{"id":1193,"date":"2014-07-19T00:53:35","date_gmt":"2014-07-19T07:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.4\/?p=1193"},"modified":"2026-06-02T05:15:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:15:03","slug":"sensor-helmet-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/?p=1193","title":{"rendered":"Sensor Helmet Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

What will I need?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I finally decided on what to use for powering the helmet devices. \u00a0My February article<\/a> didn’t give to much technical detail about what would be used. \u00a0It was more a to do list for what to spec out. \u00a0My March article<\/a> was more toward the auxiliary power supply to USB devices. \u00a0Nothing so far specific to the helmet nor detailed enough to be of any use.<\/p>\n

The figure that I’ve estimated for all of the devices is 800mA. \u00a0The\u00a0Arduino Micro<\/a>\u00a0is rated for a max of 40mA per I\/O. \u00a0Meanwhile, the Mobius camera can use around\u00a0550mA. \u00a0This leaves me with 250mA for the sensors, which should be plenty.<\/p>\n

Adafruit has the parts all ready for this project…<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Lithium Ion Battery Pack – 3.7V 6600mAh<\/a> they sell would be able to power the hardware just over 8\u00a0hours. \u00a0This is a high use estimate based on peak current draw throughout the operation of the hardware. \u00a0I’m thinking that I’ll get a longer operating time.<\/p>\n

The next piece of hardware will be the\u00a0PowerBoost 500 Charger – Rechargeable 5V Lipo USB Boost @ 500mA+<\/a>. \u00a0This does quite a few functions. \u00a0First, it will take the 3.7 volt input from the battery and boost the voltage to a regulated 5 volt level. \u00a0Next, it will charge the battery pack when an external power source is applied to the USB port. \u00a0It can charge at a 5oomAh rate. \u00a0This means it can take over 13 hours to recharge from dead. \u00a0Also, it has multiple connection points to hook up devices and interfaces. \u00a0As far as load is concerned, it can handle an output of 1000mA. \u00a0This should handle the current draw from all the hardware without issue. \u00a0Finally, it can be powered off with a switch.<\/p>\n

What about tracking the power use too?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adafruit also offers a\u00a0USB Power Gauge Mini-Kit<\/a> which can send the volt, amp, and watt reading in a serial stream. \u00a0This will be helpful in the build and overall use of the sensor\u00a0helmet. \u00a0The readings are precise, there is some drift due to thermal factors. \u00a0The Adafruit product page has more details. \u00a0This device will be separate from the rest of the power equipment and embedded inside the helmet.<\/p>\n

How is it going to fit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The battery pack and power boost will be housed together behind and outside of the helmet. \u00a0I’ll leave a way for a charging cable to connect to the USB port of the charger. \u00a0I would also like to have a way to view the charger LEDs. \u00a0I might use a smoked covering so it will be\u00a0visible when lit, but dark enough to block the circuitry inside. \u00a0The power cables will run inside the helmet to a detachable connector, then on to\u00a0all of the hardware. \u00a0I’ll use\u00a0Velcro to attach the housing to the helmet. \u00a0The housing will be weather proof so it can be used in all weather. \u00a0Tap Plastics will most likely be utilized for the housing fabrication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What will I need? I think I finally decided on what to use for powering the helmet devices. \u00a0My February article didn’t give to much technical detail about what would be used. \u00a0It was more a to do list for what to spec out. \u00a0My March article was more toward the auxiliary power supply to USB devices. \u00a0Nothing so far specific to the helmet nor detailed enough to be of any use. The figure that I’ve estimated for all of…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arduino","category-bike-rides","category-rd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1193"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5205,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193\/revisions\/5205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}