Battery power for esp32 30 pin

Posted by: @davidl

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Hi,

I'm building something similar to the ESP32 Cam car but I'm using an ESP32 Devkit 1 (30 pin).  I'd appreciate any pointers on how to power it.  During development I've been powering it with the USB cable connected to a laptop, but that obviously won't work long term.

The board is connected to a TB6612FNG H-Bridge controller.  The ESP32 VIN is connected to the h-bridge VCC and STDBY pins.  It's my understanding that I can provide 5 volts to the board through the VIN pin, but since that is used, I'm not sure if that's an option.

Can I use a battery to power the esp32 board and still connect to the H-bridge? 

I know I haven't included much information, but I'm not sure what's relevant, so I thought I would start with this.  Please let me know what other information would be useful.

Any help is appreciated. 

 

Thanks!

You might want to look at the randomnerdstutorial.com site and look up esp32-cam pinout under power output pin last para.

EDIT OOPS I see it's not a esp32-cam, just an esp32. You are already powering the board via the VIN pin. OR make a 9V battery to USB cable to power it as well.

@zander Hi Ron, thank you for the response.

I didn't know I could power a USB cable with a battery.  That sounds like a great option, and I would like to give that a try.   Do you have any suggestions about where I can find directions to make a device for that, or is there already something I could buy?

Thanks!

@davidl You need to put together a combination of connectors and/or wiring to get from a 9V battery connector or whatever you decide to use at the power end to a USB MICRO MALE. Here is what I think will work first the USB part here  and the 9V part here 

NOTE I am in Canada so change the amazon links to match your country.

@zander Ron, you made my day!  I was considering starting over with a different board.  I'm pretty bad at soldering, so that would be quite a bit of lost effort.

I have several of the 9v connectors, and I should have the USB connector part by Dec. 12.

Thanks for the help!

Quick follow-up question.  Is there a voltage regulator or something in the USB cable that drops the voltage from 9v to 5v?

Thanks.

@davidl OOPS. I forgot it's an esp32 so NO, you need to provide 5V on the USB connector. A 4 pack of 1.5V AA will work, they are seldom much over 5.2 or so.  The VR that is on there is a 5V to 3.3V VR.

@zander Thanks for the information.  I will use 4 1.5 volt batteries instead of a 9 volt battery, and I'll check the voltage before connecting to the esp32.  I have a couple of containers for the 4 batteries also, so I'm all set with that.

Thanks!