Teensy 4.0 Powered by Anker PowerCore 10000 Portable Charger

[jemiller1963]

Hi All,

I am new to this subject and started by reading thru this site and watching YouTube videos. I'm sure that I will have many questions as I go thru the learning process. So my first question is, I have an Anker Powercore 10000 portable charger. I want to power projects of mine with this thru USB. Is this possible and is this a suitable way to power a project? Is it overkill or maybe harmful to the unit?

For the second question, I see the note on the information card to "Cut to separate VIN from VUSB, if using battery or external power." Can someone give me a scenario where this would be something that I would need to do?

Thank you so much!

 

[KenHahn]

Yes, you can power a project using a portable charger like that through the USB on the Teensy. It won't hurt anything as long as total current is kept below about 500mA or so.

Cutting the VUSB trace is done if you are supplying an external power source to the VIN pin (whether from a battery or a power supply) while also connecting power through the USB port. If you don't cut the trace, the two power sources will be shorted together and you may damage one of them because current can backflow into the one with the lower voltage..

If you are only supplying power through the Teensy USB port, you don't need to cut the trace. That makes the USB 5V power available for use on the VIN pin to power other parts of the circuit if needed.

 

[MichaelMeissner]

Some power banks will shut off the power if the device (i.e. Teensy) doesn't draw enough power. Paul had posted a circuit years ago for this problem. I discovered this device on crowdsupply, that I bought, but I haven't used yes:

• https://www.crowdsupply.com/pichanon-suwannathada/powerever

Another method might be to add some high power lights and turn them on every so often to use more power.

 

[jemiller1963]

Yes, you can power a project using a portable charger like that through the USB on the Teensy. It won't hurt anything as long as total current is kept below about 500mA or so.

Cutting the VUSB trace is done if you are supplying an external power source to the VIN pin (whether from a battery or a power supply) while also connecting power through the USB port. If you don't cut the trace, the two power sources will be shorted together and you may damage one of them because current can backflow into the one with the lower voltage..

If you are only supplying power through the Teensy USB port, you don't need to cut the trace. That makes the USB 5V power available for use on the VIN pin to power other parts of the circuit if needed.

Thank you Ken, I appreciate the help!

 

[jemiller1963]

Some power banks will shut off the power if the device (i.e. Teensy) doesn't draw enough power. Paul had posted a circuit years ago for this problem. I discovered this device on crowdsupply, that I bought, but I haven't used yes:

• https://www.crowdsupply.com/pichanon-suwannathada/powerever

Another method might be to add some high power lights and turn them on every so often to use more power.

Thank you Michael, I appreciate the help!

 

[MarkT]

I think almost all power banks do this - they are designed for charging phones and cut-off once the trickle-charge phase is reached to save power for the next use. Its definitely annoying.