Solar test #6 is a bit different than the last test. I am still on the quest to get 3 batteries and solar cells to power Compute. Why? I am trying to limit the size of the rover, and having 6 Solar cells is as big as I want it to be.
Solar Test #6 differs because I am putting the Solar in Parallel and supplying the 3 LiPo chargers. Parallel still gives me 5v, but if a cell is not producing enough energy, the other cells will pick up the slack. The LiPo chargers will turn them off when the battery is charged, giving more power to the remaining batteries. The output of the chargers is then put in parallel to the LiPo Shim on the Raspberry Pi Zero W. See the schematic above.
I also rewired the battery holders, replacing the 7-strand wires with much better 24 AWG wires. I am hoping this will help as well.
So far today, I have a full charge on the batteries without the Raspberry Pi Zero W connected. I need to work on the Rover Pi and Mission Control before putting it out for an extended period in the backyard.
Part List:
(3) 18650 Li-ion batteries (3) 18650 Battery holder (3) 03962A LiPo Chargers (3) 5v 500 mAhsolar cells (1) Pimoroni LiPo SHIM (1) Raspberry Pi Zero W (1) 32gb Samsung Micro SD card Black Wire Red Wire