Hi Everyone,
I was wondering how I can power my Arduino with a 11v lip battery.
I'm looking at this one from radioshack: RadioShack.com Official Site - America's Technology Store
It is a +5v, 1A. I am kinda new to this so please help me.
Thank You,
Boon
You can put 11v into the Arduino anyway.... 7-12 recommended, 6 minimum (except for 5 in the USB).
So the 5v regulator won't help you supply power to the jack or Vin since it's too low.
The "linear" regulator you have linked is functionally the same regulator that is already on the Arduino.
With these types of regulators the efficiency is the input voltage minus the output voltage. You're wasting (11V - 5V) / 11V = 54% of the battery power. If you want longer run time you should use a "switching" regulator; check eBay for a "LM2596 module" (~$2) or visit a hobby store for a "battery eliminator circuit" (abbreviated "BEC" or "UBEC"). A switching regulator will waste only ~10% of your battery power.
Don't use a 11v LiPo together with a lineair regulator.
The above calculation is even worse with a full LiPo.
Charged LiPos peak at 4.2 Volts per cell.
Therefore your max. voltage would be 4.2 * 3 = 12.6
If you want to use a 3 cell LiPo, get a switching regulator and attach to the 5 volt line of your arduino.
These regulators can be found cheap on ebay for instance: 2014 New Waterproof DC Converter 12V Step Down to 5V 3A 15W Power Supply Module | eBay
(Just the first one I found, not a well thought out recommendation
A bit of a double post, now that I read the previous post better.
Oh well, just use a switching regulator 
Hi guys,
Thanks for the reply. Chagrin said that the arduino already has about the same voltage regulator onboard, then can I just plug in a 7.4v 3cell lipo directly to the board? Newest RC Drones, RC Spy Camera Drone, RC Quadcopters, RC Helicopters RC Drone RC MultiRotor RC Quadcopter RC UAV Drones Camera Online SuperStore Sales Lowest Prices
SeanD:
can I just plug in a 7.4v 3cell lipo directly to the board?
Always best to confirm for yourself on the product page; here's the Uno one for example.... 6-20 min-max, 7-12 recommended
thank you for the link. I was actually looking at that too. I usually power my device with a 5v wall outlet adapter, but I'm going to be using the device on-the-go and I was just wondering if the 7.4v will fry my board or not. I'm new to this.
then can I just plug in a 7.4v 3cell lipo directly to the board?
First you should figure out how many cells your lipo battery really has.
A 2 cell lipo battery will have a voltage range of around 6-8.4vdc and is nominally rated as a 7.4 volt battery.
A 3 cell lipo battery will have a voltage range of around 9-12.6vdc. and is nominally rated as a 11.1 vdc battery.
Either can be used to power an arduino board via it's external DC power supply connector or Vin pin, but the 2 cell battery will be more efficient because of the use of a linear voltage regulator on the arduino board.
Lefty
Hi retrolefty,
So if I have a 2 cell lipo around 7.4v, I can just connect directly to the Arduino power plug?
Yes
You will still be better off with a UBEC. I use this one: Radio Control Planes, Drones, Cars, FPV, Quadcopters and more - Hobbyking
It has a warning buzzer when your battery is getting low.
The 6.1V mode will plug direct into the barrel jack, or the 5.1V mode will plug direct into the 5v header on the Arduino for maximum efficiency.
It will run off up to 23V, so you can have lots of cells, high efficiency, and hence long battery life.
You should consider adding a fuse to the LiPo supply since those batteries can supply huge currents
if there is a short - the fuse prevents the wiring from melting / catching fire. Add an inline fuse to the
+ve supply close to the battery.
how many amps should the fuse be at?