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authorBdale Garbee <bdale@gag.com>2011-08-15 12:51:45 -0600
committerBdale Garbee <bdale@gag.com>2011-08-15 12:51:45 -0600
commit0054ab9e4112a9d651430f176b73c5ee34d62d5a (patch)
treec7092cb305db611ab578a12111df7e5e1ab93962
parent9693ba290f6615d444249781def5e712395424b2 (diff)
make lipocharger visible
-rw-r--r--LipoCharger/index.mdwn27
-rw-r--r--index.mdwn4
2 files changed, 21 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/LipoCharger/index.mdwn b/LipoCharger/index.mdwn
index 5910d18..064fc1c 100644
--- a/LipoCharger/index.mdwn
+++ b/LipoCharger/index.mdwn
@@ -1,23 +1,29 @@
# LipoCharger
-This is a simple but effective charger for LiPo batteries. It has a higher
-charge rate than the on-board charger on [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum), and
-will be necessary for charging the batteries used with projects like
-[TeleNano](../TeleNano) and [TeleMini](../TeleMini), which do not have
-on-board charging capability.
+This is a simple but effective, dual-rate, standalone charger for Lithium
+Polymer batteries. It supports who different charge rates, approximately
+100mA and 500mA. The higher rate is good for batteries of 400 mAh and higher
+including the 900mAh cells sold with [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum) starter kits,
+while the lower rate is more appropriate for the 110mAh cells often used with
+[TeleMini](../TeleMini). A standalone charger is essential for use with
+TeleMini since it does not have on-board charging capability.
## Features ##
### User View ###
-* Wall-wart power supply to our standard 2mm LiPo battery connector
+* Micro USB connector for power input
+* 2mm JST-style connector for battery
+* dual-color LED
+ * red when charging
+ * green when charge complete
+ * both on, or "yellow", when battery is disconnected or bad
* 1.0 x 0.4 inch board
### Developer View ###
* Hardware Features
- * [Microchip MCP73837](http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en531507) Li-ion battery charger chip
- * Strain-relief holes for soldering to wall-wart leads
+ * [Microchip MCP73831](http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en024903) Li-ion battery charger chip
* Tools Used
* [gEDA](http://www.gpleda.org/) for schematic capture and PCB layout
* Licenses
@@ -30,5 +36,6 @@ project [hw/lipocharger](http://git.gag.com/?p=hw/lipocharger;a=summary).
## Future Plans ##
-We need to build and evaluate some prototypes, and review costing, before
-deciding whether this design will go into production.
+After some iteration, we have settled on a design that meets our needs.
+Boards will be available for sale soon.
+
diff --git a/index.mdwn b/index.mdwn
index cbb24ab..39f35ca 100644
--- a/index.mdwn
+++ b/index.mdwn
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ pressure sensor
is the name of the firmware and related utilities that Keith maintains for
the set of hardware projects here.
+* [LipoCharger](LipoCharger/)
+is a standalone battery charger for the Lithium Polymer batteries used in
+Altus Metrum products.
+
* [TelePyro](TelePyro/) is a planned 8-channel pyro expansion board for
[TeleMetrum](TeleMetrum/).