What's a project if it's trapped on your desk? Now you can take your Arduino anywhere you wish with the PowerBoost shield! This stackable shield goes onto your Arduino and provides a slim rechargeable power pack, with a built-in battery charger as well as a DC/DC booster.
Compatible with Arduino Uno, Duemilanove, Mega, Leonardo and Due - basically any Arduino-pinout-shaped Arduino as only the GND and 5V pins are used. You can stack shields on top, or stack the PowerBoost on top. Please note that the power boost does not pass through the ICSP headers (the battery is in the way) so if your stacking shield uses ICSP for data transfer (like the Ethernet Shield), you'll need to stack the PowerBoost above it!
The PowerBoost shield can run off of any Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer battery (3.7/4.2V kind) but we suggest a 1200mAh capacity or 2000mAh capacity battery, both of which fit very nicely in the empty space of the shield. Plug in the battery and recharge it via the micro USB jack. When you're ready to go, just unplug the Arduino from USB or the wall adapter and it will automatically switch over to shield power. Use only Lipoly batteries with protection circuitry!
The onboard boost converter can provide at least 500mA current and can peak at 1A. There's an onboard fuse to protect against higher current draws which could damage the boost converter or battery. The boost converter can be damaged by high current spikes and is not recommended for driving motors or robots where the stall current can cause high current spikes
The shield comes as a kit of parts, some light soldering is required to attach the stacking headers and switch! Battery, wall adapter, and USB adapter are NOT included, but you can pick one up in the shop (again, we suggest our 1200mAh battery or 2000mAh battery, but you can use any 500mAh+ size you like) There's even an optional switch. If you choose to solder it in, it will let you turn the shield and Arduino power on/off.
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