I’m trying to make the Seeed Xiao portable by powering it through a 3.7V 500mAh LiPo battery, currently through a breadboard and without soldering. I have read that breadboard powering through LiPo batteries can be dangerous without proper setup (from shorts).
I found this battery which reportedly has in-built discharge and overcharging protection: 500mAh 3.7V LiPo Battery - The Pi Hut
Is it safe to plug the battery (via the JST connector) directly into the breadboard and power the XIAO board? If yes, can I do this by connecting the JST connector via breadboard wires directly into the breadboard? And does this have to go through the power rails first or can it go directly in-line with the XIAO board?
Which board do you have exactly because some have dedicated pads on the back specifically for a battery. They can even charge the batteries too via the USB-C port..
I’m using the Seeed Xiao nRF52480 Sense board: Seeed XIAO nRF52840 Sense - The Pi Hut
I am bot looking to charge the LiPo battery via the Xiao just yet, I am only trying to understand i) how I can make the Xiao portable without soldering (ie not powering via USB-C) and ii) if I risk blowing anything up (including the battery)
Well there are pads on the back for a battery however you will need to solder to them. Other than that, I am uncertain the if the board can operate at 3.7v. It may need a clean 5V, which it has onboard circuitry to do just that, but only for those pads on the back.
If you just want to power it and not charge the battery, then you will need a step up boost converter to go from the 3.7v up to the 5v it needs through the VBUS pin.
First, what specific version of the nRF52840 are you using, there are 4 versions.
- nRF52840
- nRF52840 Sense
- nRF52840 Plus
- nRF52840 Sense Plus
The pinout on the back is slightly diferent but without spending some time with a magnifying glass for these 84yo eyes I can't be more specific, but you need to be.
I see the board uses the BQ25101 chip so you have excellent battery management.
If you do not want to solder wires to the back of the XIAO (I would NOT) you will need a carrier board with POGO pins for the battery.
The WIKI for the board is chock full of information.
If you can't find a POGO board, give me a shout and I will check my orders as I am sure I have some.
Here is the expansion board with the POGO pins. I am providing links to SEEED directly (good price, cheap delivery, fast).
WIKI
Product Page
Where I order from
and the Wiki for the nRF52840
Thank you so much for the detailed responses! I ended up going with the Expansion board and it works perfectly, as it also has its own JST connector input and built-in overcharging / decharging protection. It works like a charm!
P.S. I am using the nRF52840 Sense
