SparkFun
smôl Power Board AAA
An intelligent power board for the smôl ecosystem that boosts the voltage from one or two AAA or AA cells up to 3.3V. Features a TPS61200 boost regulator and...
An intelligent power board for the smôl ecosystem that boosts the voltage from one or two AAA or AA cells up to 3.3V. Features a TPS61200 boost regulator and an ATtiny43U microcontroller that enables deep sleep for the entire smôl stack — drawing just 12 µA in sleep mode.
The processor board can instruct the power board to put the entire stack into deep sleep for intervals ranging from tens of milliseconds to several days, making battery life measurable in months rather than days.
Key Features
- TPS61200 Boost Regulator – Steps up 1–3 V input to 3.3 V output
- ATtiny43U Microcontroller – Manages intelligent sleep/wake cycles (4 KB Flash, 256 B SRAM, 64 B EEPROM)
- 12 µA Deep Sleep Current – Ultra-low power consumption in power-down mode
- I²C Interface – Default address 0x50
- smôl FPC Interconnect – 16-way 0.5 mm pitch flexible printed circuit stacking
Specifications
- Output Current (max) – ~550 mA at VIN = 1.5 V; ~1500 mA at VIN = 3.0 V
- Regulator Quiescent Current – 55 µA
- Dimensions – 40.6 × 10.7 × 7.4 mm (L × W × H max)
- Weight – 1.6 g
- PCB Thickness – 0.8 mm
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- deep sleep
- Deep sleep is a low-power mode where the microcontroller turns off most functions while keeping just enough circuitry active to wake up later. It is important for battery-powered projects because it can greatly extend how long the device runs between charges.
- EEPROM
- A type of non-volatile memory that keeps stored data even when power is turned off. In a sensor module, it can be used to store settings or calibration data so they do not need to be re-entered every time.
- FPC
- FPC stands for flexible printed circuit, a flat flexible cable or connector style often used where space is tight. It matters because this breakout needs the correct pin count and pitch FPC cable to connect reliably to the display or high-speed interface.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board is a rigid board with copper tracks that connect electronic parts without loose wires. For this kit, the PCBs also form the airplane shape, so they are both the circuit base and part of the finished model.
- SRAM
- Fast temporary memory used by a processor while a program is running. More SRAM helps with projects that handle larger data buffers, networking, displays, or more complex code.
Find this product in
smôl Power Board AAA Schematic
Schematic · 179.2 KB · Click any page to view full size
TPS61200 Regulator Datasheet
Datasheet · 1010.8 KB · Click any page to view full size
ATtiny43 Microcontroller Datasheet
Datasheet · 5.1 MB · Click any page to view full size
Supplier page — sparkfun.com
Supplier Description · 482.5 KB · Click any page to view full size
Resources & Downloads
Guides, code examples, and more
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
