sufficient current is not drawn for a period of time and hence will not supply power when the connected device is turned on again

3

Could a (large) capacitor in parallel with the load pull enough current momentarily to start the powerbank?

Guess I'll give it a try it myself...

4

The problem is not the start-up current, it is the continuous current. If it drops too low then many powerbanks turn themselves off. A capacitor will not help with that

There are devices available that stop this happening by periodically drawing current from the powerbank

5

I understand that. I meant adding a capacitor to create a current surcharge when the switch is turned ON again to "help" restart the powerbank. Just an idea

And yes, if the current is not large enough (whatever this means) the powerbank may switch off.

Per your comment, perhaps adding a sleep/wake cycle could prevent the powerbank from shutting down. Another test to perform...

6

How would that work? If the power bank output is off then there won't be a surge. If the output is on there won't be any need for a surge.

7

Adding a capacitor would increase the current drawn when the powerbank is started as the capacitor will need to be charged up. This will make things worse by putting a greater strain on the powerbank rather than helping it

8

Understood. Most (two of mine, at least) powerbanks have a switch that has to be pushed to turn it back on. Or off.

This switch may then be what the OP was asking for.

9

Well, the switch would be away from the powerbank however, for my project. I read that someone was able to get continuous flow by keeping the flashlight on the powerbank on (one of those powerbanks with a flashlight). But I'm still open for any other ideas!

10

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