VERTER 5V USB Buck-Boost

VERTER 5V USB Buck-Boost: converts almost any battery pack to 5V

VERTER can convert almost any battery pack to 5V. VERTER is the new Adafruit Buck-Boost power converter. It is the perfect universal power supply because it takes battery voltages from 3-12VDC and output 5V DC. So, it is perfect for your portable project.

Verter is really at its best when a battery or power range fluctuates a lot, or when you are in doubt about what you may have to use.

It works nicely over the 3-12V range. It can be a boost converter (3-5V in) and smoothly and quickly move to be a buck converter (5-12V in). This chip can be both, but please note that it works really much better as a buck converter than as a boost. In case you definitely need a full 500mA out, it will strain as it gets down to 3V while the output will drop to about 4.8V (still within standard range of USB power specs). In case you need something only to boost a voltage up to 5V and you want a product really good at it, consult the PowerBoost series, which contains excellent products.

Adafruit slightly modified the output to 5.2V instead of a straight-up 5.0V, this way you can have some ‘headroom’ long cables, high draw, and also, if you want, the addition of a diode on the output, etc. The 5.2V is safe with all 5V-powered electronics such as Raspberry Pi, Beagle Bone or Arduino. Because of the USB cable resistance, it can prevent unwelcome brown-outs in case of high current draw.

The TPS63060 boost converter from TI is at the heart of VERTER. This chip can handle an ample range of voltages (3-12V) and displays some truly desirable extras such as power good output, excellent efficiency, 2A internal switch, synchronous conversion, and 2.2MHz high-frequency operation.

• Thanks to synchronous operation you can completely disconnect the output by connecting to the ground the ENable pin. This will simply turn off the output.
• Thanks to 2A internal switch, you may get 500mA from as low as 3V, and no less than 1000mA from inputs as high as 12V.
• On-board 500mA charge-rate ‘Apple/iOS’ data resistors. By soldering in the included USB connector you may plug in whatever iPhone or iPod for a 500mA charge rate. As iPad actually needs 1A charge rate, VERTER is not really suggested for it.
• Full breakout for battery in, control pins and power out
• Almost always 90%+ operating efficiency (consult datasheet for efficiency graphs), low quiescent current: when enabled and power LED on, 5mA, when disabled (power and low batt LED are off) 20uA.

The VERTER 5V USB Buck-Boost is ideal to power Arduino project or your robot, single-board-computer, such as BeagleBone or Raspberry Pi, all from a large variety of inputs. Particularly satisfying when used with 4 x AA batteries, from 7V with fresh alkalines, to 4V with almost-dead rechargeables. If you want to use only voltages under 5V, take into consideration the PowerBoost 500 that displays much better boosting capability.

Each order consists of 1 fully assembled and tested PCB, a loose USB A jack and 2 pin terminal block. If you want to power your project from USB, you simply have to solder the USB A jack in (this takes just a couple of minutes). If you prefer using a terminal block, instead, solder a 3.5mm 2pin block on the same output spot where the USB jack should go. You may either connect and/or disconnect a battery pack very easily as the terminal block shall go on the input side. If you want a more compact power pack, do not solder anything in.

VERTER 5V USB Buck-Boost Technical details are:

PCB Dimensions:

• 19mm x 32mm x 5mm / 0.7″ x 1.3″ x 0.2″
• Weight: 2.5g

Adafruit name: VERTER 5V USB Buck-Boost – 500mA from 3V-5V / 1000ma from 5V-12V [ADA2190]