=VG= SemlerPDX
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- Birthday 06/02/1979
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DIY Wireless TrackClip Pro
Haven't had time to spend on this project for awhile.... Been trying to find batteries that will power these 3 LED's, and previous tests required at least 4x 1.5V AAA Batteries which is way too large for a battery pack that will sit velcro'd to my headphones.I just found some rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries with 3.7 Volts each in a "AAA" form-factor. These things are great! I tried running a single battery, but the LED's didn't illuminate in any noticeable way so I had to wire a second battery in serial, and they light up just fine. They are 350mAh each, which is less than half the capacity of a standard rechargeable Li-ion AAA battery, but the trade-off for a higher voltage in such a small size is exactly what I need for this project.
I left this thing plugged in overnight and it was off in the morning, I guess I'll time it to see how long it lasts. Next step will be to rig a recharging circuit with a micro-A USB female plug-in for easy re-charging, and then cram it all in a small black box with a velcro strap to easily attach to my headset. To start, I'm not going to cut the TrackClip Pro wire, and I'll leave the female USB connector shown below on the battery pack. I may shorten the TrackClip wire near the end of this project, at least to remove the heavy USB pass-through dongle hanging off it.
We'll see where this goes, I've never done anything like this before so it's a small challenge.
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Next parts are on order now -- if I ramp up the voltage from one single 3.7V battery, I can achieve 5V @ 1A for the 3 LED's on the TrackClip, and should retain a duration of more than 4 hours (overly hopeful estimate). I'll need to do some testing, if I have to, I'll use the second 3.7V battery like in the image above just for longer time between charges. Conversely, the new parts I ordered come in a 3 pack, so I could use one battery, and make up 3 separate powerpacks, and could have pre-charged ones sitting in reserve in the event one cuts out during use. This would allow me to retain the very tiny form-factor which is one of my goals.
I suppose I should note those goals moving forward:
- Tiny form-factor, less than 5cm long, less than 2.5cm wide & tall
- Can power TrackClip for between 4-8 hours continuously
- Tiny on-off slider switch
- Rechargeable via micro-A USB female plugin
- Output to TrackClip via USB (type A) female outlet plug (as in picture above)
- Encased in semi-rigid form like shrink wrap, adapted plastic case, or custom 3D printed plastic case
- Velcro strap to easily mount on headphones
- Total cost for one single powerpack unit less than $10 USD
These will arrive in about a week for $8 USD includes 3x charging boards with protection, 3x voltage step up circuits (variable with potentiometer 2-24V in to 5-28V out) and 5x 3.7V 18650 Battery holders (though I'll still be using the much smaller AAA style 3.7V batteries and holders shown above):
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