cowdog360 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Wow, that's huge! That should rock. I just got my LTC samples and adapter pcb's in, so I should be doing this with a Lynx II shortly. Just not with the lipo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 5500 mAh Did some charging and running the Lynx at the same time and....the FAQ of the Powerboost 1000C is not kidding.... it gets hot. Pretty damn hot. The chips on the Powerboost, but also the underside of the PCB. And this kind rules out my planned way of mounting it with some good quality double-sided tape. Not only could the heat present a problem to the tape, I think it's also required to have a bit of space under the powerboost PCB to let air flow there....so I'm thinking of getting some nylon washers to raise it up a bit. I can't drill holes in the PCB of course so I'll have to use some glue. Next problem which this introduces is....space....the initial idea was to mount the Powerboost on the original spot of the power connecter but this has a second problem in that it will touch the flat cable of the new LCD screen. I really don't want that....However, been looking around for other spots to mount the Powerboost but I can't really find a spot where there are no components and or Another option would be mounting the Powerboost in the area were formerly the high-voltage module for the LCD used to be. There is plenty of space there but this requires moving the micro-USB connector.....might go for this option though as this will also make it possible to position the USB connector exactly at the spot where the original power connector was....disadavantge is that I need to wait pretty long for stuff like this to arrive from the far-east.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 (edited) Ordered 2 of these instead.....the tracks are much wider which I need for the high current.... http://nl.aliexpress.com/item/MICRO-USB-to-DIP-Adapter-5pin-Female-Connector-B-Type-PCB-Converter/32718490481.html?spm=2114.010208.3.38.oMXgZ3&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_0,searchweb201602_1_10057_10056_10065_10037_10055_10054_10069_301_10059_10058_10032_10017_10070_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_7&btsid=a2c37716-ec19-42bf-aad1-112f46531b61 Might replace the connector with a brand one later....i don't trust unbranded far-east connectors very much....but the PCB will be OK. Edited September 1, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 (edited) Meh, forget about those.....ordered this instead. It's a cable from female micro USB to a standard large USB Connector but I will cut that off......I could screw (or better glue) this connector about anywhere on the Lynx housing.....solving s lot of issues :) And it will be here within one night Edited September 1, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryoder Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Sell me the perfect Lynx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) Haha.....well.....in all honesty.....this is going to be a very expensive Lynx.... Everything including shipping costs where applicable...... ......and that's not counting the parts I bought but didn't use (permanently) in the final set-up......... .....oh and......let's forget about the number of hours I put in it ;) Edited September 2, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) Oops, forgot the Visaton speaker....that's an extra 20 Euro incl. shipping.... Edited September 2, 2016 by Level42 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Some pics how I mounted the battery. I deals in doubt wether to use straight double sided tape or Velcro but since I have plenty of room for this very thin battery, I went with the Velcro. It's sturdy enough yet still removable. But first I had to cut away the pins that normally support the battery tray......if there is one thing you DON'T want to happen to Lipo batteries is get a puncture.....search YouTube for Lipo Fire and you'll understand. So I cut the 4 closest to the battery compartment and sanded away as much as possible to get the surface pretty flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) Next put on some Velcro on both sides,,,,, Edited September 2, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Good luck Level42. Hopefully your giant Lynx battery doesn't catch fire or blow up. If anyone heard the latest news about the massive Samsung Galaxy S7 recall, the phones were literally exploding on the charger... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 Haha....well I won't be letting it run or charge without my supervision On one hand, the stories about Lipo's getting fire are no jokes. Friend of mine had his iPhone battery replaced in a "dodgy country" for very cheap and yes his went up in flames. On the other hand, how many smartphones,tablets, RC planes, cars and drones, power tools, cars etc.etc.etc,.......there are billions of Lipo's in use around the world each day, I think it's safe to say that every home in the western world has at least a couple of them in use.....and how many catch fire ? In the YouTube videos, people have to seriously abuse them (hack them with an axe or drive a large nail through them) to make them catch fire,,,,, But yes....it is on my mind.....and that was also why I have searched high and low for a reliable source for a well known brand battery but........I can't seem to find them using Google..... I did find Panasonic brand ones but the max.capacity was quite low.... If someone has a link to a reliable brand with about the same dimensions and capacity please let me know.... In the mean time.....this arrived....sometimes it's pretty awesome to order something just before 22 .00 and receive the item about 12 hours later.....quite a difference with Aliexpress stuff. I will cut off the large USB connector, remove the micro USB connector of the Powerboost 1000c and solder the wires straight to it. I hope the wires can handle the current required.... Nice that they included the screws but not sure if I'll use them.....don't like the look of screws outside the Lynx case so I'll try glueing it first. This does mean that the Lynx case gets a permanent wire to the Powerboost from that moment, kinda like the battery wires were on the original set-up, I can live with that.....don't want to use a connector on the Powerboost because that would add even more resistance..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) By the way, I'm running tests with the Lipo before I assemble everything. One thing I have to do though is temporarily disable the auto shut down of the Lynx I because else I can't drain the battery completely I can easily disable the shut down feature by wiring the (inverted) [Power On] signal to +5V. This way the Lynx will stay running "forever". Edited September 3, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800fan Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Could add a switch between normal mode and always on mode? Or just leave it always on since you won't be wasting expensive AA's anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) Sorry, I don't follow you ? The LTC2950 arranges everything with the power on/off and it will only draw 0.06 mA when it's powered off. I only want to have it run "indefinitely" to see how long the battery will hold out...just for a test. after that I want it to act like a Lynx I alsways does. It will power off after about 4 minutes when left idle. Brought back the power supply I had bought earlier today and traded it for the original,Rapsberyy Pi one. It claims to deliver 0,5A more which is always good, it is supported by Rapbery Pi which can't be a bad sign and it was 5 euro's cheaper, which doesn't hurt on this project ;) while I was there also returned the wrong-sized PCB which was another 2.50 ....well I was there anyway ;) The unit is definitely bigger than the one I had before and the wires definitely are thicker too. Edited September 3, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) I measured some temps on the Powerboost PCB...... To my finger it feels much hotter......maybe the area is just too small to measure accurately with the gun....not sure but this doesn't seem like extremely hot. 48 degrees Celcius is fine for electronics. This is when running the Lynx and charging the battery at the same time.... About the USB cable I bought: there is no way I can fit this on the original,power jack location because the end of the plug and wire will run over the LCD.....now I'm in doubt. think I'll put the micro USB entry somewhere else on the Lynx and use the former Power jack position to put the RGB led there..... Edited September 3, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 Ahhhhhh, the life of hacker isn't always about roses....... Just checked out the schematics of the Powerboost (yep, should have done earlier, I know) but the green and yellow LED are being hooked up permanently to +5V and get a GND signal when they need to turn on but the red LED for battery low works the other way around......the RGB LED PCB I bought has a common GND.....rats.....now what....anyone have an idea ? Cowdog ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Ahhhhhh, the life of hacker isn't always about roses....... Just checked out the schematics of the Powerboost (yep, should have done earlier, I know) but the green and yellow LED are being hooked up permanently to +5V and get a GND signal when they need to turn on but the red LED for battery low works the other way around......the RGB LED PCB I bought has a common GND.....rats.....now what....anyone have an idea ? Cowdog ? Crap. Might have to drill some holes and hot glue the LEDs into the case. Some LEDs come with a series resistor. These are usually calibrated for Imax at 12V but illuminate fine for indicator use at 5V and probably easier on the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 (edited) Well, naturally the LEDs which are already on the Powerboost have series resistors, or,else,they would light up very very briefly So I had planned to leave those resistors in the hope,that the 1K value they have would be OK for the SMD RGD LED. If not I could always replace them with another value. The RGB LED PCB I have has no on-board resistors. Don't really feel like having multiple LEDs on the outside of the Lynx either.... Edited September 4, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 (edited) Hah.....already found a way to solve this I thought it was the actual SMD LED that would have a common GND connection but I just had a look at the PCB and it turns out it is the PCB which has the GNDs of th three LED colors connected....... If I cut the traces like pictured I will have three independ LEDs that I can wire up Will require a few extra wires but I can combine the + of the green and yellow (= blue) LED to save a wire. Edited September 4, 2016 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 O LOL.....turns out this is a double sided PCB.....the actual working tracks are on the side where the LED is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 So....I cut the traces between the LED pins.....had to desolder the LED on one side to be able to do that. It was a lot of fiddling around but I managed to do it, I had three independent LEDs.....wired everything up....triple checked everything.....powered up the Lynx.....as expected the Blue LED went on.....and went off again after a few seconds with a tiny "tick" sound.......immediately thought it had burnt and sure enough when I checked it with my DVM it was dead. I really can't explain why though.....I am sure I hooked it all up right. There is a 1K resistor in series with the LED....maybe that value is too low ? If it is....I really didn't feel like replacing the SMD resistors on the Powerboost nor did I want to add them elsewhere. To be honest I was a bit burnt out about the whole LED idea because if this and decided to drop the entire LED idea. So no external LEDs, and in fact, none on the Powerboost anymore either since I had already removed the original ones..... O well....I gues I will know when the battery is low when the Lynx stops working ;) Following this I have started to give everything it's permanent spot and make all the wiring permanent ( = very much shorter) as well. I decided to mount the Powerboost in the spot where the HV module used to be with four days of hot-glue on the corners so that the Powerboost is up from the Lynx PCB by a few mm. The extra LTC2950 is a bit of a pain though....I want it to be close to the Powerboost and keep all wiring short as possible.......I just hope everything will fit..... At the moment I have an issue that sometimes the Lynx won't powe up, and sometimes it does,,depending on the LTC2950 PCB position so there must be a bad connection somewhere but I'll figure that out. I also hot-glued the female micro USB connector with wire in the spot where the original power jack was. The wires coming from it are very very thin indeed.....sadly. I wired them to the Powerboost directly and we'll see if the wires can handle the current....I could replace the wire with thicker ones close to the connector but I doubt it would help much. Can't wait to finally assemble everything and finally be able to actually play it !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Well I did it Even though it's not exactly what I had envisioned (yet?) I really wanted to assemble the Lynx now. This was also because I want to show it at Eurocade next weekend. So I started to reduce all the wires lengths and position everything, hot glueing everything in place.... This is what I ended up with. I had to cut the "battery plate" because else it wouldn't fit but I needed the screw supports and also the cartridge lid is held down by the far end on the left. So,I cut it up in three pieces. I glued the two supports near the speaker. I also put a large dab of hot glue on top of the LTC2950 PCB to isolate it...it's more or less "hanging" over the Powerboost PCB. Very happy that everything fits :) I do seem to have an issue with he new LCD, posted about that on the thread about the LCD.....maybe it's just some connection.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelperfect Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Very nice! Hope you are able to get the screen issue fixed before Eurocade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Thanks.....it works great I've done quite some time of playing until the battery ran out.....now recharging it. I hate to say it but there's a second problem.....the sound seems to be distorted.....I fear the Visaton may have proved to be a bit too much of a load to the audio amp....,,but hope it maybe something else.....simpler..... In the mean time it's time to say goodbye to all the stuff I removed.....quite a bit.....and this picture doesn't include the old LCD and its backlight of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdog360 Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I wonder if c39 was helping to buffer the power rail before. Maybe without it your have too much draw? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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